These are 9 movies that i felt were the best in bollywood (post-2000)
Lagaan (2001)
Director: Ashutosh Gowairkar
Starring: Aamir Khan, Paul Blackthorne, Rachel Shelley, Gracy Singh
This oscar nominated movie will be remembered not only for its 1 ½ hour long cricket match between the villagers and britishers but for its great characters, the captivating plot and the message it carries. This Aamir Khan starrer stepped into the text books of bollywood right after its release. The movie was big and inspired people that any task can be achieved with continous hard work and practice. The music was good and there wasn't a single part in the movie which I felt boring. No wonder the movie made into the Oscars.
The legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)
Director: Rajkumar Santoshi
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Sushant Singh, D.Santosh, Akhilendra Mishra
Rajkumar Santoshi's The Legend of Bhagat Singh would perhaps be the best biographical movie on an Indian freedom fighter after Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982). The movie had great sets and was well cinematographed which transported us all the way to the British-era. The protagonist Ajay Devgan as Bhagat Singh was brilliant. The movie was well researched and didn't have any dull moments. This thought provoking movie told us the message and philosophy of Bhagat Singh in the right sense.
Black Friday (2004) (Ind release:2007)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Starring: Kay Kay Menon, Pavan Malhotra, Aditya Srivastava, Vijay Maurya.
No director has ever approached a controversial subject like the 1993 Bombay bomb blast so blatantly. But Anurag Kashyap did it and it worked. The book turned movie was released after a 3 years ban in India and it can be termed as a non-fictious fiction. Its content, the original characters shook not only the city of Bombay but the nation as a whole. Vijay Maurya as Dawood Ibrahim was truly scary. If you haven't watched black Friday then you are not a real movie buff. Hats off to Anurag Kashyap.
Taare zameen par (2007)
Direcror: Aamir Khan
Starring: Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Vipin Sharma, Tisca Chopra
STUNNING!!! Debutant director Aamir Khan's Taare zameen par is perhaps the ultimate movie on kids and thanks to its writer Amol Gupte. The movie simply touches the soul and can move us to tears. One would wonder if the kid on screen (Darsheel Safary) was acting or living his original life. Darsheel as the dyslexic Ishaan Awasthi was unbelievable and will be remembered for a long time. Aamir showed his class and I bet he can take Indian cinema several notches higher.
Lakshya (2004)
Director: Farhan Akthar
Starring; Hritik Roshan, Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Sushant Singh
I've never seen an Indian war movie, which was devoid of unnecessary jingoism. But Farhan Akhthar's Lakshya was different. Its magnificent. Lakshya had some scenes that could even outsmart some of the hollywood greats. The solid script and the message it carries is what i liked best about Lakshya. Hritik Roshan as karan whose conversion into a responsible army man from a spoilt brat is spontaneous and remarkeable. Though the film didnt do well in the box office Farhan Akthar is here to stay in Bollywood as a notable director.
Company (2002)
Director: Ram Gopal Verma
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Mohanlal, Viveik Oberoi, Manisha Koirala
Ram Gopal Varma's magnum opus 'Company' is a pulse raiser, thriller or whatever you can call. His interpretation on Dawood Ibrahim and his gang in this movie was great and the final product he gave was marvellous. There is nothing in this movie you can call 'unreal', its as if the whole movie is taking place in your backyard though the movie has been shoot at bombay, dubai, hong kong and switzerland. The cruel and dark look, the haunting background added more beats to my heart. The main actors Ajay Devgan as Mallik bhai (the don), Viveik Oberoi as Chandu and Mohanlal as Insp.Sreenivasan were perfect. Company is what you call a cinematic experience.
Omkara (2005)
Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Konkana Sen Sharma
The heat and dust of rural UP is well reflected in the Indian version of William Shakespear's Othello, directed by Vishal Bharadwaj in the name of 'Omkara'. I bet you will understand nothing if you dont go for the subtitles. The hindi used in the movie is very tough to follow and yet it had an international look and grace though its of slow pace. The actors especially Saif Ali Khan needs a special mention for his role as the cruel and dirty Langda Tyagi. It was a role of a lifetime and he did it perfectly well. What i loved about the movie is that each and every scene is carefully executed without a single cliche. Vishal Bharadwaj is one of those talents you may not come across everyday. The music by him was fascinating.
Rang de basanti (2005)
Director: Rakesh Omprakash Mehra
Starrig: Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi
This highly thought provoking is that which can raise the national spirit. Must have a watched a dozen times, it has its pace, looks and style all in proportions. Apart from Aamir you may not find any stars but all of them were brilliant and have given their heart and soul to the movie. The relation of the past with contemperory times and the freedom fighters with the new age rebels were fine and well knitted. The climax of the movie was the best as far as i think as it was different, purely different. Rang de basanti is a must watch and its full of youthfullness.
Iqbal (2005)
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Starring: Shreyas Talpade, Naseeruddin Shah, Shweta Prasad, Girish Karnad
Nagesh Kukunoor gave us a simple, entertaining and most importantly an inspiring cinema through Iqbal. He showed us how a speechless with his disabilities can get into the toughest-to-get-in job in the cricket crazy country. Iqbal's (Shreyas Talpade) relaionship with his coach, his sister and his buffaloes (which are named after cricketers) were simply displayed good and Nagesh had done a good job by riding of over emotions and sentiments from the movie. One of my favourite scene in the movie is the appearance of the legend Kapil Dev as the secret selector. Iqbal can touch your heart and its another movie that tells you, "YOU CAN".
