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Best Hindi Films of the Year So Far
A good portion of 2010 is already history but Bollywood is yet to deliver that one big knockout movie.
Even though there wasn't any shortage of biggies, most of them failed to live up to the hype.
Mixed reactions notwithstanding, many viewers enjoyed the visual poetry of Raavan and quirky theme of Karthik Calling Karthik to ensure them a place in the category of 'almost'.
Nevertheless, here's a look at some of this year's best Hindi films so far:
Ishqiya
Debutant director Abhishek Chaubey's Ishqiya bears a sly mix of charming whims and eccentric attitude that's impossible to oversight.
Top this uber-stylish, twisted drama about a deceitfully mysterious troika with a swish of retro, effervescent score, nifty writing and Vidya Balan's breathtaking sensuality, what have you?
The Best Film of 2010. Until now, anyway. Will Peepli Live change all that? We'll just have to wait and find out.
Love Sex Aur Dhoka
Any film that throws your jaw on the floor for being so blatantly different deserves all the encouragement.
Dibakar Banerjee's sensational take on voyeurism challenges the average viewer out of his candy-floss conditioned comfort zone to appreciate the versatility of filmmaking as well as teach his colleagues a thing or two about originality and imagination.
Some call it unconventional. Others, pure genius.
Road to Sangam
Despite gathering numerous accolades in the international film circuit, Amit Rai's Road To Sangam barely found any audience back home to acknowledge its brilliance.
Articulating the dilemma of man asked to choose between his faith and his convictions, Road to Sangam delves into the ideas of Gandhian values in the face of extreme fanaticism with a taut script and rock-solid performances from Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra.
Striker
In Chandan Arora's grim and realistic portrayal of Mumbai through the 1980s and 1990s, Siddharth plays an ace carrom player slipping into the murky underbelly against his will.
A high-strung and layered drama, Striker aims to impress with its sleek detailing, spirited Various Artists soundtrack and terrific ensemble cast piloted by its remarkable leading man.
Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge
Get over the god-awful soundtrack and Ashwni Dhir's Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is decidedly more amusing than the big-budgeted farcical comedies we're subjected to every few weeks. For one, Ajay Devgn and Konkona Sen-Sharma are perfectly believable as an urban couple coping with day-to-day domestic crisis and a pesky guest that refuses to leave.
Ditto for Paresh Rawal who makes his overbearing but good-hearted atithi too cute to despise. Any other actor would have gone over-the-top but Rawal lends it the correct blend of panic, wisdom and sentimentality.
Raajneeti
It's not one of Prakash Jha's best works but, nonetheless, an engrossing adaptation of the copiously complex albeit unfailingly relevant Mahabharata with Godfather thrown in good measure.
Despite its faulty screenplay and convoluted ideas which have little to do with politics and more with Bollywood brand of soppy personal equations, Raajneeti works purely on the strength of some gritty performances from its eclectic cast.
My Name is Khan
Karan Johar's attempt to step outside the mush zone oscillates from poignant to pretentious. For all its glaring inconsistencies it's an ambitious movie about naivet and limitations struggling to survive amidst existing disparities in post 9/11 US.
And when not trying to show off, the spectacularly-shot My Name Is Khan hits the right note with its hard-hitting display of emotion through the leading pair's legendary chemistry and potent delivery as victims of discrimination.