Top 10 Hindi Movies of 2016 - Best Actor and Director Award goes to ....

Top 10 Hindi Movies for 2016 -

1. PINK - (Social) Drama (PG13) - For the message and effect it generates on audience. It had the right balance in entertainment and substance. Gone are the days when popular movies cannot have substance.
2. UMRIKA - Drama / Thriller (PG) - The small movie feel of the movie gives it a nod over others. It has a lot of relationships tied into a movie, there are no heroes or villains but life at it's best.
3. SAALA KHADOOS - Sports Drama (PG) - That's how a sports movie should make you feel. Very well written and acted.
4. KAPOOR AND SONS - Drama (PG) - The only 'wholesome entertainer' in this list. The movie has everything a big hindi film has + it does not compromise on content either.
5. UDTA PUNJAB - (Social) Drama (R) - Drug menace in Punjab beautifully meshed into 4 stories of love and struggle.
6. LAAL RANG - Romance (PG13)) - Hooda at his best. Blood bank underworld as a backdrop to a beautiful love story.
7. RAMAN RAGHAV 2.0 - Pschotic Thriller (R) - The twisted mind enthralls you until it is a movie.
8. ALIGARH - Documentary Drama (R) - Just watch Mr Manoj Bajpayee play a role of a Gay Professor in India.
9. KI&KA- (Social) Romance (G) - A Topic about what Ladki and Ladka can and cannot do. Both are trapped not one.
10. TALVAR -  Thriller Drama (PG13) - Our society, our justice system all stand exposed in what we already know, but what we don't know is .. how the victim feels.
11. Honorable Mentions - TE3N, NEERJA, NIL BATTEY SANATTA, RUSTOM.

Best Actor (Male) Award -

1. Manoj Bajpayee (Aligarh) - Manoj has memorable roles to his credit but this one was probably the biggest challenge for him. There are moments he is in the background sitting in a corner in the courtroom and taking a nap and all you can see is him in the scene. He is so immersed in the character it is hard to separate him from it. Also what a difficult character to play! Awesome job.
2. Sushant Singh Rajput (M.S. Dhoni) - Yes I have seen Dhoni for last 10 years but after the movie I see Sushant when I think Dhoni. He played Dhoni better than real Dhoni... If that is  a possibility. How good are today's kids? They are into their craft!
3. Nawazuddin Siddique (Raman Raghav 2.0) - Fact is - their could be no other Ramanna... no one who can do such a loathsome job. I was scared, irritated and amused at the same time by this portrayal of a psycho murderer! Obviously the script was with him and the director is a genius and hence I put him down to Number 3.
4. Randeep Hooda (Laal Rang) - I can't believe I am putting him that low. This guy lit up the screen and carried the movie all by himself. The rustic bad guy with a golden heart who is heart broken.... oh.. what a beautiful portrayal. I would not mind putting him at the top too. This year is awesome year for performances.
5. Amitabh Bachchan (Pink / Te3n) - When I do anything good I put this line - for a 40 year old I play cricket good. For a 40 year old I still am pretty active. What do you say about Bachchan? For a 70 year old the dude is awesome? No.... he is awesome without any disclaimer. That weird lawyer just added to my hatred of myself and my society on how we as a society developed. The Te3n character was also one difficult character played with flair.
6. Other honorable mentions - Shahid Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh (Udta Punjab), Vicky Kaushal (Raman Raghav 2.0), Rajkummar Rao (Aligarh), Shah Rukh Khan (Fan), Rajat Kapoor (Kapoor and Sons)

Best Actor (Female) Award -

1. Alia Bhatt (Udta Punjab) - Though admittedly the role was author backed and loaded with positives for her. Still the girl is early in her career and pulled it off pretty well. Just for working diligently on it, she gets the top honors.
2. Ritika Singh (Saala Khadoos) - Don't know where she came from, but she is packed with energy and talent. In this original sports movie of the year this girl was the heart and soul of it. A lot is similar between this movie and Dangal. Ritika ... I hope we see you again in a movie!
3. Tapsee Pannu (Pink) - You must have heard enough on her portrayal of a modern fragile strong fallible innocent girl... which is pretty much every body. We all are scared but want to standup to injustice but we are not saint ourselves. We don't need to be! to get modicum of justice and she does all that portrayal beautifully.
4. Anushka (Sultan) - Easily the best actor amongst the popular actresses, she has the screen presence rarely seen. She can light up any scene with her presence and not because of a dance number but just cuz she is a compelling watch.
5. Honorable Mentions - Hetal Gadda (Dhanak), Geetanjali Thapa (I.D), Deena Pathak (Kapoor and Sons)

Best Director Award -

1. Anirudh Roy Chawdhary (Pink) - The movie was bereft of drama but was still high drama. The girls did not need to be 'perfect' according to society, they did not need to be perfect temperamentally but still you root for them to get justice. all along beautifully directed. From 'Damini' to 'Pink' we have come a long way! .... well at least in movies. State of society ... this blog does not talk about.
2.  Meghna Gulzar (Talvar) - I think she maybe the only director who does what she does. She is in her own league, her movie has violence without any, in fact they are calm but intense calm.
3. Anurag Kashyap (Raman Raghav 2.0) - this blogger is biased towards a few people and Anurag is one of them. It was right up his ally ... this psychotic, tilted freak show... but still there is only one who can do this.

2016 Q4 (October to December) - Some good ones in second half but no 5 Star Movie.

2016 Q4 Top Performers -

Best Actors (Male) -

1. Randeep Hooda (Laal Rang)
2. Nawazuddin Siddique (Raman Raghav 2.0)
3. Vicky Kaushal (Raman Raghav 2.0)
4. Diljit Dosanjh (Udta Punjab)
5. Shahid Kapoor (Udta Punjab)

Best Actors (Female) -

1. Alia Bhatt (Udta Punjab)
2. Hetal Gadda (Dhanak)

Best Director -

1.  Anurag Kashyap (Raman Raghav 2.0)

Worst of the Quarter -

1. Ashutosh Gowarikar (Mohanjodaro)

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Akira - 3.5 Stars - PG13

Director - AR Murugadoss.

Actors - Sonakshi Sinha, Konkana Sharma.

Trailer - Akira

Sonakshi is the Hero in this action flick. I mean literally she is the 'hero', no not because she is the main protagonist in the movie, but there is nothing female about her in this one. If you would have replaced a 'guy' to do the role - you may not have needed much to change in this movie. My 'pet peeve' about hindi movies is when they have these 'mental asylum' scenes where they make mental health a huge joke... and that's what the director does in this one. Dude .. you are showing your age, stop doing it. Anyway.. the movie is pretty good in pace but hey! heroine not taking a male's support but doing it all by herself! that is some novelty! Tough Novelty or blowing soul into the movie is something Mr Murugadoss always lacks. So this is a huge upgrade! And Yes... it has Mr Anurag Kashyap as the villain so that probably makes a difference!

Umrika - 4.5 Stars (NETFLIX) - PG

Director - Prashant Nair

Actors - Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Prateik Babbar.

Trailer - Umrika

Beautiful movie in the genre I call - Life. This is on Netflix and sometimes you find gems sifting through that endless movie sand called - Netflix. You gotta give it sometime, a poverty stricken village's boy goes to Umrika (America) and so starts the journey of 2 brothers that shape them. Parents, siblings, love, hate, motherly love and big bad world. Everything in one movie, it is life as you live through it. No one is a villain or a Hero it is life and it is beautiful.

Kabali - 1.0 Stars - G (YouTube)

Director - Pa Ranjith.

Actors - Rajnikanth, Radhika Apte.

Trailer - Kabali
 

The movie dubbed in Hindi already loses all the punch of the dialogues that another language wants to convey. Though there has been no attempt in dubbing it good, but the fact is the movie itself has nothing in it. Cashing on Rajnikanth's star power makes film maker just make him rerun familiar scenes from his earlier work. Well.. who am I talking to? If you are a fan, you are. All I am saying is you don't need to watch the 'hindi' dubbed version. It seems like a 80s movie with the familiar theme of superhuman hero Vs an evil villain.

Mohanjodaro - 1 Star - G

Director - Ashutosh Gowariker.

Actors - Hrithik Roshan, Pooja Hegde.
 

Trailer - Mohan Jodaro
 

After Jodha Akbar you start expecting from Gowarikar. This one is a huge let down. First the challenge of showing an era before Christ is in itself a huge challenge. You don't feel like you are in that era, just something is missing. Especially Hrithik and the girl (Pooja Hegde). They look like they are from 2016 Mumbai! Also when your film's only novelty is showing that era, and that itself is not believable, it is not good. The story is pretty much mishmash of all 80s / 90s movies - a typical love story and a typical 'zamindaar' type villain. If that is what was happening in B.C. era, why to make a film about it? Yea.. there are some history lessons showing demise of Mohanjodaro and harrappa civilization but that probably is incorrect too.

Laal Rang - 4.0 Stars - PG13

 

Director - Syed Ahmad Afzal
Actors - Randeep Hooda, Piaa Bajpai, Akshay Oberoi.

Trailer - Laal Rang

Randeep Hooda is one badass dude! the guy is modern Bachchan. He has some swag.... this is about Hooda's screen presence. This role is tailor made for him, based in Haryana with heavy harvanyi accent Hooda is at his best. With the backdrop of Blood donation smuggling in small towns. It is hilarious at times and sad at others. Songs are outstanding folksy kind, check out - Kharch Karod, Bhang Ragad. Above all it is a beautiful love story or 2. Some dialogues are beautiful that you want to hit the rewind and play again. It is a small movie so if you are into watching small budget movies and love the earthy feel to the movies, those that take you to real streets of Haryana.... then go for it.

Madaari - 3.5 Stars - PG
Director - Nishikant Kamat.
Actors - Irrfan Khan, Jimmy Shergill.

Trailer - Madaari
 

Similar theme has been depicted many times in near past, where a common man wants to get back at the corrupt system in a novel way. Irrfan is the common man who has kidnapped a Politician's son. He does not treat the son like a typical Kidnapper... why? why did he kidnap? what is his plan? To know the answer - go to your nearest pirated stuff illegal website and check it out.

Dishoom - 1.0 Stars. - G
Director - Rohit Dhawan.
Actors - John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez

Trailer - Dishoom
 

Someone tell John Ibrahim to stop taking drugs or whatever he is doing to look like an alien. In fact this is a public service announcement for every Actor in Hindi films - Please stop becoming over buffed He-Man. You all are definitely not representing us on the screen, maybe you all think it is a must to have all these muscles, are you all from Jupiter? Anyway... back to the movie - it is one of those movies that are my 'pet peeve' about movies. This is the movie which is made by someone who says - let's make 'that' kinda movie... where there is one badass cop and the other hero is a comedian sidekick and they go all over a foreign locale... yes let's do it. Don't watch it. John is worst actor than I am an Engineer... what else can I say?

Rustom - 4.0 Stars. - PG

Director - Tinu Suresh Desai.
Actors - Akshay Kumar, Illeana D Cruz.

Trailer - Rustom
 

Akshay Kumar probably will go down as the greatest Soldier in hindi film industry. Every other movie he is a righteous cop or a soldier. This one paints a bygone era, I think of 50s? I am not sure, but it is pretty well done. The righteous Navy Soldier comes home to find his wife cheating on him and he kills the guy who was having an affair with his wife.... or did he? Pretty good thriller where it really looks like an open and shut case ... but then things start happening. Good one.

Raman Raghav 2.0 - 4.0 Stars.(NETFLIX) - R

Director - Anurag Kashyap.
Actors - Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal.

Trailer - Raman Raghav 2.0
 

The movie has signature of the indomitable Anurag Kashyap. This is one guy who makes a movie for the sake of love of making a movie. Raman it seems was a brutal 60s killer, this is a psychological thriller that is true to it's genre. Every Raman needs a Raghav and vice versa. Raman is Siddique and Raghavan is this new cool dude Vicky Kaushal. Raghavan is the cop after Raman the killer, or is it that simple? Look closer and they may even look similar... is there a difference? Just sit back and enjoy the ride till the end, oh ... Mr Kashyap stay weird! Another awesome job by Siddique and the new guy Vicky.
 

Udta Punjab - 4.5 Stars - R

Director - Abhishek Chaubey.
Actors - Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh, Alia Bhatt.

Trailer - Udta Punjab
 

Much talked about movie and it deserves the talk. Apparently Punjab is engulfed in web of drugs and the first half is more of a documentary that establishes this fact about drug menace in Punjab. But somewhere along the lines the movie takes off, the actors fly with it and take it to another level. Absolutely brilliant performances by Diljit Dosanjh, Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt makes it a must see. Shahid probably had a very difficult balance to achieve, and he is awesome. Beautifully knit this story.

Mr X - 2.5 Stars - G

Director - Vikram Bhatt
Actors - Emraan Hashmi, Shagufta Rafique.

Trailer - Mr X
 

You can call me X.... there is a song in this movie that goes like this. It is one of those movies that is unintended comedy. It is about a guy who is forced to do wrong and in the process becomes invisible. There are dialogues like - (looking under a microscope and seeing microbes) oh god, his skin and jacket has dissolved and now jacket cannot come off, but the radiations have done something wrong. The guy disappears and can only be seen in sunlight! Just watch it if you find it. it our bankable trusted Emraan Hashmi who is I guess forced to do a in-family movie. Uncle Vikram Batt has completely lost it. There are some scenes that make you wonder... what the heck! - If your Boy Friend is missing and presumed dead and he shows up one day and you can't see him most of the times - what is the first question you ask? the girl never asks him... how the heck are you invisble! she doesn't care! she is going on about how he does not love her and shit! OK another one - if you figured that there are 3 villians and one works right with your girl friend... why will you go and tell the names of the 2 villians that don't pose a threat to your girl friend but withhold the name that will???

Dhanak - 3.5 Stars (NETFLIX) - G

Director - Nagesh Kukunoor.
Actors - Hetal Gadda, Krishh Chhabria.

Trailer - Dhanak
 

I got sad watching the movie about a brother sister. Brother is blind because of malnutrition and Sister is the adoring sis who is all out to make sure the brother is well taken care of. set in a village backdrop... I just can't see kids in a bad spot in life. I will someday complete it.

One in a Billion - 3.5 Stars (NETFLIX) - G

Director - Roman Gackowski
Actors - Satnam Singh Bhamara.

Trailer - One in a Billion
 

Satnam Singh Bhamara is the first Indian born player to get into NBA draft. He got in dead last in last year's draft. I just started this Netflix documentary thinking I will watch for a few minutes and ended up watching the entire thing. This Bhamara guy is from a village in Punjab with no trace of education or English. NBA just got hold of him and trained him in every aspect. the dude is 7'2. Watch it if you have some time to kill.