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When it comes to cinema, Bollywood has a very intriguing year. In the first six months, the industry has created masterpieces that failed to work at the box office. A propaganda film smartly disguised as a war movie turning out to be the biggest success story. Two more such films, meanwhile, tanked in the process. A Salman Khan film struggled to reach Rs 200 crore mark, while a movie called out for portraying toxic masculinity, is going great guns at the box office. Kabir Singh Box Office Collection Day 8: Shahid Kapoor Starrer Records Highest Second Friday Collections in 2019, Beats Uri, Total Dhamaal.
But box office has never been a great indicator of good cinema, as you know by now. Movies become a hit because of the stars and the hype-train, but if the content is average, people would soon forget about it. But good cinema may never tase success at first, but would be remembered forever. In 2019, there have been some fine examples, a couple of them controversial ones for sure, that managed to impress the critic in us. Here are seven movies of 2019 that we can recommend you to not miss!
Soni
Netflix's Indian offerings have been a mixed bag, but there was one film that turned out such an excellent, if overlooked affair. Soni is a compelling tale of an unlikely friendship between a composed police officer and her ready-to-rage subordinate. Filled with incredible performances and excellent narrative, Soni is a must watch for those who love to seek alternative cinema.
Gully Boy
Gully Boy, inspired by the lives of real-life rappers Divine and Naezy, is the kind of cinema you love rooting for. After all, who doesn't like a great underdog tale? Under Zoya Akhtar's masterful direction and some wonderful writing, Gully Boy is captivating right from frame 1 to a highly energetic finale, propelled by Ranveer Singh's committed performance. Not just Ranveer, every actor in the film tune in fine performances - from Alia Bhatt, Vijay Raaz to newbie Siddhant Chaturvedi and Vijay Varma.
Sonchiriya
It is an absolute shame that one of the best films of this decade turned out to be a disaster at the box office. But Abhishek Chaubey's Sonchiriya, his best work to date, is hardly what you call mainstream. Like his previous movies, Chaubey merges engaging drama with plenty of dark humour, also lacing it with existential themes. Every actor in the cast has put their best put forward, resulting in a fine piece of cinema, whose gross neglection hurts really bad.
Photograph
After the scintillating The Lunchbox, Ritesh Batra returns to Indian cinema with a one-of-a-kind love story, that let you fill in the gaps. Featuring the unusual pairing of Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra, Photograph ventures into the old world charm of Mumbai the city that, despite being set in the 21st century, invokes a huge sense of nostalgia. Each frame has a lot to convey, and it is a pleasure to decode the meaning of their significance.
Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
What a fun quirky movie this turned out to be! Maverick film-maker Vasan Bala dishes out a film that not only is a homage to superhero movies, but also every cheesy stuff we have loved about Indian cinema. What's more, despite the 'Mard' in the title, it is the 'aurat' who gets to be more badass here. The action scenes are wonderfully directed, the humour is excellent and the performances from Abhimanyu Dassani, Radhika Madan and a terrific Gulshan Devaiah are fantastic.
Kabir Singh
The inclusion of this film in the list is bound to create more debates. I agree that Kabir Singh has a problematic lead character and has a skewered male-sided gaze (more so because the movie is from Kabir's POV, and not Preethi's). But there is no rule in cinema that you cannot make a movie on misogynistic characters and Kabir Singh is a well-directed movie, a faithful adaptation of Telugu film, Arjun Reddy, lead by a powerhouse performance from Shahid Kapoor. As for the alleged glorification of sexism, I felt it was more nauseating than empowering. This is a film where you really don't root for the protagonist, and yet be satisfied with how it ends.
Article 15
If I say that Article 15 is the most important film of 2019, it wouldn't be an exaggeration. Though cinematic in its nature, Anubhav Sinha creates a searing narrative that reminds you of how deeply ingrained the idea of casteism is in our intellects. In the process, he spares nothing - from taking digs at certain real-life politicians, to even how Constitution is getting misused - to deliver a highly engaging social drama. And yes, it also boasts of some fantastic performances, lead by a charismatic Ayushmann Khurrana.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2019 04:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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