For the benefit of Mr. Pai – Must Watch Hindi movies of 2001

27Aug08

The other day a friend was asking what have been the good Hindi movies since the last 7-8 years. I mentioned some but remembering all of them was tough. Hence I decided to write a series of posts about the good movies of the last 7-8 years from 2001 till date. My take on some of the best of 2007 can be found here.

Here goes the ‘unapologetic best of 2001’ list:

Dil Chahta Hai – Brilliant movie about sense and sensibilities of the urban yuppie. A neat structure, fresh narrative, ensemble acting, brilliant screenplay and excellent music marked Farhan Akhtar’s sensational debut as a director. New age Bollywood at its best.

Lagaan – Cricket + A. R. Rahman + Aamir Khan = Magic.

Chandni Bar – Blistering performances by Atul Kulkarni and Tabu embellish this riveting drama about the dark underbelly of bar dancers and gangsters set in Bombay. Madhur Bhandarkar’s best till date.

Pyar tune kya kiya – Two words – ‘Fatal Attraction’. Some more words – Directed by Rajat Mukherjee its one of the better RGV products before RGV went on to discover weird camera angles and sound effects. Not to forget ‘Kambakht Ishq’ an anthem for us during the halcyon days. Caveat – Fardeen Khan alert

Zubeida – A musical by Shyam Benegal, Zubeida was a Karishma Kapoor tour de force ably supported by Manoj Vajpayee. A brilliant biopic about Zubeida Begum, an ill-fated actress and writer Khalid Mohammed’s mother, whose ambitions were crushed by an arranged marriage to the Maharaja of Johdpur. Arguably Karishma Kapoor’s best ever performance.

Yeh tera ghar, yeh mera ghar – For a change a really subtle Priyadarshan comedy and that says a lot about it, isn’t it. One of those light hearted Basu Bhatacharya kind of movie which also had the immortal “Kya Tumne pyaar kiya” by Suhasini Mulay while chiding an elderly Paresh Rawal trying to romance a nubile Mahima Chowdhry. Sunil Shetty acts.

Love ke liye kuch be karega – One word – Fargo. Some more words – Minus the gore and Steve Buscemi and yaa yaah. Caveat – Fardeen Khan alert

Gadar: Ek Prem Katha – Despite the fact that it was over-the-top, jingoistic and very loud it still worked for me. I don’t know whether director Anil Mehta has read his Manto or not, the first five minutes is straight out of a Manto short (Even the lead female character is called Sakina there). But when the movie was about to get interesting Sunny Deol shouts and “Us cheekh ki goonj aaj bhi Border ke us paar goonj rahi hai”. If you can save yourself from being smothered by the Pulp Patriotism and the heavy doses of  Jingoism then its quite an interesting watch. Caveat: Every time Amisha Patel tries to cry it seems like she is having an orgasm.

Bollywood Calling – A very underrated comedy about Bollywood by Nagesh Kukunoor. Om Puri and Navin Nischal are brilliant as a Bollywood producer and a fading superstar respectively. Although movie flounders towards the end watch it for the comedy and not for the non-existent drama. The “Kill you bastard look”, and “more lusty expression” sequences are hilarious.  Cameo – Nagesh Kukunoor as an extra mouthing “Kahaan Ja rahi hai, meri chammak challo”. If you think Quentin Tarantino is a campy actor, you gotta watch Kukunoor here – pure joy.

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Filed under: Bollywood, Entertainment, Fun, Movies, Review   |  5 Comments
Tags: Aamir Khan, Bollywood Calling, Chandni Bar, Dil Chahta Hai, Fardeen Khan, Fargo, Farhan Akhtar, Fatal Attraction, Gadar, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Great Hindi movies, Hindi movies of 2001, Karishma Kapoor, Lagaan, Love ke liye kuch be karega, Must Watch Hindi movies since 2001, Nagesh Kukunoor, Pyar tune kya kiya, Shyam Benegal, Sunny Deol, Tabu, yeh mera ghar, Yeh tera ghar, Zubeida