Loosely based on the Malayalam movie ‘Eklavyan’, the Rohit Shetty-directorial saw Ajay Devgn back as Bajirao Singham, the upright ACP, who is now transferred to Mumbai to tackle issues like corruption, black money and nexus between politicians and religious fanatics. With Kareena Kapoor by his side this time (for comic relief) and Yo Yo Honey Singh’s renditions in place of songs, ‘Singham Returns’ did not get quite a roaring start at the BO but it did manage to do a fairly good business.
13. Gulaab Gang
Released a day prior to International Women’s Day, ‘Gulaab Gang’ saw two iconic actresses of the 90s – Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla – together in one frame for the first time, locking horns with each other. The movie was loosely inspired by social activist Sampat Pal’s real-life Gulabi Gang, which served justice to women, who were victims of social abuse and domestic violence. While the film ran into hot waters prior to its release, it was widely appreciated for its content and the performances of the leading ladies, especially Chawla, who convincingly played a shrewd, power-hungry politician
12. Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
Touted as a tribute to the iconic ‘DDLJ’, ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’, starring Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, was nothing more than a twisted tale of star-crossed lovers, which borrowed from countless rom-coms dished out every Friday. A feisty Ambala girl, who couldn’t choose her life partner, wishes to have her shaadi ka joda of her choice, which takes her to Delhi, where sparks fly between the lead pair. The film was an average grosser, yet Dhawan’s comic timing was what drew in more young audiences, making it a hit eventually.
11. Ek Villain
The Bhatts never fail to seize an opportunity in borrowing scripts from other film industries and for ‘Ek Villain’, starring Riteish Deshmukh, Shraddha Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra, they went all the way to South Korea to pick up ‘I Saw The Devil’ and rehash it into the film. It narrated the story of a man on the lookout for a serial killer, who he suspects has killed his wife. The film, which depicted every character in grey, was commercially successful and it was Deshmukh’s first negative role after all the sex comedies he had done in his entire career.
10. 2 States
Adapted from one of the most successful novels of Chetan Bhagat, ‘2 States’ featured Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt as Bhagat’s and his wife’s fictionalized avatar on the big screen. It was the story of two different individuals, belonging to different states, following different cultures and different traditions, yet despite all the odds and the differences between their parents, they come together as one. The breezy rom-com also starred Revathy, Amrita Singh, Achint Kaur and Ronit Roy in pivotal roles.
9. Mary Kom
Directed by Omung Kumar, the film starring Priyanka Chopra was a successful take on the life of Indian pugilist and Olympian Mary Kom. The Manipuri boxing queen overcame gender bias, marriage pressures and even went on to deliver a set of twins along side winning medals for her country at the international games. Although Pee Cee did a fine job as the titular character, she earned way more money by portraying Mary than what Mary could earn all her life!
8. Dedh Ishqiya
After Abhishek Chaubey succeeded with ‘Ishqiya’, he came back with another black comedy, this time with a bigger star cast, featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Madhuri Dixit and Huma Qureshi and called it ‘Dedh Ishqiya’. The movie narrated the story of Khalujaan and his bhaanjaBabban, who unable to give up on their con jobs get entangled in a deeper mess, created by Begum of Majidabad and her husband-to-be Jaan Mohammad. The film did well at the box office and the subtlety with which certain topics were handled in the film was widely appreciated.
7. Mardaani
Post her marriage to YRF head honcho Aditya Chopra, Rani Mukerji appeared in her home production ‘Mardaani’ and was projected as the female Singham! The film was the story of a badass police woman, who in a bid to save a teenage girl from the clutches of a mafia kingpin, unearths his other shady activities, including human trafficking and undertakes measures to bring him to the book. Mukerji had played a similar character before in ‘No One Killed Jessica’, but Mardaani’s Shivani Roy became one of her most memorable and strong roles.
6. CityLights
When an ex-Army driver from Rajasthan sets foot in the Maximum City with his wife and child hoping to give them a better life, hardships and despair creep up upon him instantly. With no friends or acquaintances to back him up in Mumbai, he works for a living, only to learn that life in the city is not as easy as it seemed to be. Starring Rajkummar Rao and (his rumoured girlfriend) Patralekha, the Hansal Mehta-directed film, which was an official remake of ‘Metro Manila’, won quite a lot of accolades for its intense drama and rural migration theme that managed to shake the audiences to their core.
5. Kya Dilli Kya Lahore
Post Partition when a war breaks out, two soldiers on either side of the border are the only ones to survive at the outpost. Ironically for them, one is an Indian with his roots in Pakistan, while the other serves in the Pakistani army but hails from India. The human emotions that come out during their verbal exchange alter the course of the movie. Talented actor Vijay Raaz, who has donned several hats during his film career, decided to wield the baton for the film and did a commendable job in narrating a tale that touched the heart. Gulzar’s lyrics added their own charm to a movie that was marked with superlative performances.
4. Hawaa Hawaai
Amole Gupte, known for his penchant for making heart-warming films, came back with his son Partho to make ‘Hawaa Hawaai’, which was the story of a poor, young boy, who aspires to become a champion skater. Owing to his poverty and unable to buy himself a pair, he makes them out of scrap and wins the coach’s attention, who seeing the boy’s determination and will to excel, goes out of his way to train him. The film was commercially successful and the father-son duo’s as well as Saqib Saleem’s efforts were greatly lauded by critics and audiences alike.
3. Highway
A film relevant for today’s times, ‘Highway’ was one of Imtiaz Ali’s strongest films that he scripted for the big screen. The movie told the story of an abuse victim, who finds a friend in her abductor and develops feelings for him to the point that she never wants to return home and loves the new life on the road with the man. The film, which won several awards for its true-to-life depiction, starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, garnered positive reviews for Bhatt’s portrayal of an abuse victim and her journey to self discovery.
2. PK
While the world got to know (through leaked parts of the script) that PK was about an alien, his story was tightly wrapped in secrecy until Raju Hirani’s film was released. And when it did, the entire nation agreed to its subject matter that came as an eye-opener. ‘PK’ starring Aamir Khan as the Bhojpuri-speaking alien from another golaa, searching for bhagwaan and Anushka Sharma (with her freshly-awry pout) as journalist Jaggu, became the highest grossing movie of all time (till then) and the funny film with a serious subject became an instant hit.
1. Haider
Displaying his love for the great English Bard, Vishal Bhardwaj came up with the idea of making Hamlet, setting it up in Kashmir this time. Unable to cope with the disappearance and death of his father and his mother’s growing fondness for his uncle, Haider goes all out to avenge the injustice done to his family, getting into more troubles with each step he takes. The film won five National Awards and despite all the memes and jokes made on the name of the movie, ‘Haider’ came out victorious.
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