The Perfect 10!!. Review on Ten Best Hindi Movies

To pick-up ten best movies from a list of thousands (or lakhs?) of Hindi movies is a real tough one. Still I am willing to give it a try. And the topic clearly says the “Best Movies’ and not “Favourite Movies”. Hence I’ll try and stick to those, which in my opinion are technically superior, had a strong appeal on audience and critics and which have survived the tests of time. Of course, my personal biases will definitely come in.. that’s human only.

Aandhi

Made in mid 1970s, this film depicts the loneliness of a successful woman. The striggle between personal and professional lives. With extremely strong performances by the two lead characters (Sanjeev Kumar & Suchitra Sen), the movie was marked by controversy at the time of its release. The music is phenomenal and the direction was quite captivating. The movie is good enough to get A+ in all categories.

Anand

A movie which marked the beginning of a whole new era of Hindi films. Anand did not die, Anand made himself immortal in our hearts. It may be Babumosai or it may be Murarilal.. we still remember. This movie made us realize, even people in very short roles can be memorable. I am sure all of us today clearly remember Johnny Walker, Lalita Pawar and Asit Sen even though their roles were quite small.

Guide

In the times when the good and bad were clearly segregated in Hindi movies, Vijay Anand dared to mix these two. His characters in the movie were not black or white; they were in various shades of grey. We saw topics like extra marital affair handled with least controversy. It was a movie for all times. Again, strong characters, performance, direction and music made the movie memorable.

Kagaz ke Phool

Was this the first biographical film? Was it a biography after all? Too difficult to answer. But the movie has been very close to the hearts of the cine critiques. Gurudutt and Waheeda gave the performance of their lifetime. The story depicted the tragic life of a director and unfortunately this movie failed miserably at the box office, leading to suicide of one of the greatest actor-directors: Guru Dutt.

Lagaan

Most recent entry in my list. I have picked this up ahead of its contemporaries (Gaddar, Kahonaa… and a host of SRTK movies) because of its technical superiority. From an unthinkable topic, the makers have made it a movie to remember. Attention to slightest details, good interlinking of the plot and the performances have made it a great one to remember.

Lamhe

Ha…. My favourite!!! A movie which is said to be made ahead of its time… ahead of its time or not, the movie was a technical perfection. We see a man in a dilemma after the daughter of the lady whom he loved, falls in love with him. Yash Chopra handled this sensitive topic with utmost care. What made this movie memorable was the performance of the 4 characters in the lead roles and the dialogues. Lamhe may have flopped, but we can not take away its credits.

Mera Naam Joker

Another biographical movie, another movie said to be made ahead of time, another flop at box office. Was it the last time we saw Raj Kapoor in a lead role? The movie was a beauty. It talked of joker, but showed us all sorrows in life. It also broke the notion that a man can fall in love only once in his life. Excellent music.

Moghul-e-Aazam

The battle between a state and love… a choice between being an emperor and sacrificing one’s life over love. That was Moghul-e-Aazam. A movie, which took nearly a decade in making and all small details were taken care of. Everything was good about the movie. But what stands out is the strong performance of the three leads.

Mother India

How can a review of mine be complete without Mother India? (I seem to be coming back to this movie again and again). The story of a tyrant Lala and how he destroyed a happy family, the story of a mother and a lady.. All the three leads in the movie (Nargis, Sunil Dutta and Kanhaiya Lal) did the performance of their life time in this movie. Music was ok (nothing great) but the picturisation and the direction made this movie almost a winner at the Oscars (lost by 1 vote after 3 rounds of voting).

Sholay

The landmark of Indian Cinema… Indian cinema has never been the same after Sholay… I can call it as a never again movie. I don’t want to write much about this… Sholay is Sholay…..