My favorite movies!. Review on Ten Best Hindi Movies

Writing about 10 best Hindi movies is a delightful topic to write on. But yeah, out of scores of classics of Hindi cinema, taking out 10 of my favorites was very difficult. So without wasting much space, let me directly get down to writing down my 10 favorite Hindi movies. They are in no order of preference.

1. Do Aankhen Baarah Haath

This is one of my all time favorite movies. The story of a jailor trying to reform 6 rogues is one of the most innovative movies I ever saw. Some say it is a true story, though I am not sure. If it is, do let me know! The song ‘E maalik tere bandhe hum’ is a all time classic bhajan, and went to become many school’s prayer too. The acting by V.Shantaram as the jailor is probably his best performance as a director and as well as the actor. If one has not seen this movie, then you shouldn’t miss this movie at any cost.

2. Khamoshi (old one)

This movie too had me hooked for days together. The story is set in a hospital, where a nurse trying to cure a mad-man falls in love with him. Unfortunately, the mad man, becomes okay and leaves her to return to his beloved, which leaves the nurse dejected. Then comes another mad man, who needs to be cured, and once again, she falls in love with the second one. But this time around, in the fear that she might lose him like before eats her brain, and she goes mad as well. The story was depicted brilliantly on screen. Wahida Raman gave a superb performance as the nurse. The music was brilliant too. All in all, a great movie to have been made in hindi cinema.

3. Mughal-E-Azam

Without this movie on the list, the list would look barren. This is what I call a perfect movie in every respect…be it dialogues, songs, acting, screenplay. You name it, and the movie scores a perfect 10 in all departments. Salim’s love for Anarkali has been brilliantly potrayed on screen. Dilip Kumar gives his career best performance in this movie as Salim, but the one who stole the show was Prithviraj Chauhan as Akbar. The highlight of the movie was the sole color song ‘pyaar kiya to darna kya ‘, which remains an all time classic song. I could watch this movie any number of times. This movie is a definite must on my list!

4. Guide

This is another all time favorite. The story of a robber forced to turn a saint is brilliant. The converted saint, then inspires people, and dies for them too. The contradiction of two opposite characters in a single person was superbly displayed by Dev Anand on screen. Wahida Raman was again brilliant. Inspired by the novel of the same name, this is one of those very few movies where the film looks better than the novel. This one is a must see movie, and if one hasn’t seen it, then see it at the first chance you get!

5. Mother India

This movie recently got the award for the best Hindi cinema ever. And it rightly deserves it, though Mughal-E-Azam is its only competitor. This multi-star studded melodrama was a huge hit. The story spans the life and struggle of a woman and how she raises her family. The climax where she shoots her own son, is probably one of the most haunting scene in the movie. Brilliantly directed, this movie boasts of some very good performances by lead characters, but Nargis as the mother of the children single handedly scores over any one else in the movie. Don’t miss this one!

6. Shakti

The story of father-son relationship is the best movie to have come out on the topic. The father and son strain their relation so much that son becomes a robber just because his father is a cop. The son mis-interprets his father’s honesty to the job ( which is very understandable in the movie) and becomes a robber. Finally when its too late, his father who still holds his duty more than his family, shoots down his son. The final scene at the airport is amazing to say the least. Dilip Kumar as the father, and Amitabh Bachchan as the son give a stunning performance…its really difficult to say who acted better in this movie. R.D.Burman’s one single tune which was used throughout the movie was a brilliant piece of composition. This according to me is Amitabh’s best movie.

7. Satya

This modern times classic is my personal favorite. The dark grueling story of underworld is just too good. What is so good about the movie is it is so hard hitting and realistic, and at the same time manages to be within the mainstream cinema. All credits to Ram Gopal Verma for creating such a wonderful hard hitting movie. Manoj Vajpee as Bhiku Matre has went on to become a modern day icon of our times. One will find one Bhiku Matre everywhere, and it’s a style to be Bhiku Matre. Such a phenomena I have never seen in Hindi movies, where the character has gone on inspire people for years together. A superb hard hitting movie. Its definitely a classic.

8. Lagaan

No matter people agree or not, for me, Lagaan is a classic. The 3 hr 42 minute story of a villagers trying to learn cricket to beat British team is one of the most novel ideas in a movie ever. More importantly it’s the triumph of human spirit that has been displayed so brilliantly in the movie. The unity of the villagers working towards their one single goal is shown brilliantly. I believe, each one of us should be inspired by the movie and stand united in times of need. Hats off to Amir Khan for giving us a classic of all times. The movie has bagged awards at the London film festival, the Leeds film festival, and got a great reception at the Toronto film festival too. This movie is being released in United States with Miramax as distributors…so I would definitely ask all our American friends to give this movie a watch. I bet every one will love this one.

9. Dil Chahta Hai

One would think it strange that I chose this movie amidst all other classics. But yet again, I consider this one as a modern classic. The story of three friends and their lives is simply superb. What was so good about the movie was that each one of us can relate to the movie. The characters looked real and looked as if they were our next door neighbors. The second half did get boring towards end, but that can be discounted for the wonderful treat the movie gives. The value of friendship has been shown will full respect and care, and has been shown quite realistically. Add to that some good music, and even better filming of the songs, leaves one asking for more. All in all, if you have not seen this movie, then you have missed a classic movie again.

1. The tenth movie proved to be too hard to chose for me, because there were too many contenders in my list for the spot. So instead of naming just one, I will name all the movies which I thought should have been in the list but could have been left out because the topic didn’t allow more than ten movies. The other movies which I considered all time great cinema are : Anand, Aradhana, Sadma, Ishwar, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Prahaar, Ardh Satya, Mera Naam Jokar, Shri 420, Aah, and Baazigar.

And NO! I don’t think Sholay is a classic!!!! So I left it out!

Happy viewing!