10 Bollywood Movies of Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan, Kiara Advani You Should Watch Again for Their Amazing Opening Credit Scenes
In this special feature, we choose 10 of our favourite opening credits in Hindi cinema that stood out for the way they were conceptualised and created.
How many of us actually appreciate to see if there is any innovativeness in the opening credit sequences? Or do we spend most of the time checking our phones till the actual movie begins? If you belong to the second category, then you could be missing some very innovative piece of art there. Like, for example, the hilarious opening credits of both the Deadpool scenes are filled with some of the best gags in the film. The Mission: Impossible films recap the entire movie in the opening credits scenes. From Deadpool to Thor: Ragnarok, 5 Surprising Nude Scenes The Indian Censor Board Didn't Allow You To See!
Similarly, there have been some really good opening credit sequences in Bollywood films. In this special feature, we choose 10 of our favourite opening credits in Hindi cinema that stood out for the way they were conceptualised and created. You can mention your favourite opening credits scenes in the comments section below.
PS - We have tried to add videos wherever we are able to find them. Where we couldn't... kindly forgive us and try to find the movie yourself to check the credits!
Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
The classic comedy starring Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Madhubala begins with a credits sequence that is as zany as the film. Using cartoon characters, the sequence already takes over tickling our funny bones even before the story actually begins.
Bawarchi
The fun part about the late Hrishikesh Mukherjee's social comedy is that there is no opening credits as such. Instead, the concept of introducing the cast and crew of the film is presented as the beginning of a play, with an unseen Amitabh Bachchan doing the honours of announcing the names.
Shatranj Ke Khilari
The legendary Satyajit Ray's sole Hindi film is special for so many reasons. For this feature, let's just restrict ourselves to the the opening credits that has its two leads, played by Sanjeev Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey, playing chess, as everything around them is shrouded in darkness. Pretty a spoiler for their attitude for the rest of the film, as they spend time away playing chess, as their domestic lives crumble and their kingdom falls under British empire. Oscars 2020: Did You Notice Academy Awards’ Tribute to Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali?
Katha
The late Sai Paranjpye's delightful social comedy gives a twist to the age-old tale of the hare and the tortoise, letting the hare win, using deceitful means. It's a commentary on today's dog-eat-dog world, where a tortoise has no place in the rat-race. And the opening credits is exactly that, showing the race between the hare and tortoise, and using them to subtly spoil the entire movie.
Maine Pyar Kiya
Salman Khan's breakout film may be about sanskaari pyar, but its opening credits has a touch of sensuality. A boy and a girl (not Salman Khan and Bhagyashree) are seen dancing in the shadows and the fog to the tune of "Aate Jaate". It's a wonderful piece of choreography with the play between shadows and smoke adding a quaint charm. Of course, the realisation that the song is lifted off from Stevie Wonders' "I Just Called To Say I Love You", is still hurting, but that doesn't take away the charm of the sequence.
Johnny Gaddaar
Sriram Raghavan is one of the most innovative filmmakers of our times, signs of which were already evident in his earlier works. His second film as a director, Johnny Gaddaar, is still his best film, a thriller that also pays off a great homage to the pulp thrillers of the '60s and '70s like Parwana and Johnny Mera Naam, as well as James Hadley Chase's novels. This is also evident in the opening credits, that in true Mission: Impossible style, recaps the entire movie without spoiling it, techno-style! Saif Ali Khan's Ek Hasina Thi, Varun Dhawan's Badlapur, Ayushmann Khurrana's AndhaDhun - Ranking All Sriram Raghavan Films From Worst to Best!
Taare Zameen Par
If a film has Aamir Khan as a director, then it has to make the 'Perfect' impression in the start itself, right? Taare Zameen Par doesn't disappoint in this case, as the opening credits reflect its young protagonist Ishaan's imaginative mind through some lovely animations.
Luck By Chance
Zoya Akhtar's underrated debut directorial is set against the backdrop of Bollywood, and its opening credits is a lilting tribute to the unsung heroes involved in making a film. Through the song "Yeh Zindagi Bhi", Akhtar pays ode to those crew members - spot boys, camera assistants, wardrobe assistants etc - whom we often ignore for the more starry names.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Zoya seems to have mastered the knack of having terrific opening credits scenes, which is also evident in her next, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Again played through a song, this time "Dil Dhadakne Do", we see how different the three lives of the three male leads are, as they set off to reach the same destination. Just that one sequence is enough to get you a character brief of Arjun (Hrithik Roshan), Kabir (Abhay Deol) and Imran (Farhan Akhtar) than scenes of exposition doing the same thing with less effect.
Lust Stories
Studio Kokaachi amazing work in creating the title sequence in Netflix's anthology film deserves to be lauded. Through some amazing animated frames, they manage to give the viewers a glimpse of a 'lust story' that perhaps worked better than most of the segments in the film. While we are at it, also check out their work in Ghost Stories too. Splendid here as well!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2020 09:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).