Recap 2012

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File:Paan Singh Tomar Poster.jpg
I am back and after a long time. Saw some movies here and there but did  not get a chance to review. Most of them ordinary stuff, but a few stood out. OMG (Oh! My God), Makkhi, English Vinglish and of course Talaash (only in the first half, the second half was a complete let down). Amongst them OMG stood out. Why? Very different theme, very strong story line (had to be, inspired from the classic play-Kanji Virudh Kanji) and an inspired performance from Mithun Chakrabarty (why not Paresh Rawal? He was definitely very good, as the script was cut out for him, but hats off to Mithunda, he just rocked). English Vinglish was a fine movie, but I thought Sridevi was quite predictable and she had more scope to act, but the Director was quite limited in terms of her quiver in her armour. The Director needs to look beyond commercials (ad films) and look at cinema from a "cinema" perspective.
Ok! let us get back to 2012 and the year gone by. How do we sum up? Like every year, good cinema stood out. Right there at the top: Kahaani, Vicky Donor and Paan Singh Tomar. Excellent script, good direction and a very strong cast. They remain right at the top. Kahaani- a big surprise with a superb script and great performances by Vidya and Parambrata. Vicky Donor, perhaps the biggest surprise of 2012. Anu Kapoor and the new find Ayushmaan Khurana! Finally, Paan Singh Tomar. Irrfan Khan, we always knew off was the shining star and he had to pull off what was expected off him. A tough complicated and difficult role, but who else could have done this one with such effortless ease. However, you have to give to the superb support cast of this film, particularly, Brijendra Kala. The three films will remain right at the top and Shoojit Sircar, Tigmanshu Dhulia (what a fantastic acting debut he had with Gangs of Wassseypur) and Sujoy Ghosh will be the people to look out for.
The next one that comes right after this has to be OMG. Great cast and a good/strong storyline to support. This one really makes you sit up and take notice. As I said earlier, the movie belongs to Paresh and Mithunda. The two shine and you understand what acting is all about and especially good acting.
Up next will be English Vinglish. I will give this sheerly to get to watch Sridevi once again. With a truckload of garbage (read the current generation of actresses, starting from the hyped Kareena onwards) all round it feels so nice to get Sridevi back again. Kareena, Priyanka, et. al. go back to cinema hall and watch her and learn to act with your eyes and expressions. I guess you do not need anything else. Watch the scene in the movie where she goes to a coffee shop and orders a coffee for herself. A large part of the scene focuses on her face and what a scene staler of a role.
There have been a series of typical hindi cinema pot boilers and I will give full credit to this brand of cinema too, which thoroughly has entertained us. Cynics will cringe and will twist their nose. But to me Rowdy Rathore and Housefull 2 are two such stand out movies. Why do we go back to cinema? To get entertained and these two movies have definitely entertained us and with aplomb. Kudos to Prabhudeva and Sajid Khan. Keep going with your brand of cinema. We love that.
Ok! the let downs. The big one- has to be Gangs of Wasseypur (GOW). Perhaps Anurag Kashyap has got a little carried away with his brand of movies and has forgotten the basics of movie making. Someone please help him. Show him the DVD of Black Friday once again to him. GOW was senseless and mindless. Too much of style and lack of substance. The next big let down- Talaash. Aamir, Excel Entertainment, Reema Kagti, and the hype. There was too much riding on the movie but it failed and badly. Surprising, after a dream movie like Honeymoon Travels!
The big ones to forget and to forgive. Ek Tha Tiger, Jab Tak Hain Jaan, Son of Sardaar, Dabangg 2 (why did they decide to chop Abhinav Kashyap and have Arbaaz Khan the wood face to be the director), Barfi (ohh! this one was a big bore and a complete let down, someone tell Priyanka Chopra to do something else but act, I think she has been exploring singing, that should be a big relief) and finally Agneepath. The rest, less said the better.
What to look for in 2013? Surprises I guess. Do not go for the predictable stuff. Especially, chasing the Khans or the Roshans or the Bachchans! It is the unusual and the small budget films that might stand out. For starters, I will put my money on Special 26! Happy New Year and happy cinema viewing!  

   

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