In the first half of 2018, Hindi film industry appeared like a kid who suddenly starts getting good scores in exams, recording back-to-back 100s. More than 10 films emerging as hits or above, films with rich content taking the front seat, and performance-oriented cinema being praised like never before... Bollywood fell at par with all the expectations of its audience.
Here's the list of the movies that released in the initial six months of the year and left a mark.
January
Mukkabaaz (Jan 12)
Director Anurag Kashyap rarely misses to please his audience. His cinema is dark, close to realism and thrives without a star power. It's the combination of story, treatment and performances that work for Anurag. Same happened with this year's first major release -- Mukkabaaz. This time, Kashyap weaved his story around boxing to talk about casteism and corruption. It was not a usual jingoistic celebration of winning by a protagonist, which is most commonly seen in sports dramas. It was an exploration of what lies behind the walls of organised management of sports departments in the country. The director gave a required push to the fight by underlining romance. Mukkabaaz appeared the most realistic version of sports films that Hindi film industry has been making since time immemorial.
Padmaavat (Jan 25)
The opulence of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's style of filmmaking was evident in Padmaavat as well. The film was released after facing huge roadblocks from the fringe groups. However, as anticipated as it was, it lacked a basic need of strong characterisation. The Rajput Raja Rawal Singh, played by Shahid Kapoor, turned out to be the weakest designed character by Bhansali in all his films combined. The character of Alauddin Khilji, played by Ranveer Singh, proved just the opposite. Padmaavat, despite being a stunning big screen watch, only survived due to a strong performance given by Ranveer. Deepika though, to her credit, was all shine and glory of this script.
February
PadMan (Feb 9)
Akshay Kumar and team brought a noble film with a cause that no big Hindi commercial film attempted to take up in the years before. It highlighted a real-life journey of a man to create low cost sanitary pads for the larger betterment of women living in relatively less-developed areas in the country. Pad Man aimed at creating awareness about female menstrual hygiene. Both the cause and Akshay's sincerity to carry the story sensitively attracted audience to the theatres. Pad Man turned out to be an average grosser but it was an important film for the country.
Love Per Square Foot (Feb 14)
This Vicky Kaushal and Angira Dhar starrer turned out to be a sweet romantic film which focused on ambitions and feelings of true love. LPSF was directed by Anand Tiwari and this light-hearted drama found a place in the audience's heart. For some, it was a breather from the big, heavily dramatic films Bollywood has been producing back-to-back.
March
Raid (March 16)
Ajay Devgn returned as the corruption-hating official, the likes of which he has already played with much panache in the past. The film had nothing new to offer with Devgn's same intense eyes and power-mugging face, enough to make a corrupt politician put his crooked integrity to rest. However, Saurabh Shukla, playing the dishonest Tauji, wasn't an easy crack to dismiss. Raid was based on India's longest income-tax raid and a flawless performance by Shukla let a good word-of-mouth prevail. The film got the pace later in its first week at the Box Office and emerged a hit.
Hichki (March 23)
Another important story that Indian cinema was waiting to tell, YRF's Hichki brought back Rani Mukerji in the game. Director Sidharth Malhotra let a subtle storyline and simple emotions do the talking. Rani played a teacher with Tourette syndrome. Her constant struggle with proving herself worthy of equal opportunities in life makes her take charge of a group of unprivileged kids who are devoid of equal rights in a school. Malhotra cuts significant life lessons from his character's journey and present it in the most appealing way, especially for the kids. Hichki got all the appreciation that it deserved, both at the Box Office and otherwise.
April
Blackmail (April 6)
In how many ways can an actor prove the mettle of his acting? Irrfan Khan has been doing it in every way possible ever since he stepped into the industry. He featured in Blackmail this year and delivered a performance which talked about the layered viciousness that exist in every human being. A simple story of complexities in life, the Abhinay Deo directorial used humour to underline the most bizarre emotions we fall for sometimes. Entertaining performances by Kriti Kulhari, Divya Dutta and Arunoday Singh added to the quirkiness. Before we knew, we were laughing at the helplessness of the characters and somewhere rooting for the plans of Irrfan's Dev to succeed.
October (April 13)
This was not the brand of cinema actor Varun Dhawan is known for. And yet, he gave a performance which suited him to the core. A simple Dan wants something extra from his life. He has dreams and ambitions and his constant struggle with mapping out a way to find success is suddenly haltered by an accident of a girl. Somebody who's just a hi-bye colleague at work but somebody who becomes his world for Dan once he realises she's fighting for life. October is a serene take on life's sudden twists and turns. Director Shoojit Sircar tries to put a pause to our lives to make us appreciate it more than we do, if at all!
Recommended Read: PeepingMoon 2018 Half Yearly Report: 13 films that ruled the Box-Office
May
Omerta (May 4)
In one of the strongest scenes in the film, Rajkummar Rao bursts at a fellow prisoner for not observing roza. Omerta is laced with such poignant scenes exploring the emotions of a nerd-turned-radical, Omar, a British-Pakistani terrorist. Director Hansal Mehta utilises the finesse of the nuanced actor, his favourite – Rajkummar, to show a dreadful life story of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. He adds the real glimpses from the history and uses footages of the incidents to cut an invigorating story. Omerta makes for an engaging watch but a documentary style of treatment takes down its appeal to a few notches.
102 Not Out (May 4)
In 102 Not Out, we have two super talented actors playing the most jovial on-screen characters. Both Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor infuse humour, sensitivity, and liveliness into the film. It's a film which interests primarily for being able to evoke just the right emotions. Living life to the fullest and never regret any moment -- the message is clear and director Umesh Shukla does no compromise in telling it from a fun perspective.
Raazi (May 11)
The film rides completely on the shoulders of two women -- Alia Bhatt, the actor, and Meghna Gulzar, the director. It also features Vicky Kaushal playing a rather suave, undramatic Pakistani army man, the kind of which we see quite less in our side of cinema. Raazi, with its terrific storyline, layered nationalism and beautiful performances appeal to even those who are used to watch the thumping nationalism in Hindi films. It has its heart at the right place and nothing going over the board. Raazi is that film which deserves to be a glorious part of our film catalogue we maintain to boast Bollywood in front of those who think the West makes the best films.
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (May 25)
John Abraham returns to the big screen with this film, which talks about one of the important parts of our country's history. John plays an overtly patriotic Ashwat Rana, an IAS officer who fails to make it to the army. The movie attempts to extensively remove the idea of critically judging the famous nuclear tests conducted by India in 1988. It though intrigues the viewers by being a good spy thriller. The hyper nationalism and all that jingoistic rationalisation of the tests added to its glory and Parmanu became a successful entertainer at the Box Office.
Veere Di Wedding (June 1)
A story of five urban female friends, VDW is a visually appealing film with probably the most stunning ensemble cast. Director Shashanka Ghosh shows female friendship in a real fashion where a few cuss words in conversations and unabashed sex talks are normal. VDW successfully tries to bring a woman's biggest fear out of closet -- making her own sexual choices and then being judged for doing so. In one of the most talked about scenes from the film, Swara's character masturbates in front of her husband, triggering him to ask her for a divorce later. A heavy price for any woman for exercising her right on her own body!
June
Sanju (June 29)
This is one critic-proof film that Bollywood gave us after a long time. Director Rajkumar Hirani once again played with human emotions, added humour and tried to make us both laugh and cry, something that he's been doing with all his blockbuster films in the past. Only this time, it was the story known to the world in bits and parts. Only this time, it was the story of actor Sanjay Dutt and his controversial life that made others' life around him complicated. Several factors worked in Sanju's favour a) Hirani's successful history of providing wholesome entertainers, b) Ranbir's fantastic transformation into Dutt and c) audience wanting to know more about the man himself, Sanjay Dutt.
Which one was your favourite?
