In 2019 we watched a lot of very interesting movies --- some of which were really good, some that were interesting without being good and some which were neither interesting nor good in spite of the hype that may have surrounded the film. Here is a list of films that I really liked in the past year as well as some that were too bad to sit through IMHO. The movies that had really bad reviews such as The Accidental Prime Minister, Total Dhamaal, Pal Pal Dil ke Paas, Housefull 4, Drive etc, I did not have the courage to watch at all.
The movie is out of the reckoning for the Oscars unfortunately, but for me this was one of the standout films of the year. The movie has a great story and is very well written. It has superbly etched, believable characters, a highly authentic milieu and some great music – apna time ayega is an anthem and deservedly so.
Kalank was a big, much-anticipated movie with a big star cast, this one promised high octane emotion and grand visuals. It turned out to be a good looking movie with a story going nowhere, and a lot of unnecessary melodrama. I left after in the interval.
I knew SOTY 2 would be bad but I watched it anyway (OK, I was curious to see what Will Smith was doing in the film). Turned out it was every bit as bad as I expected. The good looking people with chiselled bodies and perfect clothes, implausible story, school campus like nowhere in India – or indeed in the world --- this was a film that made me laugh without meaning to.
Bharat was of course yet another film that was dedicated to showcasing all the bhai-ness of bhai but it still managed to be watchable. Everything and everyone in the film revolved around Salman Khan’s character but the movie was an interesting story of India itself in a sense.
Firstly, I get why films and books with stories like Kabir Singh become successful. There is something strangely attractive about a grand passion; an uncontrollable desire for that one person. However, this film was so problematic at so many levels and betrayed so many unattractive facets of our society's belief system (in the way that people reacted to it) that on a balance I have to say it was a bad film.
Article 15 may have invited its share of criticism and anger from some sections, but this is the sort of movie that hits you in the solar plexus. It was a realistic, brutal look at the evil of the caste system that is still deeply entrenched in our society. In my view, this should be mandatory viewing for all of us, if only to remind us to acknowledge our privilege by contrast.
When I first read the book, I thought it was just waiting to be made into a film. Though we never expect the film to be as good as the book, The Zoya Factor disappointed for a specific reason: Sonam Kapoor. While the message of the film is well conveyed and Salman Dulquer is well cast and exceedingly likeable, Sonam, with her one unhappy expression quickly got on the nerves --- so much so that the entire film disappointed as a result.
The movie didn’t promise to be anything but a seeti-maar, paisa vasool film and that is exactly what War was. The two gorgeous men, beautiful locations, the bromance, the slick action were all very watchable – standard, unapologetic, escapist fare. Nothing more, nothing less.
This was a convoluted story with too many wheels within wheels. It tried to be clever but turned out to be merely convoluted. Saaho’s story was so incomprehensible that I could not tolerate it beyond the interval. Prabhas is highly likeable but this is a film that tries to be too many things all at the same time.
In spite of the glaring flaw of casting a fair-skinned woman and then darkening her skin (Bhumi Pednekar) Bala was still a highly watchable, very relevant film. It underlines why an Ayushmann Khurrana film is always worth the watch. Highly believable characters, genuine humour and life’s little ironies – this film has all this and more. Quite refreshingly the filmmakers resisted the urge to give us a pat, ‘happy’ ending but gave us a satisfactory resolution nevertheless.
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