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Bollywood had a really good year in 2019 with many of the expected blockbusters hitting the bullseye. Not just that, there were some movies that did business well beyond expectations. Like Uri: The Surgical Strike, Kabir Singh, Mission Mangal etc. And there were some really good movies that never worked at the box office. The likes of Sonchiriya, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, Photograph are prime examples of these. Year Ender 2019: From Netflix’s Soni to Salman Khan’s Notebook, 8 Underrated Bollywood Movies of the Year That Demand Your Love and Attention.
Overall, though, 2019, with its ups and downs, has been a very fascinating year. It has been a period when Karan Johar's production (Kalank) never worked. Rs 300 crore mark has been confirmed to not be a Khan territory anymore. Salman Khan's film couldn't be the highest-grossing film (at the time of writing this, Dabangg 3 is yet to hit the screens). Akshay Kumar continues his golden run at the box office. And yeah, nationalism is the flavour of the season.
In this special feature, we look at 15 of our favourite moments in some of the biggest releases, or the nicest movies, that stuck with us long after the film was over. You can beg to differ with us in the comments section below.
#1 Uri Attack
Movie: Uri The Surgical Strike
You can argue about the authenticity of the surgical strike operations shown in the second half of the film. But there is no denying how well-executed the scene is that depicts the terrorist attack on the Indian army outpost in Uri.
It was an event that shook the nation and left many of us angry, and director Aditya Dhar manage to do justice to the incident with enough thrills and the right kind of devastating impact. The action choreography, the camerawork, the BG score and Mohit Raina's impressive act all play well into making this scene so memorable.
#2 "Tu Hai Kaun?"
Movie: Gully Boy
Gully Boy is one of the best films filled with exemplar performances from the entire cast. The turbulent relationship with Murad (Ranveer Singh) and his father (Vijay Raaz) is one of the important plot threads in the film that moulds Murad's character as the film progresses.
Near the climax, his father, while trying the mend fences, with Murad and his mother, turns aggressive and questions what exactly is his identity. Pat comes through Murad one of the best comebacks of this decade "Abhi koi aur batayega main kaun hai?" (Is someone going to define for me what I am?). Before he goes on to school his father on how his one song has touched the lives of many and therefore it means something. Therefore, he means something.
#3 The Mexican Standoff
Movie: Sonchiriya
Sonchiriya, directed by Abhishek Chaubey, suffers the tragedy of being a box office disaster, despite being one of the best films of the year. The movie is filled with some terrific moments, characters and performances, that it is hard to pick one scene. But if I have to choose favourites, it would be the scene in the fields that results in an unexpected Mexican standoff.
A lot is explored in the scene. Dacoits Lakhna (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Vakil Singh (Ranvir Shorey)'s rivalry intensifies. We finally get to know what Indumati (Bhumi Pednekar) did while trying to save her raped servant girl. We are introduced to her arrogant, high-caste, blood-thirst family members, save for a spineless husband. All leading to a three-way face-off with guns, with one rash action leading to bloodshed.
#4 That Final Reveal
Movie: Badla
Badla was a fairly straightforward remake of the Spanish film, The Invisible Guest with the gender reversal of the main characters as the big difference. So picking out the final awesome twist in the list is unfair, since it has been taken from the original film.
And yet I would like to include the scene here purely in the way Sujoy Ghosh has recreated the scene. After fooling Taapsee's character Naina into a murder confession, Amitabh Bachchan's character walks into the room opposite her window and peels off his mask to reveal that the character has been the father of the man killed by Naina, played by Tanveer Ghani. The VFX job done to create that is half of Amitabh's and half of Tanveer's is so well-done.
#5 Campa Cola
Movie: Photograph
Photograph is Ritesh Batra's beautiful attempt to create a love story of two disparate individuals that blossoms in the old-world charm of Mumbai. Even though the film is set in the present era, the movie avoids the modern-day conventions like social media, and brings back nostalgic things to enhance this unusual love story. Like Campa Cola, for example.
In one of their conversations, Miloni (Sanya Malhotra) tells Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) about how her grandfather used to buy her Campa Cola when she was a child. Trying to seek a bottle of the once-popular cola drink becomes the ambition of Rafi. After days of search, he finds a sole drink-making facility in the house of a Parsi man who has it to keep his wife happy. As Rafi walks into the room where the machine is kept and the drink is being made, the whole scene is lit in a soft yellow light creating a magical aura around him. Simply beautiful!
#6 Supri's Entry Scene
Movie: Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
Despite a title like Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, Vasan Bala's whimsical take on the superhero genre is much Supri's (Radhika Madan) story as Surya's (Abhimanyu Dassani). This is evident in her entry scene, where she takes on a gang of would-be rapists to save a girl, without much help of the hero.
The whole action sequence is shot almost poetically with effective use of camera-work zoom frames and slow-motion. With an added dash of humour.
#7 Ghar More Pardesiya
Movie: Kalank
Okay, stop rolling your eyes, because I mentioned this film in this list. For all its huge flaws, Kalank has one impressive scene and that's the mesmerising picturisation of the "Ghar More Pardesiya" song.
The sequence takes place when Roop (Alia Bhatt) arrives at Bahar Begum's (Madhuri Dixit) town for the very first time. The town, despite having a bigger Muslim population, is celebrating Dussehra in a grand way with street-wide reenactions of Ramayana. These sequences are so eye-catching and the song so lovely, that it makes the rest of the movie an even duller experience in comparison.
#8 The Angry Ride
Movie: Kabir Singh
Kabir Singh deserves some of the criticism for its depiction of toxic masculinity. But you can't deny the panache with which Sandeep Vanga Reddy has directed the film. So even if we find many of the scenes comfortable, Kabir Singh has in it to arrest your attention. One particular scene that represents this thought is the scene when Kabir (Shahid Kapoor) learns about how a guy from his college misbehaved with Preeti (Kiara Advani) during a holiday function.
Driving his bike in anger, Kabir first goes to meer Preeti, where he momentarily softens to inquire if she is all right. Once she is out of sight, his old attitude returns as he seeks out who troubled her, and then goes on to bash. From that thumping background score to the tracking camera movement to Shahid Kapoor's intense performance in the scene, everything about this sequence spell MASS!
#9 Vaishnava Jana To
Movie: Article 15
Anubhav Sinha's powerful Article 15 has some very powerful moments. One such scene happens near the interval when ASP Ayan Ranjan (Ayushmann Khurrana) posts Article 15 on the notice board of his police station to remind his subordinates that there is no place for caste, creed and religion when it comes to the Constitution.
The repercussions of this scene are played beautifully in the final sequence, where Ranjan and his team, having found the missing Dalit girl, enjoy a siesta at a roadside stall, each passing food to the other, without caring for their caste. A passing truck with the board 'Mera Bharat Mahaan' is just the icing on the cake.
#10 The Sports-Packed Finale
Movie: Chhichhore
Sushant Singh Rajput'-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer Chhichore stood for everything against what the finales of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander and Chak De India wanted to tell us. Not that the other films are bad, but Chhichore told us that even in defeat, there is a victory in how hard you worked towards your goal and all the friendships and bonding created in the process.
This lesson is well-permeated in your minds in that sports-packed finale that plays with your expectation before dropping the bomb. Cutting through three events - chess, relay race and basketball - happening simultaneously at the same time, director Nitesh Tiwari allows the supporting players, in this case, underdog characters played by Tahir Raj Bhasin and Saharsh Kumar Shukla, to earn their victories. But later, he makes the film's anointed hero, played by the main star Sushant Singh Rajput, to fall short of the mark and make the lesson invaluable - that even the people you (in this case, the hero's hospitalised son) look up to, is fallible. Which is the reason why Sylvester Stallone's Rocky continues to be heralded as the greatest sports film of all time!
#11 Tiger Shroff's Entry Scene
Movie: War
Yash Raj Films' War is a celebration of testosterone and a fan-letter to how good Hrithik Roshan looks on screen, when he isn't brownfacing himself. For an action movie, however, War relies on being a visual spectacle than being an original stunt-maker, borrowing elements from other popular movies. Which is why we like Tiger Shroff's entry scene in the film so much, where he takes down a group of international criminals in a room single-handedly.
It is shot and edited in a way that the entire sequence looks to be done in a single take, while also expelling the need to have a background score. All the scene relies on is the sound of punches and kicks, as Shroff pummels his way through the window before taking down the final man in the swimming pool. The sequence is another example of how fantastic Shroff's martial arts skills are.
#12 The Psychotic Breakdown
Movie: The Sky is Pink
This one is certainly one of the most intense moments in the film. The scene almost leaves you confused as to what just happened here.
Aditi is seen having a severe psychotic break down on one night. She blabbers, screams and tries to strangle Farhan in the bed leaving everyone shocked as to what has gotten into her. It is then shown that she takes treatment in rehab for a week because of this emotional state of mind. The entire scene is sudden and extremely well-performed by Priyanka Chopra.
#13 The Mother India Moment
Movie: Saand Ki Aankh
If you ignore how Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar don't look anything like 60 plus rural women, you will find Saand Ki Aankh to be a pleasantly enjoyable movie that takes on patriarchy with a naughty wink. Based on the life of real-life sharpshooters, Chandro and Prakashi Tomar, Saand Ki Aankh is an entertaining take on how two women, in their old age, rebels against the close-mindedness of their men, so that their daughters and grand-daughters have a better future.
While their rebellion, which is them participating in shooting competitions, is done in a hush-hush manner, their first sign of open revolt comes when one of their sons discover what they have been upto. This gives Chandro her almost Mother India-moment when she threatens to kill him if he doesn't shut his fat mouth. Interestingly, at the beginning of the film, the Tomar women are seen watching Mother India in a makeshift theatre before they are driven off. The icing on the cake in this scene is that the son is not a bad guy, but is secretly happy that his daughter is winning medals, along with his mother, as evident by the smile on his face when he goes to sleep afterwards.
#14 The TikTok Videos
Movie: Bala
The social media platform, TikTok, never got a grand platform of publicity as Bala, a movie that relies on it to develop its main love story. Yami Gautam plays Pari Mishra, a TikTok sensation, whom Ayushmann Khurrana's Bala in a wig impresses and makes her fall for him. Their blossoming love is shown through a series of TikTok videos where both Ayushmann and Yami enact some very popular '90s songs.
While they entertain us with their imitations of Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Govinda, Karishma Kapur, my personal fave is when they turn Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna as they recreate"Teri Adaon Pe Marta Hoon" from the film Barsaat.
#15 The First Confrontation
Movie: Mardaani 2
Mardaani 2 is a taut thriller and worthy sequel to the 2014 film Mardaani, with Rani Mukerji delivering a powerhouse performance as the top cop Shivani Roy. Mardaani 2 also has a creepy villain in Vishal Jethwa's Sunny, who hides his barbaric rapist side behind his young age. So when Shivani and her team are chasing after potential culprits, Sunny manages to be close to her station, silently observing her. Just for the kicks.
But the twain had to meet, and that happens in a very twisty manner. Sunny, who has been parading himself as a tea-seller in front of Shivani, comes in front of Shivani's car, after injuring himself. A concerned Shivani takes him in the car to take him to the hospital. Sunny attempts to kill her, but Shivani, having already guessed his identity from the belt that he used to kill his victims, stops him. What follows is a tense sequence as Shivani tries to overpower Sunny, while the latter desperately attempts to escape from the clutches.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2019 05:00 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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