This is a list
of my favourite movies / serials, spanning Marathi – English as well as Hindi.
While I am openly tilted towards Marathi entertainment of all kinds, in
compiling this, I have made every effort to remain as unbiased as feasible.
That said, this subject – AV Entertainment – is by definition subjective, and
thus, to that extent, the element of subjectivity is present. I have enumerated
the top 30 here –of these, 20 are Marathi; 4 are in English, 1 German and 5 are
Hindi Movies. Among Hindi movies – none are recent; the latest is 2009.
CRITERIA
The criteria
for introducing objectivity in the judgements I have used are – Story, Character Charts, Script, Performance, Uniqueness of concept / script / story, Lesson from movie, My response & mood on watching, Screenplay, Direction, Camerawork / Cinematography in that order. {Fair decleration of perceptive noise source
in rating} I have not given any weightage to Special Effects / technology etc
in either rating the movies on IMDB, or in my movie reviews on my blog – I don’t personally consider that to be
arts or cinema; being a purist, overt special effects is a huge turn-off for me
– I place emphasis on pure art, and human involvement in terms of story etc. I have consciously always deducted 2 stars for
Special Effects predominant stuff – and added
2 stars for each movie that I watch repeatedly many times over. That is why
Independence Day misses the cut, and Inside Job qualifies, for example. That is
also why my list is Marathi dominant {67%} as well as story / character /
performance dominant
CHOOSING….
The real
difficulty started when I tried to choose the first among equals : a list has
to start somewhere. Regular documentation of my ratings first on my blog and
thereafter on IMDB gave me my top-rated stuff. But where to start? It was a choice between 3 Idiots, Mumbai Pune
Mumbai and Ek Unad Divas… finally, I
settled for my heart – the inimitable Mumbai Pune Mumbai – to my mind, one of
the finest movies ever made…
But perhaps
the saddest cut of all was the exclusion of Mangalashtak Once More – that hurt
a lot. This is a movie that qualified – 10 stars – on all parameters; given my
heavy heart on watching it, I was forced to reduce it to 7 stars, as I had
identified mood response as a critical parameter. Movies in my belief should
make you feel good. Thus, given the content, MOM missed it. Otherwise, Mangalashtak Once More easily reaches
the top of the list – even above Mumbai Pune Mumbai.
So that, my
friends, is my top 3 : Mumbai Pune Mumbai, Ek Unaad Divas and 3 Idiots.
Story, Uniqueness, Lessons, Script, Performance, Character-Charts made these… The perceptive noise source identified above can be seen – impact on mood,
which is my personal choice. As I said, fair and open transparency in the
ratings. Among the rest, I can list some real gems : Kaasav, LOC, Baapjanm,
Lokmanya, Katyar, Rommel, Margin Call, Hampi and many others; giving an
eclectic mix of genres spanning a Documentaries, Suspense Thrillers, Comedies,
War, Character Based Biographies and more… Also,
there were quite a few top Hindi English movies that barely missed the cut
by a literal millimeter – PK, Heqeeqat, Awara, Silsila, Ittefeq {old}, Waqt, Seige
of Jadotville, The Longest Day… which brings me to the last source of error -
recency
THE LIST
1.
Mumbai Pune Mumbai – Swapnil Joshi, Mukta Barve;
this is the enthralling story of 2 people talking for 2 straight hours over the
period of a single day. There is no other character. Enough Said.
2.
Ek Unaad Divas – Ashok Saraf, Ila Bhate; the
story revolves around a top corporate manager’s day – in which he learns a life
lesson about how to live, really live… a movie that leaves a lasting impression
on you, and teaches you an unforgettable lesson in living!
My Review : Ek Unaad Divas Review
3.
3 Idiots – Amir Khan, Kareena
Kapoor-Khan, Sharman Joshi, R Madhavan; The story of 3 friends, and a lasting
lesson in what good education really means…
4.
Coffee Ani Barach Kaahi - Vaibhav Tatwavadi, Prarthana Behere; A touching
heart warming love story that touches your
heart… truly one of a kind!
My Review : Coffee Ani Barach Kaahi Review
5.
Lokmanya Ek Yugpurush – Subodh Bhave in the role of
a lifetime; a stunning movie on Lokmanya
Tilak!
My Review : Lokmanya Ek Yugpurush Review
6.
Angoor – Sanjeev Kumar*2, Deven
Verma *2, Moushumi Chatterjee, Dipti Naval; Iconic Comedy of two pairs of
twins, a laughter riot…
7.
Hrudayantar – Subodh Bhave, Mukta Barve; a
simply stunning movie that is among the finest ever in Indian Moviedom – the story
of a Husband & Wife near Divorce, and their terminally sick daughter… never have I seen a more mind-blowing
performance as from Subodh & Mukta in this one!
My Review : Hrudayantar Review
8.
Katyar Kaljat Ghusli – Subodh Bhave again! A stunning
Musical. Enough said – only movie in my experience that got a standing ovation
from the audience…
My Review : Katyar Kaljjat Ghusali Review
9.
Chi Va Chi Sau Ka – Lalit Prabhakar, Mrunmayee
Godbole; Rolling Comedy of a modern
couple of traditional parents – and a truly unique experiment….
10.
Rudram – Mukta Barve; A roll of a
lifetime. A spine-chilling Revenge story, as Mukta goes after the killers of
her family. Surreal Stuff… sends shivers down your spine!
11.
Kaasav – Mohan Agashe, Irawati Harshe;
a lovely soft touching story of human relationships combined with a twin story
on Turtle conservation…
12.
Golmaal – Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt,
Dipti Naval … this needs no detailing!
13.
Aapla Manus – Nana Patekar; A superb thriller around an old man’s fall
from the balcony – was it a suicide? Was it a murder? Was it an accident? An
awesome whodunit…
My Review : Aaplaa Manus Review
14.
Baapjanm – Sachin Khedekar; a
hilarious side-splitting story of a retired spy’s mission to bring his family
closer to him…
My Review : Baapjanma Review
15.
Premachi Goshta – Atul Kulkarni, Sagarika
Ghatge; A classy heart-warming soft story
of mature love between two people in the process of divorce
16.
Hampi – Lalit Prabhakar, Sonalee
Kulkarni; This a love story – and truly unique. A story that defies
description, characterized by soul-searching silence, awesome cinematography,
stunning yet soft powerful dialogues… see it to believe. This is the pinnacle
of movie-making!
My Review : Hampi Review
17.
Aaghat – Vikram Gokhle, Mukta Barve;
A lovely thrilling drama around a famous doctor, his mistake – and the fight of
a junior doctor for justice… seat-edge drama!
18.
LOC Kargil – Too many actors to list!
And well known story as well… self-explanatory
19.
Eka Lagnachi Dusri Goshta –
Swapnil Joshi,
Mukta Barve; A unique story of two people marrying with the express objective
of not marrying… a lovely story of two families and how they become inexhorably
connected in a deep relationship!
20.
Lagaan – Amir Khan, Gracy Singh; The
story of how a village team beat the local English Army Team to gain 2 years lagaan
maafi…
21.
Margin Call – Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore
and others; The story of the collapse of an Investment Bank, and all it entails
22.
Shwaas – Sandeep Kulkarni, Arun
Nalawade, Ashwin Chitale; a touching story of a Grandfather’s choice – Grandson’s
eyesight – or his life? And how to tell the child?
23.Cycle – Hrushikesh Joshi; A unique story of a man’s hunt for his stolen cycle
My Review : Cycle Review
24.
Aamhi Doghi – Mukta Barve, Priya Bapat; What
happens when your step mother and you have a small age difference? This is the
subject; unique treatment – with sensitivity and panache.
My Review : Aamhi Doghi Review
25.Tokyo Trial – Irrfan Khan and others; The full true story of the Japanese War Crimes
Trials, exposing the Western Hypocrisy
26.
Rommel – Ulrich Tukur; German Movie
on the Desert Fox…
27.
Duniyadaari – Swapnil Joshi, Jitendra
Joshi, Ankush Choudhary; A refreshingly different take on the oft-told concept
of dying man… with intriguing twists
28.
The Looming Tower – Jeff Daniels, Tahar Rahim;
True Story behind theintelligence failures before the 9/11 attacks on the USA
29.
Ek Krantiveer – Vasudeo Balwant
Phadke – Ajinkya
Deo; True story of Freedom Fighter Vasudeo Balwant Phadke
30.
Inside Job – Matt Damon and others; a
detailed look at what happened in the financial meltdown of 2008…
This then is
the list as on date. I have tried to be fair & balanced; yet am mature
enough to realize rating movies can be highly perception driven, ridden with
hidden biases & perceptive noise. I have made an effort to identify the
sources of error as may be present; and also recognize this will change with
time. However, one thing will not change – that Special Effects, Computer stuff
and tech heavy stuff will not qualify, as that is my personal opinion of it
being not really fully “art”… I have made every effort to remove language bias
in this – and am pleased to note the presence of 20 Marathi movies – with the
rest being 4 English and 1 German…
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