Bloggers Park: Part 2 - Bollywood movies in 2014 that made me think

Part 1 of the series can be found here. Continuing with the top movies in 2014 that made me think -

6. Filmistaan

Filmistaan was ready in 2012. After successful screening in various film festivals in 2012 and 2013, it was theatrically released in 2014. This movie also won a national award in 2012 for best Hindi film. Filmistaan is an India-Pakistan unity film. A film “shooter” from India is mistakenly kidnapped by some Pakistanis, who are shooters of a different kind. This leads the Indian guy to mingle with the Pakistani folks and learn that both India and Pakistan love the same things – movies and cricket. Later on, his newly found Pakistani friends help him escape Pakistan and reach India. Sharib Hamshi, actor, is awesome in this movie. His expressions are one of the main reasons you have to watch this movie.

7. Holiday

Every once in a while, comes an Akshay Kumar movie which you have to sit and take notice. Last year, it was Special 26. This year, it’s Holiday, a movie on sleeping cells. I know many will not subscribe to my thoughts in regards to having this movie in my list. Although Special 26 was class apart, this one takes the cake as far as Akshay Kumar is concerned. This is an out-and-out Akshay Kumar film with a meaning and purpose. Support cast are included just for support. Action sequences will excite some. Fighting for national security will excite some more. Whether you like Akshay Kumar or not, you should think twice before giving this one a miss.

8. Mary Kom

I guess every year there will be a movie on sports star. We already had Paan Singh Tomar, then on Milkha Singh and now it’s Mary Kom. In my opinion, Priyanka Chopra was apt for this role. Mary Kom has been one of our stalwarts in the field of Boxing. But spotlight on Cricketers and the lack of Boxing events on a regular basis meant she was sidelined for most of her career. A book and a movie on Mary Kom is the least we can do to repay her. Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom put in her sincerest attempt and will be the leading contender for Best actor (female).

9. Haider

In my opinion, Haider is the best Bollywood movie released in 2014. Vishal Bharadwaj is a master of story-telling. He did it with Maqbool and Omkara. Haider is as good as the other two and with Haider, Vishal Bharadwaj has adapted a trio of Shakespeare’s best. Haider, as with the other two movies, has Bharadwaj’s own twists and turns to make it an original. Haider has multiple sub-plots which make the climax debatable – in a good way. The actors in the movie are character actors and have done their roles wonderfully well. Tabu, KK and Irfan Khan do complete justice to their roles. But this movie belongs to Shahid Kapur. I will be surprised if he is not a serious contender for Best Actor (Male) and the movie in the best movie category. Although we all know the top honors go to the mainstream commercial actors and their mindless commercial movies.

10. PK

And finally we end with PK. A movie that took almost 5 years in the making has all the ingredients to be successful – Aamir Khan, duo of Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, a novel concept and brilliantly done teaser campaigns. First things first, conceptually this movie is better than Aamir Khan’s last money grosser – Dhoom 3. This movie addresses one area where we need a mirror to change our blind habits. And to an extent, it is working. It is on its way to be one of the most successful films of 2014 – financially and critically. I have not seen a Bollywood film that has polarized the masses the way PK has, unfortunately I might add. But for all the criticism surrounding the movie, it has made its place among the echelons of Bollywood films in 2014. Yes, the 2nd half doesn’t live up to the 1st one and I felt the love angle overshadowed the godman angle. But overall, its definitely worth a watch! Watch it for Aamir Khan.