Top 12 Indian Movies Of 2015

It is that time of the year when we look back and see what was good and what was bad happened to us. So, now it is time to see what good movies we saw this year. Some movies looked promising like 'Dil Dhadakne Do', which to me was one of the most boring movies i saw this year. Small Budget movies like 'Pyar Ka Punchnaama 2' and 'Titli' really got well with the audiences. Whereas dark movies like 'Drishyam' and 'Talvar' made people awestruck with their superb storytelling. And then their were mindless comedies like 'Singh Is Bling', 'Welcome Back' & 'Dilwale', which were just too dumb to even have them in any category. Let us look at some best 'Indian' movies of 2015:


12) Qissa 

The movie is set in post-partition India about a man 'Umber Singh' played by 'Irrfan Khan', whose craving for a male heir causes unmitigated tragedy. Brilliant performances by the film's characters specially Irrfan Khan as this delusional father and 'Titottama Shome' as her daughter 'Kanwar Singh' who is forced to act like his son. This movie only got a limited release, but i will recommend you to see it through DVD. You'll love the movie!

Cast - Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Titottama Shome
Director - Anoop Singh
My Rating - 3.80/5




11) Bajrangi Bhaijaan

This movie actually told the people that 'Salman Khan' can do a meaningful movie too. It was an all heart drama about Salman and a cute little Pakistani girl played by, insanely cute girl, 'Harshaali Malhotra' who cannot speak gets drifted to India accidentally. Salman did a very good work in his role and we got to see his soft side which was not looking like he is trying too hard. But, Harshaali Malhotra was the one who actually stole the show. This movie actually did more to Indo-Pak relations than politicians could do.

Cast - Salman Khan, Harshaali Malhotra, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Director - Kabir Khan
My Rating - 3.80/5




10) Margarita With A Straw

I actually watched this movie after months of its original release. But, was floored when i saw this movie. The movie is about an autistic girl and struggle between her physical & emotional needs with pride & dignity. The director needed guts to make a movie like this & she nailed it with an emotional experience that will be with you for a fair amount of time. 'Kalki Koechlin' as the autistc girl was a treat to watch.

Cast - Kalki Koechlin, Revathi, Sayani Gupta
Director - Shonali Bose
My Rating - 3.90/5




9) Dum Laga Ke Haisha

No one actually expected from this movie. The leading couple was looking odd. But when the movie came out, it was actually one of the best movie in recent times. The movie is about a boy named 'Prem' (Ayushmann Khurrana) who runs a music library in Haridwar and loves Kumar Sanu's music who is forced to marry a  85kg girl named Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar) and how they fall in love. The strongest point of this movie is it's story and the characters. These characters feel real. And the outcome is this sweet, entertaining and fulfilling movie.

Cast - Bhumi Pednekar, Ayushmann Khurrana, Sanjay Misra
Director - Sharat Kataria
My Rating - 3.95/5




8) Baby

Akshay Kumar gave one of the year's and also his career's best performances in this brilliant and mind tickling movie about terrorism and how intelligent agencies work to counter it. The movie is thoroughly researched and served in the best way possible to you with pure Bollywood entertainment style. The movie worked well with audience but it deserved more and much more than it actually got.

Cast - Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Rana Daggubati, Anupam               Kher, Danny Denzongpa.
Director - Neeraj Pandey
My Rating - 4/5




7) Titli

One of the most unexpectedly better movies of this year. The Dilli-Wala version of 'The Godfather'. The feel of the movie is so real that people actually felt that they were a part of this movie. All family members in the movie, who lived in a small house, where lived 3 brothers who are like drowned in criminal activities and it actually felt that we are too. The picturization of crime, family matters and the balance between both was scary yet stunning.

Cast - Ranveer Shorey, Shashank Arora, Shivani Raghuvanshi
Director - Kanu Behl
My Rating - 4.10/5




6) Piku 

To some it was a surprise hit, but when you have actors like 'Amitabh Bacchan', 'Irrfan Khan' & 'Deepika Padukone' in a movie with a director like 'Shoojit Sircar', how can someone take this as a surprise hit. It has the most unusual topic for a movie in Indian Cinema. Bhadra Lok (Amitabh Bacchan) is an old man obsessed with his bowel movement. While Deepika Padukone was his daughter who experienced his crazy personality. Irrfan Khan was the guy who drove father-daughter pair to Kolkata and experience their crazy relationship. People just loved the characters and the plot was so engaging and simple and it really is a part of our daily routine. (Those who do not know the meaning of 'Bowel Movement', please Google it and you'll know why the plot is so unusual).

Cast - Amitabh Bacchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan
Director - Shoojit Sircar
My Rating - 4.15/5



5) Bajirao Mastani 

We can say we have seen the year's One Of The Best Movies in the last month of 2015. The year end brought an epic of a movie in theatres, a period historical drama at its very best. The movie has everything from big sets to gorgeous outfits, superb background music to big fight scenes. It looks like a feast for your eyes and soul. Ranveer Singh's portrayal of 'Bajirao' is just phenomenal, Deepika Padukone as 'Mastani' is looking very charming in her role. Sanjay Leela Bhansali used everything he had in his imagination and gave us a masterpiece.

Cast - Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra
Director - Sanjay Leela Bhansali
My Rating - 4.25/5



4) Drishyam (2015)

Stunning, gripping, engrossing, shocking.. well you can use any of these adjectives for this movie and it will be spot on. Ajay Devgn's version of Drishyam is as good as the real one but please do not compare them. In the starting you'll feel like it is a catch-me-if-you-can movie but as you move along you'll see every character has it part to play which is really important. Tabu as the Police Officer is stunning and Ajay Devgn as a protective father is all you can expect from this man. The suspense quotient, the plot twists are so awesome that when the movie would end, you'll just get up and applause for the movie as a whole.

Cast - Tabu, Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran
Director - Nishikant Kamat
My Rating -  4.40/5



3) Masaan 

Epic in its own way, Masaan, is a story about the burning ghats of Varanasi and the dying dreams and dignity of Richa Chaddha, whose only crime was pre-marital sex with her boyfriend. You can see many brutal aspects of life in this movie, how everyone just corners a girl just because she had sex. And then the mental torture by the police. Richa Chaddha is superb in this movie but the one who steals the show is Sanjay Mishra, he is just exceptional in this movie. And this movie needs your time and it will not disappoint you.

Cast - Richa Chaddha, Sanjay Mishra, Vicky Kaushal
Director - Neeraj Ghaywan
My Rating - 4.75/5



2) Bahubali: The Beginning 

Okay, so everything i would say about the movie would look small because of its enormity. This movie showed us the meaning of fantasy-epic in Indian Cinema and what anyone can do if you put art and your heart in it. Bahubali just gave the Indian audiences what they had never seen in Indian movies. Critics and Audiences compared this movie with '300', a hollywood movie speciall known for its action sequences and big battle scenes. The battle scenes were so big in this movie. The story, the sets, the battle sequences and the acting were so brilliant that everyone was mesmerized to see the magnitude of this movie. Even the critics from Hollywood gave a thumbs up to this movie and reviewed this movie. Go and see this movie and you'll get to know.

Cast - Prabhas, Anushka Shetty, Rana Daggubati, Sathyaraj, Ramya           Krishnan, Tamanna Bhatia
Director - SS Rajamouli
My Rating - 4.90/5



And The Top Spot Goes To...


1) Talvar 

Based on a real life accident, 'Talvar' is based on double murder of a 14 year old girl named 'Shruti' (Real Name 'Aarushi') and the elderly servant of the house 'Khempal' (Real Name 'Hemraj'). The movie is downright 'epic', just 'epic'. The screenplay, the background score, the direction and what makes this an epic movie are the actors. Konkona Sen Sharma & Neeraj Kabi as parents of that young girl have done just beautiful work. But, the guy who takes his acting skills to a whole new level in this movie is 'Irrfan Khan', every time he comes on the screen you are just about to witness some epic scene. The director helmed this really sensitive matter with real ease and the outcome was the most satisfying this year. PLEASE WATCH THIS ONE AT ANY COST!

Cast - Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi
Director - Meghna Gulzar
My Rating - 4.92/5



Honorable Mentions - 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' & 'Manjhi' 

These movies were my most favorites this year. Let Me Know your favorites in the comment section. And please comment on how much you like my list. :)

Movie Review - 'Talvar' - Extraordinary Tale Of Reality

It's been quite a time, that i have done a review. But, this movie made me compel to write about it. The movie is 'Talvar'. Based on the real events in the murder-mystery of a girl named 'Aarushi Talvar' in Noida, India. This is one of the most twisted murder-mystery that India has ever witnessed. The movie made me excited because of its content and the actors who appear in this movie. So lets move forward with the review.

This 'open and shut case' as the Noida double murder case was described by some people, turned out to be everything but that. After a 14 year old girl named 'Shruti' played by 'Ayesha Parween' is found on her bed with her throat slit one morning, Parents, 'Ramesh' played by 'Neeraj Kabi' and 'Nutan' played by 'Konkona Sen Sharma' see the body. The police is called to the crime scene. The parents are questioned and after all this the missing servant 'Khempal' is said to be the murderer as he is missing from the house since morning and also he is not picking up the phone calls. As the police get on with the hunting of the servant, his body is recovered from the terrace. The initial theory of servant killing Shruti is dismissed and now the blame is shifted on to the parents.

When the story of messed up investigation is difficult to put off from the news channels. The case is given to CDI (Crime Department Of Investigation) and is handed over to a reluctant officer 'Ashwin Kumar' played by 'Irrfan Khan'. He is, to me, the most chilled out CDI Officer ever because he keeps on playing games while researching for the the case. As he takes on the case and finds out what mess the first team has made, he describes the case in his own words like this 'Crime Scene Ko Macchi Bazaar Banaake Rakh Diya Tum Logon Ne'. 

Everyone in this movie has given stellar performances. Every person is fitted perfectly in their respective roles. But one person who steals the show is 'Irrfan Khan'. I have lost words to describe his acting. We all know he is a terrific actor but i can only say one thing for him, 'He was born to act', just this simple thing about him. His broken marriage with 'Reema' played by 'Tabu' , his superb sense of humor, his on-screen presence is just enough to say that some awesome scene is about to come. He just took himself from a 'Super Awesome Actor' to 'Super Extraordinary Actor'. 

The parents of the girl played by 'Konkona Sen Sharma' and 'Neeraj Kabi' have just done beautiful work in showing their dilemma on the screen. Every scene where they are made to be guilty of their own daughter's murder are priceless and the expressions given by these two are priceless too.

As for the story, Vishal Bhardwaj does a superb job in writing such complex and twisting story. The screenplay of Bhardwaj tries to stay neutral on the case. But in the end you feel really sorry for the Parents and Ashwin. Every scene in the movie deserves appreciation. But the last scene, the meeting of both investigating teams deserve all the applause it can get.

Meghna Gulzar, the director of the movie deserves a standing ovation in directing this twisted plot and leaves the film as open-ended as the real case is. The different perspectives that this movie shows about the case tells us about the research done by the film-maker.

In the end, I just want to say that this movie shows you how the legal system works in this country. And also, 'Why still our film-makers are afraid to name the characters as they really are. Everybody knows the story, the names.

To solve the case in a record time, the police can make anyone guilty. The lines below sums up 'How justice is so tough to get in India' -

'Jis Din Aakash Bedaag Hoga, Chehra Chaand Ka Saaf Hoga. Jis Din Samay Ne Aakhein Kholi, Insaaf Hoga' (The Day Sky Becomes Spotless, And The Face Of The Moon Is Clean. The Day Time Opens Its Eyes. There Will Be Justice). 

My Rating - 4.5/5  
Cast - Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Pabi, Tabu, Gajraj Rao
Director - Meghna Gulzar

Some Thrills & Chills In 2015!

Anticipated Horror Movies Of Hollywood in 2015 !

Horror, as a genre, has got decent credentials in recent times with directors like James Wan helming critically acclaimed films like Insidious (2010) and The Conjuring (2013). Recent films that put this genre back into the minds of audience include Oculus (2014) and The Babadook (2014). This year too seems exciting, with Horror films with new concepts as well ass sequels of hit scary flicks. I tell you 5 such films to watch out for, which fans of the genre are looking forward to. (Some movies has been released)


1. Crimson Peak 

Tentative Release Date : October 16, 2015 (USA)

Fan favorite Guillermo Del Toro is back to scare people with this new film. The story focuses on young author Edith Cushing played by Mia Wasikowska in the aftermath of the family tragedy is torn between her love and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape from many things, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds and remembers and also discovers that her new husband Sir Thomas Sharpe played by Tom Hiddleston is not what he appears to be.

Cast - Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Charlie Hunnam, Jessica Chastain
Director - Guillermo Del Toro 




2. The Lazarus Effect 
   
Release Date - February 27, 2015 (Released)

The story of the movie focuses on a team of medical professionals who has found a cure to resurrect dead patients. But, it all goes horribly wrong when they use the cure on one of their team members who was killed in a lab accident. She does come back to life, but brings with her a dark demonic force too. Actors Evan Peters and Olivia Wilde are playing the lead roles in the movie. Filmmaker David Gelb has helmed the movie. The movie has met with mixed to positive reviews with many critics applauding the movie's concept.

Cast - Evan Peters, Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Sarah Bolger
Director - David Gelb 




3. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

Tentative Release Date : October 23, 2015

The popular franchise makes a return with it's fifth installment which follows supernatural events that a family encounters when they move to a new house. Actor Katie Featherston, the only actor who has featured in all the four Paranormal Activity films will be seen in this one too. The movie is being directed by Gregory Plotkin, who directed "The Insider"(1999).

Cast - Katie Featherston, Jay Hieron
Director - Gregory Plotkin




4. Insidious: Chapter 3 

Tentative Release Date : June 5, 2015

The famous Insidious franchise is back with its third installment. The movie will be a prequel set before the haunting of Lambert family (Patrick Wilson & Rose Byrne) that will force Elise, the psychic, to use her ability to contact the dead to help a teenage girl Sue played by Stefanie Scott who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity. The movie has been directed by Leigh Whannell, who was also the writer of first two insidious movies.

Cast - Stefanie Scott, Dermont Mulroney, Angus Sampson, Lin shaye, Leigh Whannell.
Director - Leigh Whannell 




5. Amityville: The Awakening

Tentative Release Date : October 2015

The Amityville franchise is back with its 12th installment. The story is about a family who move to their new house and start experiencing strange supernatural events. As the events start to occur frequently, they soon realise that they moved into the infamous Amityville house. The movie was supposed to release in 2014, but due to some changes being made in the script, it will now be released in October 2015. Director Franck Khalfoun, known for his film Maniac (2012), is helming the movie.

Cast - Bella Thorne, Cameron Monaghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Director - Franck Khalfoun 




Please Comment With your Favorites! :)

87th Academy Awards (Winners) - Birdman Flies High, The Grand Budapest Hotel remains Grand

Hollywood celebrated its biggest night on Sunday, i.e., "87th Academy Awards"(Oscars) to give accolades that represented the best of Hollywood. Here are the names of the winners on the biggest night of Hollywood. (The winners are in "Bold")


Best Supporting Actor (Male)

JK Simmons (Whiplash)
Edward Norton (Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance)
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
Robert Duvall (The Judge)
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

                            (JK Simmons "Best Supporting Actor (Male)"


Achievement In Costume Design

Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Mark Bridges (Inherent Vice)
Colleen Atwood (Into The Woods)
Anna B Sheppard (Maleficent)
Jacquline Durran (Mr Turner)

                                     (The Grand Budapest Hotel "Best Costume Design")

Achievement In Makeup and Hairstyling

Frances Hannon & Mark Coulier (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Bill Corso & Dennis Liddiard (Foxcatcher)
Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou & David White (Guardians Of The Galaxy)

                           (Frances Hannon & Mark Coulier (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Best Foreign Language Film

Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski)
Tangerines (Zaza Urushadze)
Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
Wild Tales (Damian Szifron)
Timbuktu (Abderrahmane  Sissako)

                                                    (Ida "Best Foreign Language Film)


Best Sound Mixing 

Whiplash (Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins & Thomas Curley)
American Sniper (John T Reitz, Gregg Rudloff & Walt Martin)
Birdman (Jon Taylor, Frank A Montano & Thomas Varga)
Interstellar (Gary Rizzo, Gregg Landaker & Mark Weingarten)
Unbroken (Jon Taylor, Frank A Montano & David Lee)

                                                    (Whiplash "Best Sound Mixing)

Achievement In Sound Editing

American Sniper (Alan Robert Murray & Bub Asman)
Birdman (Aaron Glascock & Martin Hernandez)
The Hobbit: Battle Of Five Armies (Brent Burge & Jason Canovas)
Interstellar (Richard King)
Unbroken (Becky Sullivan & Andrew DeCristofaro)

                                              (American Sniper "Best Sound Editing")

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Laura Dern (Wild)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Meryl Streep (Into The Woods)

                                             (Patricia Arquette "Best Supporting Actress)


Achievement In Visual Effects

Interstellar (Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter & Scott Fisher)
Captain America:The Winter Soldier (Russell Earl, Bryan Grill, Daniel Sudick)
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett)
Guardians Of The Galaxy (Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner)
X Men:Days Of Future Past (Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie)

                                                   (Interstellar "Best Visual Effects")


Best Animated Feature Film

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How To Train Your Dragon 2
Song Of The Sea
The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya

                                             (Big Hero 6 "Best Animated Feature Film)


Best Production Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Adam Stockhausen & Anna Pinnock)
The Imitation Game (Maria Djurkovic & Tatiana Macdonald)
Interstellar (Nathan Crowley & Gary Fetiss)
Into The Woods (Dennis Gassner & Anna Pinnock)
Mr Turner - Suzie Davies & Charlotte Watts)

                                   (The Grand Budapest Hotel "Best Production Design")

Achievement In Cinematography 

Birdman (Emmanuel Lubezki)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Robert D Yeoman)
Ida (Lukasz Zal & Ryszard Lenczewski)
Mr Turner (Dick Pope)
Unbroken (Roger Deakins)

                                                    (Birdman "Best Cinematography)


Achievement In Film Editing

Whiplash (Tom Cross)
Boyhood (Sandra Adair)
The Imitation Game (William Goldenberg)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Barney Pilling)
American Sniper (Joel Cox & Gary Roach)

                                                     (Whiplash "Best Film Editing")


Best Documentary Feature

Citizen Four
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days In Vietnam
The Salt Of The Earth
Virunga

                                            (Citizen Four "Best Documentary Feature")

Best Original Song

Glory (Selma) - Lonnie Lynn & John Legend (Common)
The Lego Movie - Shawn Patterson (Everything Is Awesome)
Beyond The Lights - Diane Warren (Grateful)
I'll Be Me - Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond (I'm Not Gonna Miss You)
Begin Again - Gregg Alexander & Danielle Brisebois (Lost Stars)

                                                 (Glory (Selma) "Best Original Song")

Best Original Score

Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game)
Hans Zimmer (Interstellar)
Johann Johannsson (The Theory Of Everything)
Gary Yershon (Mr Turner)

                                      (The Grand Budapest Hotel "Best Original Score")


Best Original Screenplay

Birdman (Alejandro Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris)
Boyhood (Richard Linklater)
Foxcatcher (E Max Frye & Dan Futterman)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness)
Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy)

                                                (Birdman "Best Original Screenplay")


Best Adapted Screenplay

Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)
Jason Hall (American Sniper)
Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice)
Anthony McCarten (The Theory Of Everything)
Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

                                       (The Imitation Game "Best Adapted Screenplay")


Best Director

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

                                         (Alejandro Inarritu (Birdman) "Best Director")

Best Actor (Male)

Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

                           (Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything) "Best Actor")


Best Actor (Female)

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
Felicity Jones (The Theory Of Everything)

\                                           (Julianne Moore (Still Alice) "Best Actress")


Best Picture

Birdman
The Imitation Game
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Whiplash
Boyhood
The Theory Of Everything
Selma
American Sniper


(Birdman "Best Picture)


The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman got 4 Oscars each. Shockingly, Boyhood who was a front-runner for many categories but got snubbed at Oscars. What do you think of this year's Oscars? Let us discuss. Please leave your comments.