Top 5 Bollywood Films of 2016

As we move towards the end of another year, it’s time to rate the winners of 2016. In terms of box-office performances it was an unusual year for Bollywood where stories turned out to be the ultimate hero.

Big names like Hrithik Roshan and Ajay Devgn failed to make a mark with their big-budget products like ‘Mohajo Daro’ and ‘Shivaay’. Even Shah Rukh’s stardom and improved performance in recent years in ‘Fan’ couldn’t save the loopholes in the story.

Salman Khan had another good year with ‘Sultaan’ and Akshay Kumar gave three 100cr movies too. A lot is expected from Aamir’s ‘Dangal’ but for now these are the top 5 films of the year:

1. Pink

A brave and powerful take on everything that is wrong with our society, PINK deserves the top spot of 2016. It is an honest attempt to portray the problems faced by young women in their day-to-day lives and you can relate to it.

An engaging storyline is backed by good direction, tight editing, blazing performances from the three leads: Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Tariang and at the centre of all the on-screen drama is the maestro: Amitabh Bachchan.

It’s surprising that it took Bollywood so long to make a movie like this that challenges the stereotype that a girl provokes the molester.

2. Aligarh

From being Bhiku Mahatre in Ram Gopal Varma’s classic ‘Satya’ to play a gay professor in Aligarh, Manoj Bajpayee has come a long way as an actor. Hansal Mehta picked a very sensitive topic and Manoj Bajpayee’s acting gave it the final touch.

He was supported in his quest to get his rightful place by an effortless Rajkumar Rao who is another actor growing with each film.

Sublime and Sensitive are the words that describe ‘Aligarh’ and is movie that everyone should watch.

3. Udta Punjab

It’s good to see how much Indian cinema matured in 2016 and Udta Punjab was another fine example of it. It’s not just a brilliant cinematic experience but it is a very important film for the country because of the problem it focuses on.

Drug abuse in Punjab is affecting the lives of thousands of youngsters pushing them into a hole without sunlight. It was in news for wrong reasons as it was denied a certification by Censor Board.

However, the public and makes gave them a tough fight and finally the film was released making all the right noises. Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh and Kareena Kapoor did justice to their roles.

4. MS Dhoni: The Untold Story

MS Dhoni was appreciated more for the performance of Sushant Singh Rajput rather than its story but it is by far one of the best biopics made in India. The reason for that is that it completely justified it’s title.

The film focused on those tales about MS Dhoni about which people had no idea. For example, the Cooch Behar Trophy match of 1999 where Dhoni and his teammates were destroyed by Yuvraj Singh.

The hard-work put in to make the film reflects on the screen.

5. Neerja

This is a little surprising but also a happy moment to feature a Sonam Kapoor film in the top 5 list. Surprising because it’s not too often that she delivers a performance like that and happy because in a way it’s good for the Indian cinema.

Some credit should be given to the debutant director Ram Madhvani who had strong grip over the film and was complimented by the writing of Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyukhta Chawla.

This movie also gave two bright prospects to Bollywood in Abrar Zahoor and Jim Sarbh who played the roles of terrorists with great conviction.

Other notable movies of the year were Akshay Kumar’s Airlift and Rustom, Shakun Batra’s family drama Kapoor and Sons and R. Madhavan’s boxing punch ‘Sala Khadoos’.

Shah Rukh Khan: The Actor Who Chose to Be a Star

A Still from Dear Zindagi

For last few years, I have been one of the biggest critics of Shah Rukh Khan and often got into arguments with his fans because of the same. With ‘Dear Zindagi’ set to release this Friday, the spotlight is once again on the ‘King of Romance’.

Now in the past one week, I came across two very interesting statements that forced me to write this piece. The first incident happened when Arjun Rampal was promoting his upcoming film ‘Kahaani 2’. He was asked by a reporter, “You have completed 15 years in Bollywood. What is it that didn’t let you become that larger-than-life superstar?”

He replied, “I don’t want to be that. I want to be an actor. I am a superstar, I was born one. There’s nothing that excites me about that.” This was a highly impressive answer and exactly where Shah Rukh went wrong.

Where Did He Lose the Path?

He emerged as one of the most versatile actors of his generation. There was no one who could match his flamboyance and charm in the 90s and he proved that in films like Dil Se, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaenge. While Darr showed that he can play negative roles as well, the grey shaded character in Baazigar still remains fresh in our memories.

Chak De India is Still One of His Best Films

His status in the industry grew with impeccable performances in Swades and Chak De India! Yes there was a Duplicate in between but those flops never had any impact on his stardom whatsoever. He seemed to be learning with every mistake that he committed.

By 2008, he looked set to finish as the most complete and versatile actors of Bollywood and since then, everything has fallen apart. In last few years he has Happy New Year, Chennai Express and Dilwale to show against his name.

Is it Too Late for Realization?

This brings me to the second incident that inspired me to come up with this post. When Karan Johar recently asked Shah Rukh about other Bollywood actors’ box-office success, he replied, “I said 25 years ago that I want to make five best films in the world. And suddenly I realise I don’t even have one of them. I just need to get my cinema right.”

Lucky to Share Frame with Him

This reminded me of everything that has happened in last 12 months. Dilwale was outperformed by Baajirao Mastaani at the box-office and Fan was a much improved yet a desperate effort to bring back the old days.

The process continues with Dear Zindagi. He gave us characters like Raj, Rahul, Ajay Sharma, Veer Pratap Singh and Kabir Khan. He lived them but the phenomenon has gone missing in last six years. And, the above statement shows that he has finally realized it.

What Can We Expect from Here?

For most years he dominated Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan but if things stays like this, both these actors can beat him in terms of stardom when a longer career will be taken into account. Aamir certainly has a league of his own and face no competition from any other actor.

Akshay on the other hand, is the most improved actor in the industry right now and is finally getting his scripts right too. Salman Khan recently said in the Robot 2.0 launch event that, “Akshay has been growing while we all have been stagnant.”

The Rivalry will Get Interesting

This has to be the biggest concern for Shah Rukh. The problem doesn’t end here and the younger generation is also finding its foot slowly. Ranveer Singh’s stars are on a rise and he looks like an ideal candidate to replace King Khan.

This was evident after his performance in the Global Citizen Festival India. His act was placed between Jay Z and Coldplay which is a reflection of his status in the industry, the brands are growing crazy after him and he has a similar charm too.

At 51, Shah Rukh Khan is not getting any younger. Next two years will be the most important of his career. The choice is clear you can either be remembered as one of the best or the greatest.

From here he can either be remembered as the Al Pacino of Bollywood or be forgotten as the Robert De Niro. In both the cases, the status might remain the same but the greatness won’t.