Lagaan (2001)
(director: Ashutosh Gowarikar)
Lagaan is undoubtedly Bollywood’s most priced possession and it has achieved classic status in a short time span itself. Here is a movie which is perfect in every sense and you would wonder if there is another Lagaan possible in another 100 years. Lagaan is an epic, with the grandeur and the scale with which Ashutosh Gowarikar portrayed the plight of the farmers in a village, in the British occupied India. The story was a revelation; about the power of goodness and humanity. It speaks volumes about the collective human spirit and the movie proves that you can move mountains with united human spirit. It was a flawless movie and the every aspect of the movie stood shining, be it the authentic sets, costumes by Oscar winning Bhanu Athaiya, music by another Oscar winner A R Rahman, story, screenplay, dialogues, acting (especially, large number of supporting characters), cinematography, choreography and above all Ashutosh Gowarikar’s taut direction. So many factors came together as if magic and you will see nothing but brilliance on every frame. Such a movie comes once in every 100 years, may be!
3 idiots (2009)
(Director: Raj Kumar Hirani)
3 Idiots was a complete entertainer and at the same time it carried a message. Raj Kumar Hirani was always known for his social relevant yet entertaining movies and ‘3 idiots’ followed the tradition. It makes some solid statements about the age old education system in India. Inspired by the Chetan Bhagat book, ‘5 point someone’, it deals with the pressure students face as far as choosing career is concerned. It’s your parents or the demanding society that decide the best career for you and you end up studying one of those courses which are straight ticket to high paying jobs and you lead a bitter existence for the rest of your life. Is everyone prepared for that? Hirani was trying to shed some light in to the otherwise neglected issue and it met with thunderous applause from all quarters. Students across the country could instantly connect with the helplessness shared by the protagonists, all the while enjoying the ‘balatkar’ speech of Omi Vaidya.
Jab We Met (2007)
Director: Imtiaz Ali)
Can Bollywood ever stop making those highly romantic movies for which the industry has been known for a long time? We love to fall in love with the quintessential hero and heroine of Bollywood romantic movies. We want to sing and dance with them and that feeling never changes. Jab We Met is the only typical romantic movie on the list and clearly defines romance we have seen in the last decade. Indians constantly face the east versus west conflicts, especially the youth in the cities. On one hand Speed-dating and live in relationships are catching on fast and at on the other hand we are not yet ready to leave our tender Indian values. Family, parents and every other age old symbols are dear to us. Here comes, Imtiaz Ali, the master story teller who can speak non stop about heart and its little dilemmas for hours, of course after Yash Chopra. He creates an iconic character like Geet who is able to keep you glued to your seat with her inimitable charm and purity. It was a time when we thought film makers stopped writing beautiful roles for a female actor and Imtiaz fleshed out a girl who we all have been waiting for. The typical boy-meets-girl story has its heart set at the right place. Though it was an out and out Kareena film Shahid Kapoor gave ample support in his difficult role which is in fact one of his career bests. It’s not that easy job to stay in the background doing nothing but listening to non-stop Geet. He had to show that he’s recovering from the past wounds and at the same time hopelessly falling in love with Kareena. The soft spoken Aditya and chatter box Geet are extremely likable and audience loved every bit of their interaction which also rekindled our faith in love stories all over again.
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