Movies that took Hindi Movies to the next level in the last Decade.
Just a list of the movies that I believe have changed the way Bollywood tells it's stories, and treats it's subjects.
List is in no particular order.
List is in no particular order.
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- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsAjay DevgnMohanlalManisha KoiralaA small-time gangster named Chandu teams up with Malik, a low-level enforcer for a criminal syndicate. Together they eliminate all their enemies, becoming the most feared gangsters in Mumbai.Company is believed to be an almost true-story based depiction of the D-Company split between Mumbai crime lords Dawood Ibrahim and Chotta Rajan. Company is India's best offering in the crime genre. While Satya shows the consequences of joining crime, Company shows how crime works. It's a dirty business hidden under false moral codes that ultimately don't exist because the only aim of criminals is profit.
- DirectorNagesh KukunoorStarsNaseeruddin ShahJackie ShroffJuhi ChawlaThe story of a documentary movie-maker who films the reformation story of three hardened criminals within the prison walls - and in the process, finds redemption in her own life.A story that is nevertheless unusual and gripping. But you may not really agree with the way it ends. Touches of irony, in an otherwise grim situation, give this film its element of faint chuckles.
- DirectorVishal BhardwajStarsIrrfan KhanTabuPankaj KapurThe intrigue of the Shakespearean tragedy 'Macbeth' is transposed to the Mumbai underworld.The movie is based on Macbeth; and oh does it stay faithful to the story. For setting, Vishal trades the Lord & Lady for 'Bhai' (Gangster) and Mistress in today's Mumbai underworld complete with corrupt cops, loads of handguns and conniving politicians. Give Vishal Bharadwaj a solid pat on the back, and sit back waiting for his next movie. This man seethes brilliance in his film-making. His dialogues, his script, his music, and his direction - all are top-notch.
- DirectorSudhir MishraStarsKay Kay MenonShiney AhujaChitrangda SinghSet in the backdrop of Indian Emergency 1975, the story revolves around 3 friends whose lives changes drastically after the turn of events.Technically, the movie is very good, with nice camera work and precise scissors of the editor. Some scenes are breathtaking in their beauty. Dialogues are sometimes difficult to understand, but that ends up adding to the over all tension of the movie. A must watch for any lover of good cinema!
- DirectorMani RatnamStarsAjay DevgnAbhishek BachchanRani MukerjiMichael, Arjun and Lallan, three men from three different strata of society, cross paths one morning in Calcutta and change one another's lives forever.Sure it isn't perfect, and not near most of Ratnam's tamil movies, but it is definitely worth watching. The story is about 3 young men who come from vastly different backgrounds and schools of thought. One incident on a bridge brings them together, changing their fates forever.
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsKay Kay MenonPawan MalhotraAditya SrivastavA film about the investigations following the 1993 serial Bombay bomb blasts, told through the different stories of the people involved --police, conspirators, victims, middlemen.It's powerful, pointed and hard-hitting cinema that needs to be seen. Not for entertainment, but for soch-vichar. And no, let's have no state, city, town, village, panchayat, self-appointed moral-political custodian acting as a super censor, this time please.
- DirectorSriram RaghavanStarsSaif Ali KhanUrmila MatondkarSeema BiswasA woman falls for a charming and mysterious businessman. The whirlwind romance turns sour when she is framed for his underworld crimes. Now, finally out of prison she is ready for sweet revenge.Ek Hasina Thi is a wonderful film. It is interesting, realistic, thrilling, gripping, and successfully adopts the style of Ram Gopal Varma's film-making. The development of this thriller is well done; it is a simple romance at first, and later it is gradually filled out with great suspense and shocking proceedings.
- DirectorShimit AminStarsNana PatekarRevathiYashpal SharmaSadhu, an encounter specialist, is armed with a personal vendetta to find and kill the gangsters responsible for his wife's death.As events unfold, Ab Tak Chhappan takes us through the daily routine of encounter specialist Sadhu Agashe, whose tally of staged encounter killings stands at 56. To Amin's credit he never resorts to the bar-girled clichés and highly oratorical fare that surround most Bollywood cop films.
- DirectorAshutosh GowarikerStarsShah Rukh KhanGayatri JoshiKishori BallalA successful Indian scientist returns to an Indian village to take his nanny to America with him and in the process rediscovers his roots.An insight on the problems of India whose underdeveloped part is somehow or other responsible for itself for the underdevelopment. The social jinx in the rural India which should have been broken long before are now hampering the progress of the villages. Swades hits you where your heart hurts the most; patriotic and root feelings of an individual with good intentions overcoming societal obstacle. It's brilliant, heartfelt and touching. The 'We, People' film really makes us feel like it's our film. We see in the film what we see everyday, the places as they are. It's very much contemporary and it's our story.
- DirectorNagesh KukunoorStarsShreyas TalpadeNaseeruddin ShahShweta Basu PrasadIqbal, the deaf and mute son of a farmer, has a passion for the game of cricket and seeks the tutelage of a washed-up, alcoholic ex-player.Iqbal brings a smile to the face and a tear to the eye and a lump to the throat and a racing of the heartbeat in slight twist and sweet turn and more than makes up for the time and money it takes to invest in watching a film - much more than that.
- DirectorJahnu BaruaStarsAnupam KherUrmila MatondkarParvin DabasAn ordinary man is struggling with the onset of Alzheimer's. His daughter fights to save her father from a descent into dementia, and to tries to understand the strange guilt that haunts him - that he is responsible for Gandhi's death.Subtlety is rarely seen in Hindi movies. Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara has plenty of it. The humor, the score, the acting and the story, all come together to make this wonderfully understated film. Yet this movie shows so much depth and understanding of human nature that its able to elicit from the viewer, genuine regard for its characters.
- DirectorHomi AdajaniaStarsNaseeruddin ShahDimple KapadiaSaif Ali Khan"Being Cyrus" is a dark, comedic venture by the debutante director Homi Adajania that spins around the Sethnas - a Parsi family.For a directorial debut, Homi Adajania's work is commendable and one wonders how he managed to clinch such a stellar cast on his initiation. He has shown his versatility in comedy and drama scenes as well as evocative dream sequences. Considering how unpredictable the plot is, it has been stitched together well.
- DirectorVishal BhardwajStarsPankaj KapurShreya SharmaDeepak DobriyalIn a small village when a little girl's prescious umbrella is stolen, things goes wrong for a greedy tea seller who was very much interested in buying that umbrella from her.Nothing can make you smile like a fable.
Well, then, consider Blue Umbrella a fable in it's own idyllic setting. - DirectorRakeysh Omprakash MehraStarsAamir KhanSoha Ali KhanSiddharthThe story of six young Indians who assist an English woman to film a documentary on the freedom fighters from their past, and the events that lead them to relive the long-forgotten saga of freedom.Successfully weaving historical facts with contemporary themes and characters, it's thanks to Mehra's smart writing and direction that you are instantly drawn into Rang De Basanti's absorbing plot, which flits smoothly from past to present. Accomplished and universally appealing, this is the way Bollywood films should be made.
- DirectorDibakar BanerjeePravin E. BirjeStarsAnupam KherBoman IraniParvin DabasA Delhi-based retired middle-class man tries half-heartedly to get his land back from a swindling property dealer with the help of his sons and their friends.The only inspiration that the film derives is from real life. The semi-autobiographical script by Jaideep Sahni is original, amazing and entertaining. Debutante director Dibakar Bannerjee extracts fine performances from every member of the cast and never lets anybody go overboard or under-act. The comic timing of the characters is simply flawless.
- DirectorShimit AminStarsShah Rukh KhanVidya MalvadeSagarika GhatgeKabir Khan, the coach of the Indian Women's National Hockey Team, dreams of making his all-girls team emerge victorious against all odds.The movie should stand out because of the delicate balance it creates between the excitement of the game and the emotions of the players. The problems faced by the national sport of the game, the apathy shown by their own association is well displayed and one earnestly hopes that the film does bring in more audience for the game.
- DirectorAamir KhanAmole GupteStarsDarsheel SafaryAamir KhanTisca ChopraAn eight-year-old boy is thought to be a lazy trouble-maker, until the new art teacher has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind his struggles in school.TZP is not just a movie about kids, it's a movie about life, society and yourself as a personality. The story moves you, into nostalgic days of your childhood when you were forced and pressured by your parents or teachers, into the world of a child who is ill-treated an misunderstood, into the hard truths of our society were failure is looked down on. The film is sure to touch the lives of anybody and everybody who watches it.
- DirectorBhavna TalwarStarsPankaj KapurSupriya PathakPankaj TripathiWhen a priest's wife brings home an orphan boy, her husband is against it. Over time, he develops a connection with him, but is shocked when he finds out the boy's religion.Dharm is not an ordinary film. Its power lies in the fact that it gives us a progressive interpretation of religion, straight from the head pontiff who has pursued a life of unwavering religiosity. Brilliant photography, a very good soundtrack and a top class performance from Pankaj Kapoor.
- DirectorAnurag BasuStarsDharmendraGautam KapurIrrfan KhanSix different stories, about nine people, each with different issues and problems, all occurring within one place: the METRO.Life in a Metro is not without it's flaws, but it is interesting and has many great moments of moving drama and funny comedy. The film will be mainly memorable in years to come for its portrayal of the big city, its music and above all, it's performances, which make it an altogether worthy picture.
- DirectorNavdeep SinghStarsAbhay DeolGul PanagRaima SenManorama, wife of an irrigation minister, tasks Satyaveer to find if her husband is cheating. As Satyaveer starts investigating, he gets trapped in a web of lies and must uncover the entire truth.Inspired from Roman Polanski's movie 'Chinatown', 'Manorama Six Feet Under' is a film for those who like unconventional cinema. At times bizarre, at times fascinating, the movie is arguably the first of it's kind in offbeat Hindi cinema.
- DirectorRaj Kumar GuptaStarsRajeev KhandelwalMukesh AgrohariSupavitra BabulA doctor of Indian origin returning to Mumbai from London is forced to participate in a terrorist plot.For a first time director, Raj Kumar Gupta surely treads a risky path as he tackles a burning issue in India head on. He enforces the ideologies that are so often taken for granted and makes the protagonist finally attempt the perfect antithesis of terror and a terrorist.
- DirectorNeeraj PandeyStarsAnupam KherNaseeruddin ShahVeerendra SaxenaA retiring police officer reminisces about the most astounding day of his career. About a case that was never filed but continues to haunt him in his memories - the case of a man and a Wednesday.Like many other films made recently, this one is different from the typical Hindi masala flicks (nothing against them, I think they're wonderful), there are no songs, there is no combination of different genres in one film, it is not a three-hour film. It's a simple, small film, yet it succeeds to depict an entire world in this limited time.
- DirectorDibakar BanerjeeStarsAbhay DeolParesh RawalNitu ChandraLovinder Singh, a thief now in custody and facing trial, reflects on his life of crime while the press reflect on how he managed to get away with so much before being arrested.Stylish, Witty, and Entertaining, this film is a must watch for all the people out there who have been suffering brain damage at the hands of leading Bollywood formulaic directors, for years.
- DirectorNishikant KamatStarsParesh RawalKay Kay MenonIrrfan KhanA moving portrayal of the 2006 train bombings in Mumbai, this Indian drama follows the interconnected stories of several strangers.Though the theme is primarily morbid, the film is extremely positive and non judgemental, and subtly makes its point. There are plenty of highly charged scenes that move you to tears or just shake you, but the triumph of the human spirit is simultaneously comforting.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsShreyas TalpadeAmrita RaoRavi KishanAn educated man spends his days writing letters for the varied inhabitants of his small, poor, and illiterate village, in this political and social satire.It's simple, uncomplicated storytelling that leaves a smile on your face.