The best, the worst and the in between - adieu 2010

The year is racing to a finish, and it is time to look back at what went by, or rather whizzed by. I wish I could have read more, seen more films, traveled more places – and eaten less
Films: There were some really good ones and there were some really bad ones, and then there was mostly a lot of stuff in between. After a hiatus from Bollywood I went back to watching a lot of BW films (mostly what released in theaters here), while picking my HW films with care and caution! Here is a HW list:
1. Inception – loved the film, the mind-bender that kept us thinking and discussing for days on end. Leo DiCaprio did not disappoint and Marion Cotillard was luminous.

2. True Grit – as a 14 year old girl seeking revenge for her father’s killing, Hallee Steinfeld was brilliant, and Jeff Bridges shone as Rooster Cogburn.
3. Shutter Island – I thought this one was an overlooked gem, again a mind-bender with DiCaprio in a lead role as the man who is living withing the illusions created by his mind.
4. 127 Hours – a gory tale of man vs. nature, with James Franco shining in the role of Aron Ralston. Must see once, but certainly not worth seeing again for me.
Next is the BW list:
1. Ishqiya – a film rooted in the hinterland, with a vengeful woman and two drifters seeking romance; Vidya Balan finally found a milieu that suited her to a T and Naseeruddin Shah was brilliant. The music was sublime.
2. Raajneeti – a near improbable tale mixing the Nehru family in with the Mahabharata, but something in the film appealed to me! The ensemble cast did well but standouts were Manoj Bajpai and Arjun Rampal.
3. Band Baajaa Baarat – the tale of Bittu and Shruti and the wedding planning binness – who would have though this could amount to much? But it did! The film sparkled like a gem, carried aloft by the grounded setting and the crackling dialogs.
4. Dabangg – again it was the rootedness of the setting that appealed to me. I cannot really pinpoint why Wanted seemed horrible and misogynistic but Dabangg did not! Salman was not acting but carried the film on his persona, and Sonakshi was a welcome change from the size zero beauty queens that grace the silver screen today. And Munni kills Sheila A N Y D A Y!!!
As for the worst: It was hard to pick there were so MANY! And the disclaimer is that these are the films I saw OR gave a good college try at seeing. Many much worse ones must exist – but I cannot diss that which I did not experience!
5. Kites – The film was so drab and uninteresting, so sloppily written, and so pretentious it was had to stomach. Barbara Mori was unsuited for this role, brought nothing to the table that could be shown uncut to Indian audiences, and Hrithik got little chance to showcase his abilities.
IN A TIE WITH
5. Guzaarish – the film was dull and uninteresting as a tale. The protagonist was never a living breathing creature whose loss of limbs we could sympathize with. Aishwarya did a decent job as the nurse but was not given much opportunity to rise above the extreme makeup and clothing that adorned her.
4. Khelein Hum Jee Jaan sey – I cannot doubt the sincerity of the film, the need to tell this particular story, but even documentaries must engage or they lose their audience. This one was again drab and dull and hard to get past the intermission mark for me.
3. Dulha Mil Gaya – aargh! Sushmita and Shahrukh – what were they doing in this mess? Fardeen I can understand – but why even make this film?

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