SOME OF MY FAVOURITE BOLLYWOOD FILMS
This is my personal choice of some of the modern Bollywood films. The are not in any sort of order.
Maqbool (2004)
Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
A marvellous adaptation of Macbeth. The cast is superb. The acting is probably the best in a decade. Pankaj Kapoor, one of India's finest all-time actors, is perfect as the don. But the film is named after, and revolves around, the don's protege Maqbool. Irfan Khan lives the role.
Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri do a terrific job as the two witches - adapted here as two corrupt to the bone, sly, street-smart policemen with uncanny survival skills. Not a sentence is out of place through the movie. Tabu matches Irfan scene for scene.
Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
The only sequel I can think of in Hindi cinema that is better than the first instalment. Sanjay Dutt plays the central character Munna Bhai, a vagabond with a heart of gold. It is one of his few performances that may be counted among the best. Arshad Warsi is brilliant as Dutt's go-to buddy.
Boman Irani is top class, again, as a property dealer with the heart of a mercenary. And there are many others you'd want to see in this film. But the clincher is Dilip Prabhavalkar in the best Indian portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi.
This movie is singularly responsible for bringing Gandhi to life just when India had virtually forgotten about its father.
3 Idiots (2009)
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Two friends are searching for their long lost companion. They revisit their college days and recall the memories of their friend who inspired them to think differently, even as the rest of the world called them "idiots". This is also an indictment of the Indian educational system.
Stars: Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Mona Singh, Sharman Joshi
Taare Zameen Par (2007)
Director: Aamir Khan
An eight-year-old boy is thought to be lazy and a trouble-maker, until the new art teacher has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind his struggles in school. (165 mins.)
Stars: Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tanay Chheda, Sachet Engineer
Rang De Basanti (2006)
Director: Rakesh Omprakash Mehra
The story of six young Indians who assist an English Woman to film a documentary on the extremist freedom fighters from their past, and the events that lead them to relive the long forgotten saga of freedom. (157 mins.)
Stars: Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi
Barfi (2012)
Director: Anurag Basu
Three young people learn that love can neither be defined nor contained by society's norms of normal and abnormal. Moving and funny film.(151 mins.)
Stars: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ileana, Saurabh Shukla
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers. (224 mins.)
Stars: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne
Kahaani (2012)
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
A pregnant woman's search for her missing husband takes her from London to Kolkata, but everyone she questions denies having ever met her husband. (122 mins.)
Stars: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Saswata
Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
Director: Farhan Akhtar
Three inseparable childhood friends are just out of college. Nothing comes between them - until they each fall in love, and their wildly different approaches to relationships creates tension. (183 mins.)
Stars: Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta
Black (2005)
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
The cathartic tale of a deaf, mute and blind girl, and her teacher who brings a ray of light into her world of BLACK. Most of it is in English. (122 mins.)
Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherji, Shernaz Patel, Ayesha Kapoor
Company (2002)
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
A slumdog 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 before jealousy and anger turn them against each other. (155 mins.) The film has very few overt violent scenes but still manages to be menacing.
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Mohanlal, Manisha Koirala, Seema Biswas
English Vinglish (2012)
Director: Gauri Shinde
A quiet, sweet tempered housewife (Sridevi) endures small slights from her well-educated husband and daughter every day because of her inability to speak and understand English. (134 mins.)
Stars: Sridevi, Adil Hussain, Mehdi Nebbou, Priya Anand
Ab Tak Chhappan (2004)
Director: Shimit Amin
An honest cop named Sadhu Agashe makes a name for himself by killing criminals in sting operations instead of locking them up in prison... (129 mins.)
Stars: Nana Patekar, Revathy, Yashpal Sharma, Mohan Agashe
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008)
Director: Abbas Tyrewala
Two best friends being convinced that they are not in love search for each other's love. An amusing and light-hearted story. (155 mins.)
Stars: Imran Khan, Genelia D'Souza, Manjari Phadnis, Ayaz Khan
Pinjar (2003)
Director: Dr Chandra Prakash Dwivedi
In the days leading up to Partition, a Hindu woman is abducted by a Muslim man. Soon, she finds herself not only forced into marriage, but living in a new country as the borders between India and Pakistan are drawn. Very powerful and moving film. (188 mins.)
Stars: Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee, Sanjay Suri, Sandali Sinha
Delhi Belly (2011)
Director: Abhinay Deo, Akshat Verma
Three struggling room-mates unknowingly become potential prey of a ruthless gangster. Very funny! (103 mins.)
Stars: Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Shenaz Treasury
Sarkar (2005)
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
The authority of a man, who runs a parallel government in Mumbai, is challenged. His son rises to face his enemies. (124 mins.)
Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon, Supriya Pathak
Baghban (2003)
Director: Ravi Chopra
An elderly couple wish their children to care for them in their old age. But their children see and treat them as a burden, and they must struggle to regain their worth and dignity to themselves and others. (181 mins.)
Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Aman Verma, Samir Soni
Talaash (2012)
Director: Reema Kagti
A cop, investigating the mysterious death of a film star, meets a sex-worker, while he faces some personal problems psychologically. The mystery connects these people in a way that ultimately changes their lives. (140 mins.)
Stars: Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Rajkummar Rao
Dhobi Ghat (2010)
Director: Kiran Rao
The lives of four people intersect in Mumbai: a washer-man who wants to become an actor, a banker-turned-photographer, a painter looking for inspiration, and a newly-married immigrant who journals her experiences on home video. (100 mins.)
Stars: Prateik, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Aamir Khan
Fanaa (2006)
Director: Kunal Kohli
Set in Delhi and the Kashmir Valley, a blind woman falls in love with a rakish tour guide who hides a terrible secret... (168 mins.)
Stars: Aamir Khan, Kajol, Rishi Kapoor, Tabu
Ghajini (2008)
Director: A.R. Murugadoss
A short-term memory loss patient sets out on his journey to avenge the death of his girlfriend (183 mins.)
Stars: Aamir Khan, Asin, Jiah Khan, Tinnu Anand
Awarapan (2007)
Director: Mohit Suri
Brought up by a gangster named Bharat Malik, Shivam Pandit lives a faithless and reckless lifestyle... (126 mins.)
Stars: Salil Acharya, Emraan Hashmi, J. Brandon Hill, Rehan Khan
Bluffmaster (2005)
Director: Rohan Sippy
A conman Roy, gets dumped by his girl-friend. Then he finds out he has a fatal disease. On the verge of death, he resolves to do some good, by helping his apprentice Dittu hoodwink the mobster who hurt his (Dittu's) family. Amusing story. (137 mins.)
Stars: Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Riteish Deshmukh, Nana