Every year in Bollywood is the same. Many flops, a few hits, a flops that derserved to be hits, a few hits that deserved to be flops, a few entertainers, some serious cinema, romantic movies et al. On the other hand...
Every year in Bollywood is different. The anticipation of yet to be released movies grows each year. Hence, when a movie touted as being path breaking is heart breaking, the disappointment also grows each year. Fortunes of actors are made on fridays, or they fade on fridays.
Yeh Bollywood hai bhai, hit ke liye sala kuch bhi karega!
Below is my list of my favourite movies of the year 2005. Before progressing with the review please read the statuory declaration below:
Some of them you will like, And some of them you will hate. What looks like Gateway of India to me, To you may only look like an Indian gate.
I will not explain in depth the plot as most of you will probably know it already.
10) Salaam Namaste
A debutant director Siddharth Raj Anand has been credited with the direction, story and screenplay. I will give him 1 out of 3. The concept of the movie was not original, with the basic premise of the story copied from ‘Nine Months’ and the climax being replicated from an episode of the ‘Friends’ sitcom. Hence, the screenplay cannot really be credited to him either. So far, not good. Then why is this in the top 10?
Purely on the basis of performances, emotional quotient and realistic approach. The director has shown a promising combination of technique and content. Siddharth Anand has grasped the concept of characterisation well, as the characters of Arshad Warsi, Jugul Hansraj, Javed Jaffrey, and Abhishek Bachan really stand out.
Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta deliver promising performances. They do just about everything required in this laugh/cry/shout/romantically whisper type movie – but they do it extremely well. Although, this is a Saif Ali Khan movie throughout no doubt. Other than the two lead actors, Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffrey leave a hammer strong impact and one cannot even dare forget Abhishek Bachan in the climax – proving his acting prowess for the umpteenth time. The music is catchy, the cinematography applaud worthy and the editing is fairly crisp.
9) Socha Na Tha
A debutant director, a debutant actor, a debutant actress. All in all a debutant product. Cute, refreshing small time romantic comedy which you cannot help but feel for. Director Imtiaz Ali has handled the movie with such sensitivity that it has a very distinct feel when compared to other youth love stories. The chemistry between Abhay Deol and Ayesha Thakia is electrifying, and the interaction between the two appears to be extremely realistic.
The music is complimentary to the theme of the movie and the picturisations are also well executed. The only flaw probably lies in the screenplay, which at times unravels at a lethargic pace, but that can be overlooked for the sake of the virtues of the movie.
8) Sarkar
Ram Gopal Verma’s loosely inspired take on the ‘Godfather.’ The reason why this is at number eight is because of not a completely original story and screenplay.
Ram Gopal Verma’s direction is very controlled and extremely tight. His ability to extract performances from the stellar cast is also noteworthy as he ensures that the extremely talented actors deliver nothing but the best. Amitabh Bachan is able to set the tone of the movie. That should say it all. His mannerisms are subtle and not once does he try to even vaguely copy Marlon Brando. Abhishek Bachan is terrific in the second half especially. Here is another actor after Ajay Devgan who can emote well through expressions.
Kay Kay, in my opinion the best actor of them all, is nothing less than perfect. He is one actor who does need to be cast in any particular role as he can just about enact anything. It’s a shame though that he does not receive the credit he deserves…hopefully that will change in the future.
Others are excellent too, especially Zakir and Jeeva. The background score is another aspect of the movie, which is flawless. Amar Mohile reaches new heights with his score. Cinematography is in sync with the mood of the movie. The only problem that I have is the method in which Abhishek exacts revenge with the culprits. It seems a rushed affair and it appeared a shame to rush a brilliant movie in that manner. Stupendous nevertheless.
7) Tango Charlie
A concept to be showered praise upon. Showing war in its true light is the task undertaken upon Mani Shankar. He is successful first and foremost in the fact that he is able to convey his message without the impact being diluted, or misdirected. His direction is also very good. The cinematography is another excellent aspect of the movie because the visuals are captured in a frightful and realistic manner which is fitting with the theme of the movie.
Ajay Devgan…Ajay Devgan. Although he makes some of the shocking movie choices (Insan, Zameer etc) it cannot be denied that he is an actor of unmeasurable calibre. He proves it once again with a typicall controlled performance on his behalf. Bobby Deol shows his vast improvement with a not as good performance as Ajay Devgan’s but he does justice to his more complicated character. The flaws of the movie I think was the music, and the Bobby-Tanisha episode which were lifeless.
6) Deewane Huye Pagal
It’s still a mystery to me as to why this movie flopped. This was a complete entertainer that had everything going for it. The chemistry of the characters, eye-catching cinematography, music, hilarious screenplay and dialogues. Still it flopped?
Akshay Kumar once again proves his comic mettle. The improvement that he has shown post Jaanwar is simply unbelievable. His performance in the movie is amazing and he rises above the stiff competition. Although he has a better role compared to the others, he still portrays it to the T. Paresh Rawal is also fantastic, as are Vijay Raaz and Johnny Lever. Shahid Kapoor is good in the first half, and average in the second.
Sunil Shetty is also brilliant. Rimmi Sen is adequate. Vikram Bhatt’s direction is amazing has he shows a good sense of realising comedy and ensures the camaraderie of the actors is bought out on camera.
5) Parineeta
Pradeep Sarkar’s revival of 1960s Calcutta is extraordinaire. As a first time director his attention to detail is impeccable. The only flaw in his direction I believe was the slow paced narrative, which could have been speeded slightly.
Art direction and cinematography are two departments where Parineeta is simply flawless. Editing could have been even tighter. Performance wise, Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan give immaculate performances. It is diificult to decide which is the better performer, but the on screen chemistry they exduded was also
4) Aparhan
Prakash Jha presents the situation of Bihar in the most realistic manner. His vision is to be applauded as he unveils the plight of a helpless society. The structure of the story and screenplay is simply stunning. This is a textbook example of how a complicated story should be structured and the sequence of events is also well constructed.
Ajay Devgan once again delivers a Herculean performance. The transformation of his character is portrayed in the most convincing procedure and his conveyable eyes heighten the impact of his performance. Nana Patekar is also remarkable as is Mukesh Rishi, Mohan Aghashe and certain others. Bipasha Basu is also convincing. Aparhan is on of the greatest hard-hitting movies to be released in a long time in Bollywood.
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