Filmi year 2015.

This year was one in a long while where I actually failed to get a true sense of the film industry and its trends. Usually even as I miss out on most films and only catch the major releases there is an understanding of where things might be headed in the coming year. This time I struggle to take the pulse.

But who cares, right? I watched some films, now let's talk about them!

Favourite Film of The Year: Piku

This is a tough one, because I fear it may still be lurking among the films I've yet to see from 2015. There is so much I just have not yet gotten to, from the bizarre Shankar flick I to the Randeep Hooda (still! fave!) starrer Main aur Charles.

But as it stands now I think my favourite is Piku, the lively little road trip drama about a fantastic woman and her eccentric father. All performances simply impressed and while not a film I will endlessly rewatch it was nothing if not enjoyable.

Meh of the Year: Shamitabh

There were a lot of disappointments this year, as it seemed like the more hyped up I was for an upcoming the less it delivered the goods. But I think I was most apathetic towards the R. Balki directed Shamitabh, which was (very) partially shot in my beautiful home city of Helsinki. The film started off with promise but seemed to continue as an unbearable slog towards an unknown and quite uninteresting ending. It's a story of stardom, rise and fall, friendship, love, and all of these themes that just don't quite come together. The gimmick surrounding the plot was probably based completely in modern science but I didn't really fully buy into it anyway. Dhanush and Amitabh both do fine, but it just doesn't become as moving a film as it desperately wants to be.

The only bright spot of the film is the new heroine, Akshara Haasan, who was an absolute delight. Which brings us to...

Favourite Maybe Sort of Trend: The Year of The Heroine

Bollywood presses will always highlight supposed arguments and bitchiness between successful women, and this year was no exception, but what I also kept noticing in the press were news items about top actresses refusing roles because they weren't substantial enough, despite them being opposite a very successful male lead. It seemed to be pointing towards a trend, where heroines themselves are such guaranteed box office draws that it matters to them what their own role is, and they get a pick of the best, so they also know their worth and demand more, knowing their own box office power. Actresses like Deepika Padukone and Kangana Raut are leveraging their success for more substantial roles and this is fantastic for everybody.

I may be accused of over-optimism here, and I'm sure things will be slow to change, but it is a very positive change, and I look forward to seeing how the industry develops in this regard.

Best Cathartic Revenge Tale: NH10

Another favourite from this year that I'm unlikely to rewatch, but I still have to give a shoutout to this film for an excellent mood, great leading performances and sense of milieu.

What a Year, If Not For the Movies: Varun Dhawan

On paper, Varun Dhawan was set to blow me away in 2015, what with the ABCD sequel and Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur. Sadly both films ended up being on the films I enjoyed the least, Badlapur for its pointless, sickening violence that rendered a character arc uninteresting to me, and ABCD2 for the sheer hackiness of the script, which was more stupid that it had earned the right to be with the lovely dance numbers. Varun was not bad at all in either film but the fact I disliked both lead to this being a rather underwhelming year for a guy who I still like a lot and hope to see in films I like better next year. 

The Embarrassingly Long List of Films I Will Probably Watch: Shaandaar, I, Main aur Charles, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Dum Laga ke Haisha, Bajirao Mastani (maybe?).

You can keep your old man Khan movies, from Phantom to PRDP to Dilwale, I'm sorry to say. 

Questions I Have for 2016

Will any of the newer heroes step up to the plate and become a must-see favourite of mine? Do I need to continue to tamper expectations so as to not be as disappointed as I was in many films this year? Is Shahrukh Khan headed for an interesting turn with his two new movies or will it be same old same old? Will somebody bloody put out Tamil movies with English subtitles? And finally, looking at the 2016 line-up, are biopics going to become as omnipresent in Bollywood as superhero/comic book films are in Hollywood these days?

And One Little Promise

Gosh, I love Indian films so much and I have such an annoying habit of abandoning them and this blog every now and then. I should be able to manage one post a month and at least one film a month (new, old, Hindi, Tamil, whatever it may be), even if it's a shorter review. I may never get to the days of 100 posts per year but 12 should be manageable. 

Filmi year 2014.

Considering I began the year enjoying the delights and heights of a fancy Chennai hotel at a New Year's Eve party, you'd think I'd have spent the rest of it all caught up in the glam of the various film industries. Instead, this was another one of those years I assume I will continue having, where my Indian film interest comes and goes in spurts. One week it's six movies, the next four weeks it's absolutely none. Stop and start, stop and start. Such is the nature of my fandom, it seems.

Still, even as oddly paced as my film watching is these days, I did manage to catch most of the big releases, or at least the films I wanted to see, or felt like I ought to see. This post is a quick round up, certainly not inclusive of all the 2014 films I've yet to catch up to, working on that DVD release delay as I usually do.

Favourite of The Year: Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania

I want to make a really horrible, hamfisted food metaphor about how HSKD is all about using leftovers from other films and somehow spinning the most gorgeous meal out of them, but you know what? I'm not sure gives the movie enough credit. It's made of fresh ingredients, despite being a formulaic romcom that we've seen a million times, to the point where everything feels like a throwback, but so good and well-written that it feels completely fresh. In an incredible year for Alia Bhatt, she completely shone in this and Varun Dhawan also proved why he's among the most promising of the new debuts in the past few years. I should rewatch this, because it's probably the only film I saw all year that I actually really want to rewatch.

The Best Film-Induced Trip Disguised As A Viewing Experience: Kick

I don't even know if I watched Kick or if Kick just happened at me. It washed over me in many waves, each more inane than the previous one. I guess I liked it, but I also hated it because it was just so stupid, but it was so stupid it was kind of beautiful. It was the kind of film where I want to want more out of it, because films this inane should not be considered the height of film making, but at the same time, it was so much fun as it happened that it's hard to hate on it too much. I can only pretend to be so pretentious.

The Greatest Cinema Experience: Sholay 3D in Juhu, Mumbai

Yeah, I'm only posting about this to gloat. It was fantastic and I can't believe I got so lucky as to be in India when it happened.

Most Unexpected Rise: Alia Bhatt

2014 kicked off with everybody laughing at this young woman for giving an uneducated answer on a chat show, and I couldn't really blame them. She was not great in her debut, and even though she had intriguing movies in the pipeline, I was not anticipating any of them all that much. Then Highway came along and I loved it, and then Humpty cemented her year. I have not seen 2 States yet because after actually reading Chetan Bhagat I've soured on film adaptations of his book but just those two films alone make her one of the most interesting names to look out for in 2015.

I Guess I'm not Weird for Liking This Guy: Randeep Hooda

I developed a very sudden affection for this guy after seeing him in Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai in late 2012/early 2013 and have been following his career ever since. I feel like last year was the year where he began being more of a topic of conversation and I'm really happy for it, though I suspect we will still see him in Bhatt-y thrillers and playing second fiddle to whoever Khan but whatever, I'm just happy more people are into him now that they've seen him in Highway and Kick. He's so good and delicious, and always puts in maximum effort on screen. I just really like him.

My Queens Remain Queens: Bobby Jasoos & Mardaani

Vidya Balan had a pretty uneven year, as I hear Shaadi Ke Side Effects is just not very good, but I did enjoy Bobby Jasoos a lot. Rani just had Mardaani but Mardaani is very much better than nothing, because Mardaani was quite a showing.

Favourite Older Film I Watched This Year: Soodhu Kavvum

I'm incredibly happy I bought this Tamil black comedy from India, because it turned out to be one of the laugh-out-loud funniest comedies I've seen from India in a long while and its satiric edge on Indian society was razor sharp. Plus it introduced me to Vijay Sethupathi, pictured here. I've not seen enough him to know if he's a favourite yet but so far so good, in all honesty.

Films I Missed Out On But Will Check Out: Haider, PK, Finding Fanny, Ugly, Gulaab Gang, Deddh Ishqiya.

If you have any recommendations outside that list of 2014 films I need to check out, I am all ears!

Questions I Have For 2015

Will Saif Ali Khan or Abhishek Bachchan, two guys who absolutely defined my Bollywood fandom around 2005-2007, ever make another film I'll actually want to see? Will Shamitabh by R. Balki make me weep senselessly like his previous Paa, considering that Shamitabh will also be the first Bollywood film shot in my country? After a year so fantastic for better roles for women, what will come of wonderful ladies like Kangana Raut and Deepika Padukone, whose stars are on the rise? Will I salivate over the immense promise of Badlapur cast & director only to be disappointed? Is my favourite of 2015 already Shankar's I/Ai, even without having seen it? (Yes on that last one. Very much yes.)

Filmi year 2013 - better late than never, I guess?

2013 was kind of a very strange year for me, in terms of following Indian cinema. I started the year in a frenzy, watching and enjoying a lot of films, then the interest fizzling, but keeping up with films somewhat, and managing to catch a fair few films at a festival in early autumn. Most of the year was spent planning for the eventual epic India trip, that would commence in December and go through to mid-January, when I would finally return home, happy and sated, with tons of movies with me. 

There are notable exceptions to the 2013 films I saw - I couldn't find the time, effort or interest to catch Chennai Express, the big SRK blockbuster. I saw bits of it on TV in India, but Indian TV drove me up the walls with the commercial breaks, so I just couldn't focus on it. I think I saw most films, though, most films that I intended to see, anyway. 

So, here's my takeaway from last year.

Why The Hell Did I Do This To Myself Film of the Year: Race 2

We all have regrets, and I'm surprised watching Race 2 wasn't followed by a year-long chronic hangover in which everything and anything would be a plot twist and nothing would make any goddamn sense. But thankfully, the end result of watching Race 2 is merely that you've wasted your time watching Race 2. If your life is irrevocably ruined afterwards, that's on you. 

Disappointment of the Year: Go Goa Gone

Gosh, oh gosh. I so wanted to like you, movie. Why didn't you let me. 

I'm A Special Snowflake For Getting to See This Gem of the Year: Monsoon Shootout

It's an interesting little indie flavored flick, it's got Nawazuddin Siddiqui (ie perfection), it's just a really intriguing watch and I want everybody to see and I hate festival slow-burn releases, except when I don't, because I got to see this ahead of most other people. But when it hits theaters, do check it out, I implore you. 

Best Used Formula of the Year: AnyBody Can Dance

All the delightful underdog team tropes are in use here, and it just works so well. This was my delight of the year, and I can't wait to rewatch it once more.

The Most Puzzling Film of the Year: Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola 

I loved it. It was weird. It was gorgeous. It was ..pink water buffaloes? I don't know what to make of this movie, but I do know I own the damn thing on DVD, so I suppose I'll have to give it another look. There was so much good, and such good satire amidst all the strangeness, but I don't know if Matru is, at the end of the day, just an okay oddball movie, or a splendid underappreciated masterpiece.

The Biggest Causes of Worry: the various struggles of the young generation

I'm talking questionable movie picks (I know they can't all be winners but I'd want to see Parineeti Chopra in something good, and Shuddh Desi Romance was not it), weird appearance changes (Anushka Sharma's face) and careers generally headed towards the toilet (Abhay Deol, Imran Khan). I like some of these people. I may not love all of them, but I do wish them all the best, and it saddens me to see these young stars take significant missteps. Don't Saif Ali Khan your career, guys, let's pull it together.

A Thing That Happened That I Didn't Think I Could Type In 2014: Karan Johar directed a kiss scene between two men

No, seriously, I did not think that would happen. As for the short film itself, well, I like Karan Johar sometimes, flaws and all. And believe me, there were flaws. (I also need to rewatch Bombay Talkies, I don't believe I ever reviewed it in full.)

The Top Five Most Epic Film Experiences I Had in India (because I must gloat)

1. DDLJ at Maratha Mandir. Enough said.
2. Sholay 3D in Juhu, amongst people who loved it and who could quote it by heart. I am the luckiest son of a gun.
3. Dhoom 3. Because Dhoom 3. And also, Dhoom 3, which stars Aamir Khan and Aamir Khan, and I am happy that was a thing that was. 
4. The Tamil film Kumki, viewed at night, in a village setting. Magical.
5. Dancing so enthusiastically to Badtameez Dil from Yeh Jawaani Hai Dewaani at a Chennai New Year's Eve event that some random folks came to tell me I rock out harder to Bollywood music than most Indians. I was flattered, but it was only because I never get to dance to Bollywood music outside my bedroom that I was so into it. That, and...

My Film of the Year: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Because as much as I appreciated other films last year, YJHD was the only one that hit home on all fronts - it was funny, charming, had a cute romance, a rocking soundtrack, a beautiful depiction of female friendship and inspired me to think about some of my choices in life. For a guy I am not a fan of, Ranbir Kapoor keeps performing in a manner that is hard not to like, and Deepika Padukone continues to impress. It's a movie I saw, and then went back to, and have gone back to twice or three times after first seeing it. I love it. I just love it. 

Filmi year 2012: Appendices.

An addendum to my previous Filmi Year 2012 post, because don't you just hate it when this happens: make a end-of-year post in December because that's what everybody bloody does, and then watch all the films you missed in January, and it alters your perception of the previous year?

Yeah. Yeah.

So I'm correcting that now, and it's my blog, and I can do what I want. 

An Absolutely Once-in-a-Lifetime Film Experience: Gangs of Wasseypur

I'm not the biggest fan of Anurag Kashyap. I enjoyed the docu-drama Black Friday, and I thought Dev.D was a good effort that introduced the audiences to a lot of great talent (Kalki Koechlin, Mahie Gill, Abhay Deol, Amit Trivedi's awesome soundtrack) but I appreciate both films more as feats of film-making than as personal favourites. I wanted to see GoW because it was such an ambitious project, but I didn't expect I'd love it. 

And yet, wow, I completely did. Nawazuddin Siddiqui's performance, the amazing music, the journey through history.. There are many things to love here, and even though there are flaws in the 5 hour extravaganza as well (some slack, lots of telling-not-showing), it's just a brilliant film. I wish it was easier to carve out more than five hours of the day to rewatch it - or indeed that I could sell this film to any of my friends, making them interested enough to sit through it with me. 

It's not for everybody, but I personally never thought I'd be interested in an epic gangster film detailing Bihar coal mafia history, and yet I was. So if you can handle the violence, do check it out.

Most Bombastic Fantastic Film of the Year: Eega (review pending)

The premise is delightfully out there, brilliantly executed and the story just takes you for a ride, whether you're skeptical of it working or not. Eega had a lot of buzz (ha!) around it so I knew I had to check it out, and I'm very glad I did.

Most Aggravating Film of the Year: Student of the Year

Ishaqzaade had nothing on this. It's sad that it's another film with a lot of fresh faces, but hopefully they all move onto less annoying projects.

Films People Might Do Well To Check Out: Chakravyuh and Jannat 2

I feel like "underrated" might be overselling these films. I liked them quite a bit, but I'm not sure they're for everybody. Both are very violent, for one thing. Still, I think they're worth a cautious recommendation. Curiously enough, both share one actress - Esha Gupta, a newcomer. Sadly, her performances are not what makes these films rec-worthy.

Chakravyuh was a good, issue-based movie about Naxalism, that featured some fine performances -  regardless whether you're writing a doctoral thesis on Naxalites, or literally have no idea who Naxalites are, it's a film that will give you some food for thought.

Jannat 2 is great fun for coming from the Bhatt house. Emraan Hashmi is great in it, Randeep Hooda also does well in his role, and it's just a good time, really. I called it a bromance in my review, which is such an appalling term to use, but it's also just true - this is the story of a fledgling friendship between a crook and a cop, and they form the best part of the film. There is also plenty of cheese, especially in the romantic storyline, but overall it's just a fun, violent thriller flick.

Filmi year 2012.

After a period of not being quite up on what was happening in Indian films (or being up on it, just not having a chance to watch most of it), I feel like 2012 was the year I was finally caught up on most new releases. There are of course a couple of films I still intend on seeing and haven't yet (mostly films that have not come out on DVD yet, like Talaash - so please no spoilers for that one!) but for the most part, I've seen the films that interest me.

Of course, films that interest me do not equal the most talked about films of 2012 or even the biggest box office successes of 2012. I've not seen Jab Tak Hai Jaan because I'm not that huge on SRK in his current romantic roles, nor do I particularly like Yash Chopra's filmography (though recognise his significance). I probably won't see Student of The Year unless I feel like hating on Karan Johar one of these days. The action flicks I missed out on, like Son of Sardaar and Khiladi Numbersequence, I might check out, provided I'm bored in 2013. Rowdy Rathore is definitely on the list.. And if Gangs of Wasseypur ever gets a decent DVD release, I'll be the first in line to buy it.

But onto the list of favourites, not-so-favourites etc.

Queens of My Heart: Rani Mukherjee & Vidya Balan

With The Dirty Picture still fresh on most people's minds, Vidya had Kahaani, a wonderful performance-driven thriller, easily in the top 3 films of the year. Meanwhile, Rani had both Aiyyaa and her re-union with Aamir in Talaash. As I said previously, haven't seen Talaash yet but I loved Aiyyaa so much that while it may have flopped making very little noise, it reminded me of why Rani is so good, and among my favourite actresses of all time. I will enjoy anything these two women grace with their presence.

The Man Who Blazes His Own Trail: Aamir Khan

It seems that every year Aamir Khan does something new I have to admire him for. There are a lot of legitimate criticisms of Satyamev Jayate and the way it presented important issues, but there's also so much to be said for the intelligent manner it brought these issues to to be discussed. Every episode contained an appeal to the humanity in all of us; I believe the show truly did something unique and I really appreciate having the opportunity to watch it legally via YouTube.

But Aamir is still a film star and I am psyched to see him in Dhoom 3 next year. Only this guy would go from exploring heartwrenching societal ills on television one year into such unapologetic entertainment the next.

The Character Actor To Watch Out For: Adil Hussain

You might remember him from Ishqiya or Kaminey from previous years, but this year he played not only the Colonel in Agent Vinod, but also Sridevi's husband in English Vinglish AND the main character's father in Life of Pi (which I just saw and hugely enjoyed!). Personally I barely remember him in Agent Vinod, but thought he was really good in English Vinglish. The role needed an actor who could portray the character with a certain softness - he does things we as audience loathe, because we love Sridevi's character  Shashi so much, but we also have to see why she loves him. Santosh Patel in Life of Pi was a pretty similar role; he's not perfect, he can come off as unfeeling, but overall still likable. Of course, your mileage may vary, but I certainly enjoyed his performances this year and will keep an eye out for this Assamese actor in the future..

Most Likable Newbies: Ayushman Khurana & Parineeti Chopra

As well as Ranbir Kapoor acts (or so I hear, having not watched all of his work all that consistently), as pretty as Sonam Kapoor is and as cute as Imran Khan is, a lot of the newer generation of Bollywood have left me quite cold. I like them, I just don't quite love any of them yet. This year again brought on some new faces, and two that I quite enjoyed. Ayushman Khurana did not play the most sympathetic character in Vicky Donor, nor did I love the film as others did, but I still liked him a lot. Was it just the dimples? Who knows, I just know I'll keep watching whatever he does next. Parineeti Chopra I already liked in last year's Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, but she was by far the best thing in this year's objectionable Ishaqzaade. I was really looking forward to the latter, and was so sad it took such an odd turn around the half-way mark, but it solidified my liking of Parineeti, and I will continue following what she does, for sure.

The Film That Should Win All The Awards, or: The Film of the Year: English Vinglish

It's not that tough a competition this year. This heart-warming gem just has it all: the rare well-written role for an older actress, an exciting comeback for one of the industry's brightest stars, a supremely likable international cast and quite a fun soundtrack to boot. Review here!

Most Favouritest Film This Year: Aiyyaa

As I said in my review, this film seemed happily tailor-made for film fans like myself, so of course I ate it like it was candy on ice cream cake, because it truly was that level of deliciousness. I suppose only time will how much I actually like this film, but based on rewatching the songs multiple times, it's definitely among my favourites.

And now, other categories...

Blandest Film: Ekk Main Aur Ek Tu ...no competition here.

Most Aggravating Film: Ishaqzaade. Siiiiigh.

Uncle Pyaar [phrase coined by Rum] Award, or What Am I To Do With You, Yaar? Award:  Saif Ali Khan, who I was disappointed in Agent Vinod, and whose other film, Cocktail, also did not look too enticing, what with romancing ladies nearly half his age (well, not really, but come on, he looks pretty old these days). And let's not even discuss his upcoming films .. Race 2? Ack! And yes, SRK was a strong contender for Uncle Pyaar as well, but hey, I just ignore JTHJ so..

Favourite Southie Discoveries of the Year: Ko, a supreme Tamil thriller starring Jiiva (cutie!) and a belated discovery of Raavanan and Why This Kolaveri Di. Also - Upendra!

Most Fun Filmi Meet-up: Watching Chor Sipahee at Memsaab's with Filmi Geek!

Best Retrospective Oldies Discovery: Young Kabir Bedi, who I saw in Kucche Dhaage.

Favourite Posts in Which I Invent Films: This one and this one.

The Film That Got It Wrong, and the Film That Got It Right: Over-ambition left Agent Vinod in the ditch while under-ambition means Ek Tha Tiger actually delivered what the audience wanted to see.

Most Gif-able Song Sequence in a Film Ever: Pinnilavu, with those Mammootty dance moves!

News At 11: I really like young Vinod Khanna, you guys. I also really like Abhay Deol, because reasons.


And that's about it from me for this year. What are some of your favourites, guys? Anything you'd really recommend I check out?

An imaginary look back on the Filmi Year 2013.

I think the year 2013 was never anticipated to be as special for Indian movies as it ended up being. I was certainly surprised, after 2012's batch of both good and bad films, for 2013 to be filled with such incredible and incredibly bizarre films! So it's good to recap, isn't it?

First off, I know I am not backed by many people on this, but I think the DDLJ sequel Dilwale Dulhania Phir Le Jayenge was actually one of the most brave, unconventional films of recent years. This is no RGV ka Aag, but nearly as classic as the original. Aditya Chopra's idea to have Raj and Simran (same names, nothing to do with the original characters) to be stuck together at the US border for days on end was a fascinating portrayal of the NRI community dealing with racism in the US. Kajol's performance as the tough-as-nails FBI agent just doing her job was absolutely something to witness, and her interactions with Raj, the journalist suspected of being a terrorist under a fake identity, painted a very complex picture of what it means to be a person of Indian descent in today's North America. The guest appearance by the famous cowbell was a special touch, but what really gets to you is the post-interval plot - where Raj discovers Simran's arranged marriage to a Hindu nationalist, set up by her US politician father, and decides to crash the wedding - for justice. How about that shoot-up on the mustard field? Brilliant.

A lot of people harped on this movie for its mutilation of the classic original, but to me this was the perfect case of something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Shahrukh and Kajol shine in these drastically re-written roles, and Aditya Chopra peels back the harmony of both the NRI experience and his idealistic Punjab imagery for a chance to really talk about something real. The romance takes the backseat, but I was in tears by the end all the same; the ending gave enough promise that these two might find happiness together. For that, DDPLJ is my movie of the year.

What didn't work as well was Dhoom 3. I was all set for a goofy good time and some action scenes, with Aamir as the villain, but some of the turns the story took were just too out there. While I appreciated holographic Guru Dutt for making an appearance, SPOILER - Katrina turning out to be just a clone of Aamir's villain character was a little disturbing to say the least. So what, was he romancing HIMSELF in the sexy picturization of The Thong Geet? Are you kidding me? Of course, some people claim that post-credits we get a clip where it turns out Aamir's clone was actually Salman's character, leading up to the next film in the series, but I won't believe it until I see it on the DVD!

Still, I've heard people praise Aamir's performance in this film, so maybe I just need to rewatch it. Another praised performance was of course Abhay Deol in the much discussed but not that widely seen dialogue-free art film Mere Ankhon / Me, also known as the "Abhay Deol stares at the camera for 4 hours" film. A lot of reviews just asked "why was this film made?" while I have a feeling I'll like it, so I'll ask - why wasn't this film made earlier?

On the Southie side, I hear good things about the Tamil Sridevi-Siddharth "switcharound" film Nee. Maybe it'll start a trend of older heroines with young heroes? I have some serious catching up to do..

My favourite comedy was definitely Akshay Kumar's Tere Liye Kuchh Bhi (I enjoy Akki's brainless comedies every now and then but this film was positively brainful!), but I really appreciated Sriram Raghavan's puzzlingly quickly-made tribute to modern cinema, the absolutely stellar, clever breaking-the-fourth-wall comedy, I Hate Imran Khan Luv Stories, in which Imran Khan meets himself from the future, chewing over his past and future career, its mistakes and how to fix them. Who would have guessed that Sonam Kapoor was so good at playing Imran Khan from the future? Some people thought this film was trying too hard, but I loved it.

Then there were some bad films, like Gooli Gooli Maar (why Abhishek, why?) and Emraan Hashmi's Teeen!!! (yes, three exclamation marks), which had the actor play three generations of characters, much like his character in The Dirty Picture. Whoever thought that was a genuinely good idea? And just when I was beginning to like Emraan! Vidya did great in her films this year, but that much is to be expected. Her and Madhavan teaming up again in Vishal Bhardwaj's short film Skirt about gender discrimination in the urban workplace was not flawless, but a good effort nonetheless.

As you can tell, I've still lots of films to watch, but out of this year's batch I'd recommend all of the films I've discussed - even the bad ones are special for the WTF factor! What did you love and hate in 2013? Is there anything I missed?

Filmi year 2011.

The blog! It lives! Kind of.

So 2011 was a very busy, engaging, interesting year for me in many respects. Not so interesting in terms of getting a bunch of films watched - in fact, I rather sucked at that. But perhaps I've also become defeatist - "catching up with Bollywood" has been on my "to-do" list for about 3 years now and my obsession doesn't show any signs of the sort of vitality it had going in 2009 or so.

But that doesn't mean it's the end for this blog or for Indian films and myself. Kya bakwaas! I think Indian films will always remain an interest, whether I watch a film every week or a couple a year, whether I visit my filmi forums or blogs regularly or not, whether I'm up on what's coming out and what's not. And I think it's time I accepted this more relaxed attitude and just went with the flow instead of stressing about not having seen this or that new release.

Still, looking at the Wikipedia article for Bollyfilms in 2011, you know, I did see most things. I loved Nobody Killed Jessica in January last year, I enjoyed 7 Khoon Maaf at the film festival in September, I watched smaller films like Chalo Dilli and Tanu Weds Manu, too. I dyed my hair in December and put on the blockbuster extravaganza of Bodyguard during it. I even watched a bunch of films that I'd missed from last year.

So what's up this year? Well, most things either underwhelmed me or disappointed me. I enjoyed NOKJ, and thought 7KM was good, though not as good as Bhardwaj's previous films. I understood the Salman entertainer value of Bodyguard, though I didn't entirely vibe with its megalomaniac success (it was fun but I doubt I'd rewatch it?). Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara, as previously reviewed, seemed to have everything going for it but I was still left disappointed. It should be the kind of feel-good friendship film I normally embrace - but I just simply didn't like it that much.

Another film I feel I should have enjoyed more than I did was Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, which I enjoyed for the songs and the secondary pairing, but just didn't really like on the whole. The characters, the plot, the constant filmi references (which I normally love!) just got a bit tiring.

Probably the best experience of the year was seeing Robot/Endhiran at the Helsinki International Film Festival - with the whistling and the catcalls, it was 10% of what it must be like to see a Rajni film in Tamil Nadu, but just that fact made the film immensely enjoyable.

There's still some left I want to see and might enjoy - Delhi Belly, Dum Maro Dum, Mausam, The Dirty Picture, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. So I look forward to watching those this year.

On the Southie side, I've neglected a lot of goings on with my favourites - Siddharth, Surya, Vikram to name the main names I look out for. I've heard bad things about Siddharth's latest output - big thanks to NewLaura on Twitter to always answering my questions about his latest releases! - and Vikram just doesn't seem to have put out anything that's reached DVD. I bought Raavanan on DVD last year but still haven't watched that. It's hard to be out of the loop, especially as I feel like I was never in the loop with Southie films to begin with, having such horribly limited access to them.

Weirdly enough, the film I probably enjoyed the most and rewatched the most, and one I really need to screencap and review properly for this blog was a DVD purchase made in the UK, the 2009 Tamanna-Surya film Ayan. It's just one of those all-around brilliant entertainers, good acting, good songs, great story. It hits all the buttons. So it's the one that made it instantly on my favourites list, unlike so many other titles I watched this year, regardless of the fact I got to it so late.

But enough about all that. How was your filmi year 2011? Anything you think I'd enjoy in particular? Any films that escaped everybody's attention that's worth checking out?

Filmi year 2009.

Stars of Kanthasamy, Vikram & Shriya.

Or, as I should better call it, the year out I missed out on a lot (a lot).

To be fair, I always do and I always will. There's no way for me to watch things in theaters, so I end up either going pirate or waiting for DVD release, and neither one is optimal for catching things when others are discussing them after their release. Sometimes I catch those initial discussions and end up deciding against seeing a film, and sometimes enough time passes that I become quite unexcited to see a film I was initially really psyched about. It doesn't even need to be everybody hating it that does it; sometimes it's simply that people who saw it seemed very lukewarm about it, and I tend to assume my reaction would also be really lukewarm.

Anyway, going through my blog for the past year, I noticed I've only really seen the following 2009 films:

99
Billu
Chandi Chowk to China
Kaminey
Kanthasamy
Wanted
Dil Bole Hadippa
Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam
Oy!

That's a total of nine Indian films. Nine! Even if I was peeling the cream de la creme, that is pretty bad. I'm technically watching three industries (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu), though admittedly I only stay on top of Hindi films and then handpick whatever my favourites are doing in the Southie industries, so the pool to choose from is wide. I should have seen more than nine films total.

I don't really feel comfortable making lists of any sort. Out of those nine, my biggest favourites were Kaminey (for pure quality and pleasure), Wanted (all my favourites huddled up in one awesomely action-packed entertainer!) and Kanthasamy (Vikram being deliciously Vikram-y). But still.

Nine films, yaar.

Off the top of my head, here's what I definitely plan on seeing in '10 in order to catch up a bit:

3 Idiots - Duhh. Love all three stars and Rajkumar Hirani promises good stuff.
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani - AAA's my favourite comedy film, nuff said.
Delhi-6 - I know I'll probably be disappointed but still.
Love Aaj Kaal - I dread there'll be a call coming through saying I'll have my Saif fangirl license revoked unless I see one of his latest releases. Make the effort, self.

Films I might end up seeing, but promise nothing:

Dev. D - Curious about this one.

Wake Up Sid - I know everybody and their mothers and aunts and neighbours' cats get excited just thinking about Ranbir Kapoor but I don't dig the guy (yet) and so I'm just enormously apathetic about everything he's in and people are all a-squee over this and I'm just like, "really? umm I guess I should but I dunno.." and this is becoming a problem.

Luck by Chance - You know, I began this, and I was like "oh it's all right" and then I read what people thought and it was like this huge cult of LbC and it was all "best thing ever!!!" and I've been apathetic about seeing it ever since. It's got Farhan, it's commenting on the industry itself.. Why am I so unenthusiastic? Weird, yaar.

13B - Maddy's done another Hindi film and I totally missed it! Shame self, shame.

Paa, Kurbaan, New York, Rocket Singh - Maybe? But all of them are pretty big maybies.

Well, that was all pretty dull. Let's just wing this one!

Biggest "This Lady is Awesome and Should Get Better Roles" Realization in '09 (For Me Personally, Obviously):
Lara Dutta. I think Billu and a rewatch of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom did it for me. Get with the times, Bollywood! She's foxy and charming and could do with better offers.

Biggest Reason I Really Should Leave The House More:
Spotting Priyanka Chopra on the cover of a Finnish women's magazine. Right under her chin the headline reads, "Safe love and how you can get it". I won't act like this is the height of fame but it cheered up my day.

Biggest "Bollywood Hits Western Consciousness" Moments:
Slumdog Millionaire's Bollywood-inspired dance sequence (clumsy but worthwhile) and ARR at the Oscars was a positive. Continuing Benny Lava-fever on the other continues to made me grumpy, this year I found a way to phrase why.

Most Fun Rewatches:
Andaz Apna Apna & later on, Khiladi. Proving nothing beats the 90's. Nothing. No, really.

Times Spent Wishing for a Time Machine:
A few. Mostly when rewatching Vinod Khanna films or at certain points of Chandi Chowk to China, because somebody really should've advised everybody against making that movie.

Times I Wrote A Plot Outline for a Film:
Only once, if you can believe it.

Times I Wrote A Pretty Serious Thinky-thoughts Post:
A number! Of course, depends on the parameters but there was.. Bollywood & queer representation, cultural appropriation problematizing etc, Chak De India & feminist thinkythoughts, more feminist blabber and Slumdog, Bollywood & "The West". Ain't that nutty.

Biggest "Stars are Just Like Us!" Realization:
Twitter taught me we all tweet boring crap sometimes. Even if we were India's only semi-legit rockstar (Vishal of Vishal-Shekhar), Amitabh's only son (Abhishek Bachchan) or an amazingly beautiful and talented actress (Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra), we would.

And that concludes my filmi year 2009. Have a great New Year, you guys. See you next year.

IFAC #8: Wayback machine to filmi year 2006.

Decided to shorten the title; I think everybody's pretty aware of my spamtastic December posting dealio.

This is a classification of 2006 films, taken from my livejournal. It was posted in late 2006, and represents my views back then - some might've changed but overall I pretty much feel the same way. Consider the context when reading!


Creme de la creme

Omkara
Lage Raho Munnabhai

Both films exceptionally clever, entertaining and worth rewatching (I've already re-watched both an unbelievable amount of times). These are my two top favourites of the year and both have those tiny little things I'd fix about them, they're still awesome cinema in my eyes. Omkara naturally more of the artistically ambitioned, drama-heavy type and LRM commercial comedy, but both have fantastic writing and directing behind them and top-notch performances.


OMG-worthy

Rang De Basanti - All around interesting, daring movie. Fantastic cast and soundtrack, plus no matter what you thought of the ending, it did leave its mark on the audience. Good writing, too - I connected with the characters pretty much instantly.

Being Cyrus - Had its share of flaws (no debutant director can make that great a film) but boy, was it good. I'm totally biased of course, as a fan of Saif and a fan of really odd, black comedy type of films, but all the same, this movie pretty much succeeded in what it was going for.


Jaan-e-Mann - Same as BC when it comes to debutant directors. Shirish Kunder might be a overcocky a-hole but JEM still brought something wonderful on the table. Fab soundtrack, hilarious moments, even good when it gets emotional. Severe flaws but still filled me with all kinds of glee; the parody and self-referential humor owns me.

Flawed but oh oh so dear to me

Fanaa - I think the hype killed this movie for many, which is sad, because when you love it, you just do it and all the bad stuff just seems unimportant. That is, they don't distract me from enjoying this movie. The fantastic performances and the grippingly angsty love story blew me away. It could be so much better, I'll admit, but I'll take it as it is, flawed and wonderful.

Good, enjoyable

Pyar Ke Side Effects - It's like Hollywood shipped their format of romantic comedy to Mumbai, when they realized they couldn't do anything with said format, and the Indians spun it into a fantastically entertaining little romantic film.

36 China Town - Mispromoted, funny film with a working cast, the least annoying Himesh soundtrack of the year. Convinced me that Shahid's okay, Kareena can be hilarious and that Akshaye Khanna can be smoking hot. Okay, the last one didn't need no proving but all the same. One minus remains Upen Patel.


Dhoom 2 - Abhithik hotness, hilarious stunts and Uday being a clown definitely made it a film worth seeing. The girls I could easily erase, except Bips on the second half maybe, and the soundtrack is madly catchy. Overall vapid as hell but still great fun.

Better luck next time!

Phir Hera Pheri - Hit all the right notes on the first half and all the wrong ones during the second. Not a bad sequel but still the worst of the lot.

Ankahee - Esha Deol's learning how to act! Yay! Sadly the movie is hopelessly boring on the second half.

Gangster - Style over substance. I liked parts of it, visually nice (I love 'em filters!) but still failed to impress. Damn catchy, though rip-off soundtrack, though.

Malamaal Weekly - Goddammit, Priyadarshan, can we stop with the copy game? This one provided a few laughs but the shameless copying takes away a lot of the fun in hindsight.

I'll pay you NOT to make any more movies

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna - I don't understand how a film can aggravate me so much. I really don't. Whatever positives there were, well, they didn't make it worth the annoying, dragging second half.

--

Thoughts now: Wow, I was strangely glued onto Bollywood in 2006! But then, it was all too easy to be, considering all the fantastic movies that came out then. I can't believe I saw Malamaal Weekly and the likes - what was I thinking? I remember being hugely opposed to the Don remake, and 'lo and behold, when I eventually saw it, I quite enjoyed it. Shows you how minds change with the times..

I still adore LRM, RDB and Omkara. Rewatches of Jaan-e-mann showed me that film doesn't really impact me as it did on the first watch. I am thankful for it, though, because it showed me how enjoyable I can find Akshay Kumar - this was I believe the first film what I loved him in. Seeing Fanaa again has shown me I still adore the film, if only for the incredible second half.

Been a long while since I last watched Being Cyrus. It's a good film, but not one to watch on a rainy day. Still, 2006 was perhaps the best year to be a Saif fan ...ever. Oh, the good old days..

The filmi year 2008.

I already said in the review for Rock On!! that it felt like 2008 was less of a year for Indian films than 2007. Each year I miss out on films that came out during that year, and weirdly enough, the films I missed out on in 2007 (such as Chak De India, Aaja Naachle and Bhool Bhulaiyaa) were some of the ones I enjoyed the most this year. So perhaps 2008 will also reveal some interesting flicks during 2009, but so far, having seen most of the big films of 2008, I feel rather unexcited.

Filmi Girl detailed her disappointments and favourites for the past year, but I'll lay out how the year was for me in a different format.

The Film That Should've But Wasn't: Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

I understand I am completely in the minority for this one. I guess it was hype overkill; all the praise showered onto the movie, its plot, "freshness" and its stars, you forget it's still a debutante film director and first films are rarely if ever flawless. I liked Imraan and the kind of youthful romance/friendship themes should be exactly just my thing but something fell short in Jaane Tu. I thought about it a lot and came to the conclusion that despite loving Genelia in Bommarillu, I wasn't into her character in this film at all. While I love the song "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi", the picturization of it pinpoints what turns me off about her character; she feels things so extremely and doesn't even try to get over the devastation of losing a pet, and so comes off as this generally high maitenance little lady. I just raised my eye brow like, "Geez, cheer up emo kid!".

The romance doesn't quite work, I suppose because we see them being friends and essentially already in love. When you fail to see the process of the relationship, sometimes you buy it, sometimes it makes you feel like you're missing out on something that would've made you more into the movie.

But I don't want to argue these points - if you liked the movie, I'm happy for you. Just trying to detail the reasons - more to myself than anybody else - of why I didn't like it, even though I was so sure I would!

Ladies And Gentlemen, We Have a Clear Loser: Race

In my initial review, I was almost happy to have seen Race, because it's sometimes nice to mock something so completely. But in retrospect, god, what a wasted opportunity. You have perfectly capable actors like Saif, Anil and Akshaye, and some okay-to-whatever actresses like Bipasha and Katrina and the only real offering of the movie are awkward songs with skintastic picturizations. Yawn. And yet, this one was a box office success! India, sometimes I just don't understand you...

Veracious Goes Against The Grain: Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic & Tashan

So I hated Race but the other two Saif films this year, yes, the ones that absolutely tanked in the box office, I quite liked! Thoda Pyaar was a saccharine sweet Disney film in Hindi but it worked, thanks to the sincerity of the director and the brilliance of Rani Mukherjee. Tashan on the other hand, flawed movie that could've been so much better, but also a fun action masala that proves why Akshay Kumar is one of the top stars in India and why Kareena Kapoor excels if you give her a good role.

Close But No Cigar: Dostana

I really enjoyed Dostana but it doesn't quite end up on the "oh em gee favouritest ever in the universe" list of films. It had flaws, but even more annoying, it had flaws that bugged me. The first half was a pretty damn good comedy, though, and I'll be getting it on DVD. The soundtrack is also my most-listened-to of the year.

Call Me a Groupie: Rock On!!

I don't have quite as clear a favourite this year as last year with Aata, a Telugu film I loved to pieces despite it's cheesiness. But if I had to pick one, it'd probably have to be Rock On!!, a fun film that I'll probably be rewatching a lot.

Missing Out on the Biggies: Bachna Ae Haseeno, Rab Ne Jodi.., Ghajini, Yuvraaj, U Me aur Hum..

It seems like the best films this year were the not-so-big, not-so-mainstream ones, but I definitely do want to see some of these big name movies. Maybe next year.

Film Experience of the Year: Jodhaa-Akbar

I saw this in the theaters thanks to being able to visit the UK in March and wow, what an experience. The most epic film of all time, surely, and the epicness was certainly over-whelming. It gets boring every now and again, but to make up for it, there's hot chemistry, intense romance and elephants. There are few things I love more than elephants. Did I mention .. elephants!

And a final plug to everybody and anybody visiting London:

Ayngaran Video
30 High Street Colliers Wood
London, SW19 2AB

Take the Jubilee Line (if I recall correctly) to Colliers Wood, follow the street you get on when you get out of the tube station, and find this shop. Ayngaran is the best releaser of Tamil DVD's and their London shop is full of offers, and a very nice helpful staff, brimming with movie recommendations. Highly recommended!

PS.

Navel-gazing ahead: Yeah, my blog was featured in the press a smidgeon this year. It was awkward, but also pretty cool. Here's the latest, on Filmfare October or November or whatever:


Thanks to Reema for the scan!

I might post before 2009, I might not. If not, have a great new year, guys!

Filmi year 2007.

Aata - my film of the year.

2007 was quite an interesting year in films for me. I felt like there was a dry season between the early months of the year and the final months of it. This meant a large portion of my year was destined to be quite Bollyless (or more correctly, Indian cinema-less). I blame the films I anticipated - Guru and Eklavya were both enormous letdowns, and while I liked the former to buy on DVD and should buy the latter for Saif collection, the combination of unexciting Bollywood and the discovery of something new in East-Asian entertainment made me completely abandon Bollywood for a while.

I did still watch movies - when Siddharth's 2006 hit Bommarillu finally got a DVD release, I rushed to watch it and ended up loving it. But that was on the Telugu side of things, of course, and for months the movie was the only Indian film I saw.

So what drew me back in? Ironically, it wasn't Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, though the film was one of my biggest favourites this year. It wasn't Life in a ..Metro, another 07 movie I saw during this period of unenthusiasm. It wasn't even the Dharmendra starrer oldie I watched, Mera Gaon Mera Desh aka Vinod Khanna Is the Gabbar Singh of Sexy. The movie that drew me back into Bollywood in 2007 was ... drumroll please ..

Ek Hasina Thi!


Quite randomly I decided to show another Indian film to my friend who was coming to town, and had seen select favourites of mine (ranging from Bunty aur Babli to Sholay). I considered my pick, then grabbed EHT and went my way. My friend was critical of the movie, unfairly so in my view, but more importantly, I enjoyed my umpteenth viewing of it. And when I returned home, I sort of sat down and asked myself, "Hey, why did you ever drop out of Bollywood happenings?"

I made a list of recent movies I ought to watch and rushed to see EHT director's new film, Johnny Gaddaar, starring some newbie and Dharmendra. I expected to see a lacking movie, thinking maybe Ek Hasina Thi had been a fluke but what I got was quite something else..

Johnny Gaddaar is deliciously clever, awesomely edited and unpredictable like you wouldn't believe. It's also violent and a tribute to the noir genre, which is also fantastic. A tale of deceit truly done right. You know who betrayed who from the get go, but the way the story is told makes the ride enjoyable. Here's my longer review on Livejournal (slight spoilers in the last half of it).

In 2007 I also made this blog, listed my Top 10 Indian actors and did a massive update to my guide to Bollywood for complete newbies.

My favourites this year, by the way, are the J-films; Jab We Met, Johnny Gaddaar, and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. The film I fell most in love with, though? Aata all the way.

And as always, the year doesn't feel quite over yet. I've yet to see a bunch of 07 biggies, from Chak De India! to Tara Zameen Par.

Oh well. Maybe this year.