Films 2007: The Alternative List

With year-ends, come lists. Films of 2007 that stick out for honorable and not-so-honorable mention are:

Namesake
Meera Nair’s feted adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s book was less than satisfying for me. Devoid of details in the book, the film was a plainer story stitching together the surface stereotypes that NRI families go through. I found Irrfan Khan and Tabu in super form as the Ganguli pair (though wondered if the Bengalis too would agree over their nuances).

Black Friday & No Smoking
Black Friday, on the other hand, was a more satisfying adaptation of the book of the same name. Despite a small production budget, the commentary was able to render pan south Asian feel to the unfolding of the terrorist attacks in Bombay. Whether No Smoking was a good film or a bad film is now a matter of opinion. But it certainly was the most intensely debated – loved and hated with equal passion. Anurag Kashyap unfortunately had to wrap up the year with Hanuman, The return of!

Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local & Manorama Six Feet Under
Take-offs on Hollywood films, these two films have done their best in pulling out the word ‘inspiration’ from the rut it has been consigned to by the nauseating splurge of ‘copies’ that are churned out here in Bollywood. Both these films use enough originality and creativity, so that the use of the original is not an embarrassment but a reference point.

Life in a Metro…
The film’s experiment with multiple narratives was not entirely successful but several stories here stood out for their honest portrayals of city life and held the interest of both audience as well as the reviewers.

Eklavya & Dharm
We certainly love to flaunt our mediocrity. None of the contenders for representing India at the Oscars was good enough, but Eklavya’s mere presence was highly intriguing for many. Eklavya told an incredulous story of an Indian prince falling in love with her mother’s lover and doing social service by marrying a house help. Dharm is a supreme example of our misplaced enthusiasm on secularism. No wonder we can’t cure communalism, we continue popping all the wrong pills. Or are these placebos?

Dil Dosti Etc
In our country where sex embarrasses people and morality is the stuff of public debates and political rants, Dil Dosti Etc made its quiet entry, with its delightfully frank, non-judgmental and original take on these two and other youth issues. The narrative style with its sharp edges and rich sub-text is rare in contemporary Bombay cinema.

Saawariya & Om Shanti Om
Both filmmakers would hate this clubbing together for different reasons. The films released together, had huge budgets, star casts and were also matched in “quality”. One flopped and the other was a huge hit. Such is life!

Yashraj Films
They flunked, they flopped, they bombed, they sunk. Except Shimit Amin’s Chak De. A little before its release there were reports that Chak De’s theatrical promos were withdrawn because of negative response from audience. Such was the production’s confidence in this project! I would have found Chak de more satisfying if the story ended at the girls’ team fight-play with the India’s national men’s team. Their going and taking the world cup in Australia was a tad fantastical.

“Akshay Kumar” Films
One can’t afford to not mention the films that were really doing the business for Bollywood. Despite the churning and chasms that new cinema promises, the old Bollywood ways have remained the mainstay for the film business. Apparently all of four Akshay Kumar’s films released this year are a hit. And then there were Partner, Aap ka Suroor and such!

All the best guys for 2008…
(first appeared at http://passionforcinema.com/author/padmaja/)