Part 1 - Bollywood movies in 2015 that made me think

Welcome to another edition of top Bollywood movies of the year. This is my 5th year of publishing a post on top 10 movies in Bollywood that made me thing. Yes, 5 years! 

These are my posts on top Bollywood movies from previous years - 

2014 - Part 1 | Part 2

2013 - Part 1 | Part 2

2012 - Part 1 | Part 2

2011 - Part 1 | Part 2

2015 was a year of the "non-Khans" in my honest opinion. And by Khans, I mean the 3 Khans - Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan. No Aamir Khan movie was released (which means there can more than 1 movie scheduled next year), one super-hyped Shahrukh Khan movie was released which was apparently beaten down on social media and two Salman Khan movies were released, one of which had a story (yes, seriously).

Before I talk about the movies, one word of caution. These are the list of movies I think were worth watching. You, obviously, can chose to disagree. 

Without further delay, these are the top 10 movies (listed in the order of their release) that actually made me think - 

1. Baby - 

Every once in a while, Akshay Kumar comes out of his funny-simpleton roles and delivers a baby (sic). Why am I making this statement? Because his last two movies before "Baby" were "Entertainment" and "The Shaukeens" which were released last year Last year also had a much acclaimed movie "Holiday". This year, it's "Baby". Despite what the name of the movie suggests, the story is about a secret mission and how the Indian forces get hold of the terrorist perpetrators. The movie is a bold statement and something which can be termed as fictional and cannot happen in real life. Akshay Kumar is simply great in "Baby" and is strongly supported by other actors in the movie. And by the way, this movie is from the same director (Neeraj Pandey) who gave us "A Wednesday" and "Special Chabbis". Any reason not to watch the movie? I don't find any. 

2. Badlapur - 

Dark. Very dark. Brutal. That's how I should define this movie. I feel this is Varun Dhawan's best. Huma Qureshi did justice to her role. But, Nawazuddin Siddiqui took the cake! Its a revenge story of a hero (Varun Dhawan) whose family died when the villain (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) was running away with the loot. But as the movie unfolds, the audience is forced to change the perspective of their hero and villain and eventually, you tend to realize that the villain lost the battle but won the war and the actor, despite winning the battle, lost everything in the process. This movie is by far the best from Sriram Raghavan's stable.

3. Qissa - 

Few facts first. Qissa is technically a Punjabi film, although it has been perceived / promoted as a Bollywood film. Second, it belongs to parallel cinema genre. Third, it's a tale where you have to believe certain things that are not scientifically correct. Why watch this movie, you may ask. Because of all the reasons above, I say. Qissa is a master-piece in its own right. It's a tale of a Punjabi guy (played by Irrfan Khan) who wants a son to carry forward his legacy. When the fourth child born is also a girl, he decides to raise the child as a guy. Irrfan is shown as a guy who is desperate to raise his daughter as a son, who beats his daughters for having a fight with his 'son', who marries his 'son' off to a girl. Everything he does is illogical yet his portrayal makes you feel he is right to do what he is doing. That's what top actors do, they make you feel that wrong is actually not wrong enough. Qissa exceeds all expectation you have of parallel cinema. A word of caution, if you are not a fan of parallel cinema, stay away. If you are, don't miss this movie.

4. NH10 - 

First genuine surprise movie of 2015 for me. When you have a actor who is also a producer, I feel the movie will be about the actor marketing himself / herself. Anushka Sharma is the main lead and also the producer of NH10. The trailors proved the aforementioned feeling I had. But I was wrong. The movie was pure acting and not about producer promoting herself. Yes, she was the main lead and there was no popular actor cast alongside her. But she singlehandedly delivered. One of those movies where acting, story and dialogues were top-class. And yes, women-centric movies work in India. 

5. Piku - 

Another women centric movie that worked. You have to commend Deepika Padukone for acting alongside stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan. Piku is the name of Deepika Padukone's character who has a dad with constipation problems. The movie is a sweet and funny take on dad-daughter relationship with constipatio providing the humor. And no, its not toilet humor which is why the movie is classy. Piku is easily the best light-hearted movie of 2015. You have to watch Piku, if you haven't. You have to watch Piku again, if you have watched it before. Must watch. 

As always, there are 5 more movies that make this list. You can read about them by clicking here.