Click to play videoWhat a year it's been! A real mixed bag at the movies, what with some big disappointments and some truly marvellous gems. As is tradition now, each year I pick my five favourite films and the five films I hated the most -- The Hits and Pits of 2008. They're personal choices all, these are the films that made me smile and sulk. Irrespective of their box-office performance or the reviews they received, they played a lot on my mind -- either for the joy they gave me or for the pain I suffered on their account.
Hits of 2008
Mithya: A deliciously complex black comedy about a struggling actor who gets inadvertently involved with the underworld, Mithya revealed each of its many layers slowly but assuredly. Humorous and sombre in equal measures, the film's held together by an ingenious screenplay with more twists and turns than you could ever imagine. And it's topped off with a career-best performance by Ranvir Shorey who goes from funny to heart-breaking, from confused to pitiable in a matter of moments.
Jodhaa Akbar: It promised a spectacle and delivered no less. But at the core of this epic was an untold love story that revealed how a reluctant warrior Jalaluddin turned into the brave, humane emperor Akbar. Magnificently directed, it transported you from the battlefield and the Mughal court, right into the mind and heart of Akbar. The film's length may have been daunting, but it worked like a dream when it focused on the couple's relationship. Aishwarya was wonderfully restrained, and Hrithik went under the emotional skin of his character. To me, Jodhaa Akbar remains a modern masterpiece.
Rock On: A standard coming-of-age drama about a group of friends and their band, Rock On was engaging despite all its clichés thanks to a bunch of wonderful little moments. Farhan Akhtar's infectious charm, Arjun Rampal's earnest performance and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's breezy soundtrack made it an immensely watchable film even if you all along knew exactly what was going to happen next.
A Wednesday: A provocative film with a message that's relevant, yet disturbing and dangerous, A Wednesday was a compelling response to our terror-filled times. An unnamed caller threatens to blow up the city unless the police releases four terrorists. Even as the cops race against time to stop him in his tracks, an unexpected twist catches them off guard. A taut thriller, held up by a superlative performance by Naseeruddin Shah, "A Wednesday" made me want to stand up and applaud.
Welcome To Sajjanpur: A bittersweet tale of human frailties, Welcome To Sajjanpur painted a humorous portrait of life in a small Indian village. As the local literate who earns a living writing letters for those who can't read and write themselves, Shreyas Talpade delivered one of the year's finest performances in this ensemble piece that is without doubt my most favourite film of 2008.
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Pits of 2008
Tashan: Wildly unpredictable - but not in a good way - Tashan was a plot-less misadventure that felt more like a series of gimmicks strung together. Akshay, Saif and Kareena in blond wigs cavorting in a desert, action scenes involving shaolin monks and a water scooter in a dirty naala, Anil Kapoor's incomprehensible Hinglish dialogue, and a separated-since-childhood back-story - over-indulgent and excessive, the film killed me 24 frames per second.
Love Story 2050: A hare-brained romantic saga set 40 years in the future, Love Story 2050 used half-decent special effects and very little imagination to deliver a plodding, predictable plot with a passionless romance at its core. Priyanka Chopra had more chemistry with her teddy-bear sidekick than she did with leading man Harman Baweja, who was too busy modeling himself after Hrithik Roshan to notice that even the robots performed better than him. The future had never looked this bleak.
Mission Istanbul: A senseless B-grade action film in the guise of a smart thriller about international terrorism, Mission Istanbul made shawarma out of my brains with its ludicrous plot about the link between a dodgy news baron, a daredevil news-reporter and a mysterious well-wisher. Between Vivek Oberoi's constant smirking, Sunil Shetty's incoherent mumbling and Zayed Khan's slap-in-the-face bad acting, surviving this film became Mission Impossible.
Drona: Mythological mumbo-jumbo, Drona was all rona about a warrior prince who had to save the world from a puppet-obsessed villain. With a dull- as-death screenplay and characters that were singularly unlikeable, Drona was a fantasy film without an iota of fun. Abhishek Bachchan played the grumpiest super-hero in history, and it was the audience after all - not Drona's mother - who had turned into statues when the saga finally ended.
Yuvvraaj: Too much singing, too much shouting, and very little sense, Yuvvraaj packed in 80s melodrama and emotional overdose into a stereotypical story about sparring siblings. Salman sleepwalked through his scenes again, Zayed didn't so much as deliver one line convincingly, and Anil Kapoor hammed it up as the autistic brother - not even Rahman's score could keep me from yawning through this doomed drama.
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