Ten things I loved about the movies in 2014

#1. Best sequel: Dedh Ishqiya

It is a surprise that Dedh Ishqiya isn’t featuring in the best of 2014 lists, given it was one of the standouts in one of the weakest years in Hindi cinema. Its early release in January is no excuse for it to be forgotten. Abhishek Chaubey’s follow-up to the 2010 film, transports the partners in crime and fools in love, Khalujan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi), to Mahmudabad, a town in Uttar Pradesh full of poets and killers. Add Madhuri Dixit and Huma Qureshi as the femme fatales, with a secret of their own, and Vijay Raaz as a desperate suitor, and you have one of the most delightful films of the year.

#2. The rockstars: Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Gunday and Kick would have been forgettable experiences if not for the presence of two of the finest actors in India in Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Khan’s wry inspector in Gunday gives the action-packed bromance some needed humour and also gives Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, a lesson in acting. Watch out for the scene in which he first confronts the two in their office. Meanwhile, Siddiqui was a riot as the loony villain who takes on Salman Khan’s superhero in Kick. Siddiqui’s crazy laugh and his over the top antics had us rooting for an end in which evil conquers over good. Alas, it wasn’t so. 

#3. Surprise package: Alia Bhatt

“Wowza! Alia Bhatt can act,” was one of the declarations of 2014 as the 21-year-old actress made an impression in not one but three films. As the naive young woman on a journey of self discovery in Highway, she first showed glimpses of a strong and effortless screen presence which indicated she was here for the long run. The scene in which she spills tears of joy as she plays with water, was one of the highlights of the year. In 2 States, Bhatt outshone her co-star Arjun Kapoor and then charmed in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya. She may not be the Genius of the Year but she sure was the Entertainer of 2014. 

#4. Most Underappreciated: Bobby Jasoos

It’s a pity that this Vidya Balan-starrer film didn’t work at the box office because it featured one of the most memorable romances this year (Ali Fazal-Balan) and also had Balan back in fine form after Kahaani. The case which keeps Balan’s amateur sleuth busy for most part was engaging and the troubled father-daughter relationship was poignant. If you find it running on your small screen, give it a shot for it won’t disappoint.

#5. Hungama of the year: Queen

Vikas Bahl’s film has consistently featured in top five films of the year and rightly so. It’s not just that Kangna Ranaut convinced us that she was being herself as Rani but everything about Bahl’s coming-of-age film – from the three guys Rani befriends in Amsterdam and her worried family back in India to Lisa Haydon as the spirited friend and Rajkummar Rao as the repentant fiancé – made it one of the films we kept talking about this year. A huge thumbs up to Ranaut in boycotting the awards. It’s a move that Rani would wholeheartedly approve. 

#6. Best comeback: Govinda

Has someone compiled a video of all of Govinda’s scenes in Happy Ending? If not, please do. The Hero No 1 of the 1990s was the lifeline of Raj and DK’s parody of romantic comedies as a single-screen star trying to appeal to the more refined multiplex audiences. He still has the moves too as evident in “G Phaad Ke”, in which he made all the back-up dancers look superfluous as he danced the way he always does – like nobody’s watching. Kill Dil would have fared better if it had less of Parineeti Chopra in two-sizes-too-small clothes and more of Govinda.

#7. Mr Consistent: Rajkumar Hirani  

Is the writer-director-editor capable of spoiling his oeuvre by making an awful movie? Looking at his fourth successive hit, PK, the answer so far is No. There’s reason that why most contemporary filmmakers envy Hirani, who is still going strong as he appeals to the masses and throws in a relevant message or two.

#8. Most electrifying act: Loha Singh

The protagonist of the documentary Katiyabaaz loved the attention he got from directors Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar and we in turn loved him for his honesty and daredevilry. If there was a reel superhero in 2014, it was Singh, the Robin Hood of Kanpur, who risks his life to let light into innumerable households.

#9. Must see: Ankhon Dekhi

Writer-director Rajat Kapoor’s film, his best so far, did get a limited release but the poor time slots didn’t help its cause. Sanjay Mishra and Seema Pahwa should win all the critic awards but they obviously won’t given how the organisers value celebrities over actors. Delhi never looked this beautiful, a joint family never so real and dialogues never so compelling. 

#10. Best Film: Fandry

We haven’t seen Liar’s Dice yet but it would have been great to see Nagraj Manjule’s Marathi film, which won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director, be India’s submission to the Oscars  this year. Having seen it at the 2013 Mumbai International Film Festival, it was a film which drew us to the theatres again when it released in February thanks to its fantastic ensemble cast, many of them including young kids making their debut, a fantastical romance and a long riveting climax. That it made Rs 7 crore and even released in non-Marathi speaking belts such as Delhi and Baroda gives us hope that there’re still takers for good cinema.