Part 1 - Bollywood movies in 2013 that made me think

Bollywood in the year 2013 will be known mainly for the records - 100 Cr, 200 Cr, 300 Cr et. al. And very few of those movies have been thought provoking. Yes, I agree, movies should be entertaining. But they should also lead the audience to have a alternate thought and to show the reflection of a society we live in. In that regard, Bollywood is way behind. Its not all gloom however, there were movies in the past that had adequate amount of entertainment and left us with a thought. It happened in 2011 (See this and this for my list of thought-provoking movies) and in 2012 (see this and this).

Now that I think about it, this is a hat-trick of sorts. I did the same in 2011 and then in 2012. This also means Bollywood is waking up to these kind of movies too. Here's my list for 2013 (sorted in the order of their release) - 

1. Special 26 - 

One of the best Akshay Kumar movies to have hit the theater in the recent past. This one is meaningful, has a soul and a twist in the tale. Having actors like Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill and Manoj Bajpai has uplifted the standards of this movie in terms of overall quality. A story of few men posing as IT staff raid and loot influential and rich people and the actual IT staff is not at all aware of this. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you are missing something!

2. Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns - 

Dark, Classy and awe-my-god-some acting. I have always felt Irrfan is one of the best actors in Bollywood and this movie is another example justifying the same. But as was the case in the 1^st movie of this series, story is the king. Jimmy Shergill and Mahie Gill carried the form and charisma from the 1^st part of the series. Soha Ali Khan is an interesting and graceful addition. If you appreciate dark comedy and movies with shades of grey, then this is a must watch.

3. Jolly LLB - 

Jolly LLB has proved beyond doubt that Arshad Warsi can be a solo actor and a successful one at that. A movie centered around justice for the poor and powerless in a world where laws are flexible for the powerful few. Boman Irani also packs in a punch with performance worth applauding. A story of a less known advocate who takes up the case and win against all odds is worth a watch!

4. Bombay Talkies - 

Bombay Talkies is an anthology movie composing of 4 different stories. Four acclaimed directors have contributed – Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap. This was the only reason that drove me to watch the movie. Four different stories for different target audiences with different tastes. A story of a married guy revealing himself as gay later on in the movie; a struggling actor trying to prove his worth to the world and more importantly to his daughter; a small Katrina Kaif fan who aspires to be a dancer and a guy from Allahabad whose father’s wish before dying is to give ‘murabba’ to his favorite actor – Amitabh Bachchan. And yes, Amitabh Bachchan appears in the movie too. All 4 stories are wonderful – my personal favorite is that of a struggling actor played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. This guy is a genius.

5. Fukrey - 

Fukrey or “worth for nothing” is a movie about 4 friends who are just that – “worth for nothing”. In search of quick money and stability, they get into areas they never dreamt of. Talking of dreams, one of the ‘fukrey’ always has a dream which the other one funnily interprets and they go about achieving that dream! Richa Chadda is awesome as a local goon. Her dialogue delivery and screen presence is simply great. The chemistry of 4 fukrey’s is wonderful, so are the songs and the story. 

There are five more movies in this list. You can read about the remaining five here.