Best Films of 2007
The listing is in no particular order. Please feel free to arrange them according to your preferences.
Taare Zameen Par: This is the movie which has everything at the right place. The directorial venture of Aamir Khan reiterated the fact that he has one of the most creative brains in the industry and of course he thrives on perfection. A film on children for everyone where one cries, laughs and finally reconnects to one’s childhood. I love all the songs of the movie.
Chak De India: The movie which gave the nation starved of sporting excellence a battle cry. And amazingly India performed well in sporting arena after that (at least for few months). A brilliantly written script, which subtly touches upon the crisis of Muslim identity in modern India and brings out the gender bias prevalent in our society, was transformed into an engaging saga. The 16 girls celebrated the girl power whereas ShahRukh for once showed the range of his acting which mostly remains untapped.
Jab We Met: A normal romantic movie with a refreshingly new treatment. It had the narrative to which anyone can connect. Kareena did amazingly in the bubbly girl avatar where as Shahid gave a matured performance with amazing grace. Several lively moments and soulful music combined to provide a film worth visiting.
Johnny Gaddar: James Hadley Chase met Vijay Anand in this power packed thriller on conmen. The hero of the film was actually the script which sprang up enough surprises to keep the viewer on hook. Neil Nitin Mukesh makes a dream debut in a film which has the able support from Dharmendra, Vinay Pathak and Zakir Hussain. Finally a well crafted thriller came out of the stable of bollywood after a long gap.
Guru: Mani Ratnam’s take on the life on Dhirubhai Ambani was his first sleeper hit in Hindi. Abhishek Bachchan lived the character in flesh and blood. The transition from an ambitious youth to an achiever was ably done. Rahman’s music was soulful. Aishwarya for once looked beautiful and not plastic and provided grace required to the film. Mithun made a stellar comeback.
Om Shanti Om: SRK’s marketing blitz made OSO the highest grosser ever. However the film worked because it brought back the fun to the movies. In short a total masala flick which delivered on what it promised. Hit and melodious songs transcended to screen in beautifully choreographed sequences. SRK overacts on his way to success while giving the industry a diva in form of Deepika. Arjun Rampal got a life back to his yet again flagging career.
Black Friday: A movie which I had seen much before it was released. But I visited it again. A powerful display of how reality can be dealt in cinema. Perhaps a movie which should have earned more at the boxoffice but nevertheless it remains a classic. Kay Kay delivered a knock out performance whereas Pawan Malhotra stole the show with his portrayal of Tiger Menon.
Bheja Fry: It was a copy I heard and that too a frame by frame one. So the film is a culprit in a way. It should have mentioned that it has adapted a foreign movie keeping in mind Indian taste. Did I mind watching the plagiarized version? Not at all. I enjoyed every moment of it. Vinay Pathak gave the performance of life time and was ably supported by Rajat Kapoor, Milind Soman and Sarika. I’m glad the movie worked. It showed that ultimately a movie with good treatment is what is liked by audiences and that there is a market for low budget movies also.
Life in a Metro: This film worked because of the originality of idea and the presence of characters to which any city dweller can associate. A character driven narrative in a way helped to weave an interesting story which criss-crossed the lives of all the protagonists. Direction was good and sensitive issues of fidelity, male chauvinism, uncontrollable ambition was handled subtly. Performances were good throughout and Irfan excelled in his portrayal. Music was melodious though I may not be in sync with the music band coming in the midst of every song.
Parzania: The only film that I have not watched among the one listed but which manages to make its way just because of what I have heard from trusted people. A heart wrenching reality of the horror of riots came alive on silver screen through this effort. Heard that Sarika was awesome as the mother whose son was snatched away from her and Naseeruddin Shah chipped in with yet another efficient performance. Have to watch this movie soon.
The listing is in no particular order. Please feel free to arrange them according to your preferences.
Taare Zameen Par: This is the movie which has everything at the right place. The directorial venture of Aamir Khan reiterated the fact that he has one of the most creative brains in the industry and of course he thrives on perfection. A film on children for everyone where one cries, laughs and finally reconnects to one’s childhood. I love all the songs of the movie.
Chak De India: The movie which gave the nation starved of sporting excellence a battle cry. And amazingly India performed well in sporting arena after that (at least for few months). A brilliantly written script, which subtly touches upon the crisis of Muslim identity in modern India and brings out the gender bias prevalent in our society, was transformed into an engaging saga. The 16 girls celebrated the girl power whereas ShahRukh for once showed the range of his acting which mostly remains untapped.
Jab We Met: A normal romantic movie with a refreshingly new treatment. It had the narrative to which anyone can connect. Kareena did amazingly in the bubbly girl avatar where as Shahid gave a matured performance with amazing grace. Several lively moments and soulful music combined to provide a film worth visiting.
Johnny Gaddar: James Hadley Chase met Vijay Anand in this power packed thriller on conmen. The hero of the film was actually the script which sprang up enough surprises to keep the viewer on hook. Neil Nitin Mukesh makes a dream debut in a film which has the able support from Dharmendra, Vinay Pathak and Zakir Hussain. Finally a well crafted thriller came out of the stable of bollywood after a long gap.
Guru: Mani Ratnam’s take on the life on Dhirubhai Ambani was his first sleeper hit in Hindi. Abhishek Bachchan lived the character in flesh and blood. The transition from an ambitious youth to an achiever was ably done. Rahman’s music was soulful. Aishwarya for once looked beautiful and not plastic and provided grace required to the film. Mithun made a stellar comeback.
Om Shanti Om: SRK’s marketing blitz made OSO the highest grosser ever. However the film worked because it brought back the fun to the movies. In short a total masala flick which delivered on what it promised. Hit and melodious songs transcended to screen in beautifully choreographed sequences. SRK overacts on his way to success while giving the industry a diva in form of Deepika. Arjun Rampal got a life back to his yet again flagging career.
Black Friday: A movie which I had seen much before it was released. But I visited it again. A powerful display of how reality can be dealt in cinema. Perhaps a movie which should have earned more at the boxoffice but nevertheless it remains a classic. Kay Kay delivered a knock out performance whereas Pawan Malhotra stole the show with his portrayal of Tiger Menon.
Bheja Fry: It was a copy I heard and that too a frame by frame one. So the film is a culprit in a way. It should have mentioned that it has adapted a foreign movie keeping in mind Indian taste. Did I mind watching the plagiarized version? Not at all. I enjoyed every moment of it. Vinay Pathak gave the performance of life time and was ably supported by Rajat Kapoor, Milind Soman and Sarika. I’m glad the movie worked. It showed that ultimately a movie with good treatment is what is liked by audiences and that there is a market for low budget movies also.
Life in a Metro: This film worked because of the originality of idea and the presence of characters to which any city dweller can associate. A character driven narrative in a way helped to weave an interesting story which criss-crossed the lives of all the protagonists. Direction was good and sensitive issues of fidelity, male chauvinism, uncontrollable ambition was handled subtly. Performances were good throughout and Irfan excelled in his portrayal. Music was melodious though I may not be in sync with the music band coming in the midst of every song.
Parzania: The only film that I have not watched among the one listed but which manages to make its way just because of what I have heard from trusted people. A heart wrenching reality of the horror of riots came alive on silver screen through this effort. Heard that Sarika was awesome as the mother whose son was snatched away from her and Naseeruddin Shah chipped in with yet another efficient performance. Have to watch this movie soon.
Comments
TZP : 4.9/5
Jab We Met : 3.4/5
Guru : 3.9/5
Life in a Metro : 3.7/5
OsO : 1.9/5
Of course, these ratings have the elemnt of personal bias within them
http://peruenamerica.blogspot.com/
manoj
other wise how can it miss the Sivaji-The Boss.
I missed Black Friday out of this list.
U missed Gandhi, My Father. It should have made into this list i guess.
Shootout at Lokhandwala
The Blue Umbrella
Traffic Signal
Namestey London
Manorma Six feet Under
Dil Dosti Etc
Chhodon naa yaar
Cheeni Kum
Any ways, I would look forward to ur list of the top movies from the world cinema too. I missed many in that category, so wanted to catch up with whatever i missed. Hope u'll come out with one soon.