Best Bollywood Films of 2015
The year of 2015 was bitter sweet for Indian cinema. There were some incredible films, some neat surprises and some sore disappointments. But as usual, the Bollywood stable produced some movie magic through the year and kept us entertained with its bravado, colors and larger than life personalities.
The big themes of love, redemption (Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Tanu Weds Manu Returns) stood consistent as something Bollywood does well year after year. But what surprised us was the rise of well made urban drama’s (Titli, Masaan, NH10), which mesmerized us with their gritty complexity rising above the power of a ‘star’ to delve into life in the ever changing landscape of India. So without much ado, below is the list of the best films Bollywood had to offer in 2015 with their Sahi Scores based on critic reviews..
#10
Badlapur (90%): Varun Dhawan is revelation. Nawazuddin is mesmerising. And Sriram Raghavan proves why he is one of the most masterful filmmakers of his generation. Jay Mamtora from Bolly Brit summarizes the film as “ It’s a difficult and uncomfortable watch, and some of the gratuitous violence is a little hard to digest, but overall its fast paced, and somewhat unique plot and stellar performances by Dhawan and Siddiqui rescue it from becoming just another run of the mill tale of one up-manship and vengeance”
#9
Tanu Weds Manu Returns (90%): Kangana Ranaut continues to remind us why she is the best in the business. An absolute charmer with most of the humor that lands. The rare occasion where a sequel is better than the original. Sukanya Verma from Rediff captures her thoughts on the film as “ Tanu Weds Manu Returns is not merely superior to its predecessor but the flamboyance and fun it provides is an implication we’re not quite done with this mad duo yet”
#8
Bajrangi Bhaijaan (92%): Yes, you read it right. A Salman Khan film actually cracked the top 10 movie list of the year. After years of churning out mediocre but very entertaining potboilers, the ultimate Superstar of Bollywood actually gave us a heartfelt tale of redemption and patriotism. The affable actor turns in his most nuanced performance in years and is an absolute delight to watch. And ofcourse we have Nawazuddin chiming in with a solid turn. As Shubha Shetty Saha at Mid-Day gushes, “ Be ready to want to wolf whistle, even when you have a tear or two stealthily streaming down your cheek. Watch it.”
#7
Qissa (95%): Where would a year end list be without India’s treasured Irrfan Khan? Qissa is nuanced character study set in the backdrop of the independence movement. As Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV says “Qissa is that rare cinematic treat that no genuine film lover should deprive himself/herself of”
#6
Dum Laga Ke Haisha (96%): One of the earliest releases of 2015, ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ was a triumph from the Yash Raj stable. Hard to believe this simple, down to earth and earthy coming of age romance came from the same studio that bought you ‘Dhoom 3’. This film has heart. As Suhani Singh of India Today puts it, “It’s almost as if YRF is saying, — We are presenting a film which is not what you expect from us”
#5
Talvar (97%): What do you get when you put Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma and a lose adaptation of the India’s most beguiling double-murder together? You get the impeccably crafted, brilliantly shot and eye-opening ‘Talvar’. As Assem Chhabra from Rediff states, “It is a very uncomfortable film to watch, and that is what makes it so good. A good film should be able to get into our skin, challenge us, shake us up and Talvar does all of that”
#4
NH10 (98%): Perhaps the biggest surprise of the year came early in the year in the form of the incredibly uncomfortable but superb, NH10. Nothing can prepare you for the sheer grittiness of this film and rarely driving through rural India would feel the same. Don’t miss this film. As Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu puts it, “When you find yourself cheering gratuitous violence. When you feel it has a healing effect. The blunt force violence of NH10 is cathartic”
#3
Piku (98%): It’s a shame, that they don’t make films like Piku often. Soojit Sircar is a gifted filmmaker and it shows. He takes the tried and tested yarn of a road-trip and fills it with so much charisma, enjoyable banter and camaraderie, the characters stay with you long after the credits have rolled. Sarita Tanwar from DNA India aptly describes it as “It’s a must-watch for the thundering trio of Bachchan, Padukone and Khan”
#2
Titli (100%): You’d be forgiven if you haven’t heard of this little gem which released in late October. But you’d be missing something if you didn’t catch this Kanu Behl film. One of the best film to come out of Indian independent cinema in years, ‘Titli’ is fantastic and heartbreaking at the same time. We couldn’t agree with Preeti Kulkarni of Bollywood Life more when she says, “Sharp performances, crisp editing and brilliant story telling make up for a great, nay awesome film and Titli has all these elements and more”
#1
Masaan (100%): Don’t. Miss. This. Film. Anurag Kashyap’s stable has given us some good cinema. But rarely does it touch the heights and complexity of Masaan. As Raja Sen of Rediff puts it, “ Masaan is an immense achievement for a first-time filmmaker and must be applauded”
Honorable Mentions: At SahiNahi we track the best films by year based on critic scores. The complete list for 2015 can be found here. Some films that barely missed the cut for top 10 include: Bajirao Mastani, Angry Indian Goddesses, Margarita, With a Straw and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy
