Please note the list does NOT include the following films as I have not yet seen them: Naqaab, Bombay To Goa, Awaarapan, Apne, Aap Ka Surroor, Swami, Dharm, Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar, Yatra, 1971, Water, Cash and Gandhi My Father.

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1) BLACK FRIDAY (February 9th 2007): Anurag Kashyap’s hard-hitting and spellbinding debut film finally saw the light of day this year, and proved to be a mind-blowing movie experience. Undeniably one of the finest films to have come out of Hindi cinema in a long time, Kashyap proves to be an inventive, honest and gripping film-maker whose command over the medium of direction is awe-inspiring given the complex nature of the theme and the number of sub-plots and characters that’re interspersed in the movie. A special mention to Kay Kay Menon who delivered an Award-Worthy performance despite only having limited footage, the actor with his intense portrayal of police officer was at his best. Pawan Malhotra as Tiger Memom proves why he is one of the most underrated actors we have in the industry today. Aditya Srivastav was effective and natural to the core in a very realistic and stirring performance.

2) GURU: (January 12th 2007): Despite critical acclaim, Mani Rathnam’s last release YUVA didn’t set the box-office performance although Abhishek Bachchans tour-de-force performance was certainly noticed and appreciated by critics and audiences alike. Rathnam’s next film GURU not only became a super-hit at the box-office but gained acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Loosely based on the life and rising of Dhirubhai Ambani, Abhishek Bachchan’s larger-than-life performance as Gurukant Desai is undeniably the finest performance(in the most complete sense) of 2007. The performance is one that drew comparisons between Abhishek and Kamal Hassan(NAYAKAN) and Mohanlal (IRUVAR)—quiet a feat. Ashwariya Rai, Mithun Chakraborthy, Madhavan and Vidya Balan too were fantastic in supporting roles, and A.R Rehman’s lilting tunes were at their melodious best. The “real” life wedding of Abhishek and Ashwariya only added to the excitement of the film’s release. Winner all the way…BOLO GURU!

3) THE NAMESAKE: (March 23rd 2007): Mira Nair’s heart-warming drama about an Indian family who settle in America turned out to be one of the most beautiful and poignant films I’ve ever seen. Nair’s direction is simply stunning here, and though indulgent in many places I’m willing to forgive her here as this is her personal movie to date and the passion she exudes is fabulous. The emotional impact of the film is simply indescribable, and both Irrfan Khan and Taboo deliver (arguably) the finest performances of their career. Kal Penn too springs a surprise with an author-backed role and comes up with a commendable and natural performance.

4) LIFE IN A…METRO: (May 11th 2007): Anurag Basu finally breaks out from the shadows of the Bhatt with a heart-warming, touching and funny look at life in Mumbai city. Stunning storytelling, superlative performances and a terrific musical score from Pritam made this one unforgettable. The performances in the film were all top-notch right from Kay Kay Menon (on a roll after BLACK FRIDAY), Shilpa Shetty, Irrfan Khan (again on a roll after THE NAMESAKE), Konkona Sen Sharma, Sharman Joshi and Kangna Ranaut, as well as a worthy comeback by Dharmendra.

5) EKLAVYA: (February 16th 2007)Terribly underrated is the word that comes to mind when Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s opulent EKLAVYA is bought up. The movie received rave reviews from the whole from all major critics, yet the film still failed to set the domestic box-office onfire despite becoming a noticeable grosser overseas. But as we all know box-office rarely dictates quality, and EKLAVYA is no doubt a passionate, visually striking and gloriously stunning story told on an epic canvas. Yes, there were flaws which did stand-out however one cannot deny Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shakespeare meets Mahabharat fable as easily one of the finest films to have released this year. Bachchan in a restrained performance was a knock-out as usual, however Saif, Boman, Jackie and Vidya all impressed.

6) EK CHAALIS KI LAST LOCAL: (May 18th 2007) Dark, edgy, violent, witty and extremely funny, EK CHAALIS KI LAST LOCAL took me by complete surprise and turned out to be an absolute winner, and that I have visited 3 times already. Bollywood finally churns out another “proper” dark comedy after JAANE BHI DO YAARON and WAISA BHI HOTA HAI PART 2 and the results are truly entertaining, though definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Abhay Deol proves yet again he is one of the most talented newcomers we have in the industry who is not likely to go anywhere anytime soon, Neha Dhupia delivers her finest performance to date, and more importantly, a talented and promising director makes his debut in Bollywood-welcome Mr Sanjay Khanduri.

7) PARZANIA: (January 26th 2007) Realistic, gritty, raw and thought-provoking, PARZANIA is like a knife slicing through veins at times. A heart-wrenching and horrific look at the Gujarat Riots affecting a Parsi family. Director Rahul Dholakia’s mutual standpoint merged with some knockout performances from Nasseruddin Shah and Sarika ensue that this is one not to be missed. Certainly not happy viewing, but it’s surely compelling!

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM: (June 15th 2007) Yashraj deliver their biggest flop to date, which in my opinion is one of their finest and most misunderstood films to date. A tongue-in-cheek, humorous, witty and masala packed homage to the musical era of the 70’s JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM is a visually enticing and constantly entertaining romance which is backed by some enjoyable performances from Abhishek, Preity, Bobby and Lara as well as a addictive musical score from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

9) NISHABD: (March 2nd 2007) Ram Gopal Varma may have gone on to call this a mistake, but in my view this is one of Varma’s finest films to date, and one that is truly dark. It’s not everyday one sees a movie about a 64 year-old man falling in love with an 18 year-old girl, however Varma brings to screen one of the most daring and truly brave films I’ve seen in recent times. His thriller-like narrative juxtaposed with some magnificent performances from Amitabh, newcomer Jiah Khan and Revathy ensue that this is a film that should be seen at least once.

10) BHEJA FRY: (April 13th 2007) Now here is a comedy which relies on everyday situations, and every character to really deliver some clean and honest laughs. The humour here is so natural and clean in the truest sense, that one feels like watching the movie all over again once the show is over. Vinay Patthak is a bonafide genius in my view, and it’s superb to see him finally get his due in Bollywood. Rajat Kapoor, Sarika and Ranvir Shourey are all in form as always.

And the other end of the barrel, the worst 5 of the year thus far..

1) KYA LOVE STORY HAI: (April 20th 2007) This is bad, infact this is so bad it makes “bad” films look good. Incoherent story, muddled screenplay with some atrocious performances, one can only pray that Lovely Singh never gets to direct a film again.

2) GOOD BOY BAD BOY: (May 11th 2007) Mukta Arts need to have their head re-examined, or Ghai needs to start paying closer attention to what his prestigious banner is churning out as this so-called “campus comedy” is a turgid wanna-be teen comedy which proves to be more of a headache than anything else.

3) BIG BROTHER: (April 13th 2007) Sunny Paaji screams his way through the entire film reminding serving us the worst reminder from the 90’s. Jaded story, clichéd dialogues and some uninspired performance, BIG BROTHER is plain bad, be it the 90’s or now.

4) RED SWASTIK: (June 8th 2007)Vinod Pande after SINS, makes another “bold” movie, this time about a women dealing with gang rape, who turns in to a psychotic serial killer? Sounds interesting right? Well it’s not, the movie is nothing more than a B-grade sleaze-fest with Mona Chopra at her exposing best, however the worse offence is that it pretends to be more…ugh!

5) RED: (March 9th 2007) Vikram Bhatt truly hits an all time low with this assisine thriller. The movie tries hard to replicate the formula of Bhatt’s previous hits, as well as Celina Jaitley going all out exposing herself, however the end result is a groan of a film.

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