Hindi cinema, with each passing year, is evolving and becoming better. Each year, filmmakers are raising the bar, bit by bit with some fabulous stories which are refreshing, real and simply delightful. More filmmakers are willing to step out of stereotypical story lines and narrate stories of all kinds.
The first half of 2015 saw an amazing number of filmmakers breaking the set formula of Bollywood commercial films. Some were heartwarming realistic, some were a tad outlandish yet hilarious and some just shook us with its grim reality. Here are the best films of 2015 so far, in no particular order.
Badlapur: Filmmaker Sriram Raghavan’s last outing on the big screen (Agent Vinod) received mix response. And the maker bounced back with dark, grim ‘Badlapur’ this year. The film, a typical revenge story with a little message in the end, also made Bollywood get up and take note of Varun Dhawan’s talent. The actor delivered a matured performance- a stark contrast from his usual films. The film also had superlative performance by Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Huma Qureshi.
Dum Laga Ke Haisha: Director Sharat Kataria’s delightful film not only transported us back to the era of 1990s but also delivered a real story about the Indian arranged marriage system. The film focused on an uncanny pair- who found love only after going through a pate of problems and differences. Newcomer Bhumi Pednekar delivered a superlative performance and managed to break the image of a typical Hindi film heroine. Ayushmann Khurrana once again proved that given good role, he can deliver. Varun Grover’s brilliant lines helped in making the film a delightful watch.
NH 10: Navdeep Singh’s road thriller had no ghosts in the story yet it made for a terrific horror thriller. So many moments in the film had the viewers biting the nails or grasping the next person’s hand out of sheer fright! The film also had Anushka Sharma delivering one of her career’s best performances. The actress, who was also the producer of the film, was the sole ‘star’ of the film and on whose frail yet sturdy shoulders the film rested throughout. Touching upon the grave topic of honour killing, the film rackled the consciousness of the viewers without being jingoistic.
Piku: When has a film on a father-daughter pair, with constipation being at its core, brought a smile on the viewer’s face so much? Never before perhaps until director Shoojit Sircar and writer Juhi Chaturvedi decided to give us the wonderful ‘Piku’. With a stellar star cast comprising of Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Deepika Padukone, Moushumi Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta, the film struck a chord with not only Bengalis but even others outside the community.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns: The film had some glaring faults but Anand L Rai’s audaciously hilarious film had everyone in splits. The star of the film Kangana Ranaut delivered yet another superlative performance as the bratty Tanu and also aced the role of her doppelganger Kusum Sangwan with an absolutely flawless Haryanvi accent. Some sharp dialogues, Deepak Dobriyal’s comic timing and R Madhavan’s restraint performance; the sequel of ‘Tanu Weds Manu ’ managed to win hearts of the one and all.
Special mentions: 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy' and 'Hunterrr'
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