This is a list of my favourite movies / serials, spanning Marathi – English as well as Hindi. While I am openly tilted towards Marathi entertainment of all kinds, in compiling this, I have made every effort to remain as unbiased as feasible. That said, this subject – AV Entertainment – is by definition subjective, and thus, to that extent, the element of subjectivity is present. I have enumerated the top 30 here –of these, 20 are Marathi; 4 are in English, 1 German and 5 are Hindi Movies. Among Hindi movies – none are recent; the latest is 2009.
CRITERIAThe criteria for introducing objectivity in the judgements I have used are – Story, Character Charts, Script, Performance, Uniqueness of concept / script / story, Lesson from movie, My response & mood on watching, Screenplay, Direction, Camerawork / Cinematography in that order. {Fair decleration of perceptive noise source in rating} I have not given any weightage to Special Effects / technology etc in either rating the movies on IMDB, or in my movie reviews on my blog – I don’t personally consider that to be arts or cinema; being a purist, overt special effects is a huge turn-off for me – I place emphasis on pure art, and human involvement in terms of story etc. I have consciously always deducted 2 stars for Special Effects predominant stuff – and added 2 stars for each movie that I watch repeatedly many times over. That is why Independence Day misses the cut, and Inside Job qualifies, for example. That is also why my list is Marathi dominant {67%} as well as story / character / performance dominant
CHOOSING….The real difficulty started when I tried to choose the first among equals : a list has to start somewhere. Regular documentation of my ratings first on my blog and thereafter on IMDB gave me my top-rated stuff. But where to start? It was a choice between 3 Idiots, Mumbai Pune Mumbai and Ek Unad Divas… finally, I settled for my heart – the inimitable Mumbai Pune Mumbai – to my mind, one of the finest movies ever made…
But perhaps the saddest cut of all was the exclusion of Mangalashtak Once More – that hurt a lot. This is a movie that qualified – 10 stars – on all parameters; given my heavy heart on watching it, I was forced to reduce it to 7 stars, as I had identified mood response as a critical parameter. Movies in my belief should make you feel good. Thus, given the content, MOM missed it. Otherwise, Mangalashtak Once More easily reaches the top of the list – even above Mumbai Pune Mumbai. Others which missed the cut and surprised me were Dhyanimani, Sairat, Sumbaran, Border and Singham…
So that, my friends, is my top 3 : Mumbai Pune Mumbai, Ek Unaad Divas and 3 Idiots. Story, Uniqueness, Lessons, Script, Performance, Character-Charts made these… The perceptive noise source identified above can be seen – impact on mood, which is my personal choice. As I said, fair and open transparency in the ratings. Among the rest, I can list some real gems : Kaasav, LOC, Baapjanm, Lokmanya, Katyar, Rommel, Margin Call, Hampi and many others; giving an eclectic mix of genres spanning a Documentaries, Suspense Thrillers, Comedies, War, Character Based Biographies and more… Also, there were quite a few top Hindi English movies that barely missed the cut by a literal millimeter – PK, Heqeeqat, Awara, Silsila, Ittefeq {old}, Waqt, Seige of Jadotville, The Longest Day… which brings me to the last source of error - recency
THE LIST1. Mumbai Pune Mumbai – Swapnil Joshi, Mukta Barve; this is the enthralling story of 2 people talking for 2 straight hours over the period of a single day. There is no other character. Enough Said.
2. Ek Unaad Divas – Ashok Saraf, Ila Bhate; the story revolves around a top corporate manager’s day – in which he learns a life lesson about how to live, really live… a movie that leaves a lasting impression on you, and teaches you an unforgettable lesson in living!
3. 3 Idiots – Amir Khan, Kareena Kapoor-Khan, Sharman Joshi, R Madhavan; The story of 3 friends, and a lasting lesson in what good education really means…
4. Coffee Ani Barach Kaahi - Vaibhav Tatwavadi, Prarthana Behere; A touching heart warming love story that touches your heart… truly one of a kind!
5. Lokmanya Ek Yugpurush – Subodh Bhave in the role of a lifetime; a stunning movie on Lokmanya Tilak!
6. Angoor – Sanjeev Kumar*2, Deven Verma *2, Moushumi Chatterjee, Dipti Naval; Iconic Comedy of two pairs of twins, a laughter riot…
7. Hrudayantar – Subodh Bhave, Mukta Barve; a simply stunning movie that is among the finest ever in Indian Moviedom – the story of a Husband & Wife near Divorce, and their terminally sick daughter… never have I seen a more mind-blowing performance as from Subodh & Mukta in this one!
8. Katyar Kaljat Ghusli – Subodh Bhave again! A stunning Musical. Enough said – only movie in my experience that got a standing ovation from the audience…
9. Chi Va Chi Sau Ka – Lalit Prabhakar, Mrunmayee Godbole; Rolling Comedy of a modern couple of traditional parents – and a truly unique experiment….
10.Rudram – Mukta Barve; A roll of a lifetime. A spine-chilling Revenge story, as Mukta goes after the killers of her family. Surreal Stuff… sends shivers down your spine!
11. Kaasav – Mohan Agashe, Irawati Harshe; a lovely soft touching story of human relationships combined with a twin story on Turtle conservation…
12. Golmaal – Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt, Dipti Naval … this needs no detailing!
13.Aapla Manus – Nana Patekar; A superb thriller around an old man’s fall from the balcony – was it a suicide? Was it a murder? Was it an accident? An awesome whodunit…
14.Baapjanm – Sachin Khedekar; a hilarious side-splitting story of a retired spy’s mission to bring his family closer to him…
15.Premachi Goshta – Atul Kulkarni, Sagarika Ghatge; A classy heart-warming soft story of mature love between two people in the process of divorce
16.Hampi – Lalit Prabhakar, Sonalee Kulkarni; This a love story – and truly unique. A story that defies description, characterized by soul-searching silence, awesome cinematophy, stunning yet soft powerful dialogues… see it to believe. This is the pinnacle of movie-making!
17. Aaghat – Vikram Gokhle, Mukta Barve; A lovely thrilling drama around a famous doctor, his mistake – and the fight of a junior doctor for justice… seat-edge drama!
18.LOC Kargil – Too many actors to list! And well known story as well… self-explanatory
19.Eka Lagnachi Dusri Goshta – Swapnil Joshi, Mukta Barve; A unique story of two people marrying with the express objective of not marrying… a lovely story of two families and how they become inexhorably connected in a deep relationship!
20. Lagaan – Amir Khan, Gracy Singh; The story of how a village team beat the local English Army Team to gain 2 years lagaan maafi…
21. Margin Call – Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore and others; The story of the collapse of an Investment Bank, and all it entails
22.Shwaas – Sandeep Kulkarni, Arun Nalawade, Ashwin Chitale; a touching story of a Grandfather’s choice – Grandson’s eyesight – or his life? And how to tell the child?
23.Cycle – Hrushikesh Joshi; A unique story of a man’s hunt for his stolen cycle
24. Aamhi Doghi – Mukta Barve, Priya Bapat; What happens when your step mother and you have a small age difference? This is the subject; unique treatment – with sensitivity and panache.
25.Tokyo Trial – Irrfan Khan and others; The full true story of the Japanese War Crimes Trials, exposing the Western Hypocrisy
26. Rommel – Ulrich Tukur; German Movie on the Desert Fox…
27.Duniyadaari – Swapnil Joshi, Jitendra Joshi, Ankush Choudhary; A refreshingly different take on the oft-told concept of dying man… with intriguing twists
28. The Looming Tower – Jeff Daniels, Tahar Rahim; True Story behind theintelligence failures before the 9/11 attacks on the USA
29. Ek Krantiveer – Vasudeo Balwant Phadke – Ajinkya Deo; True story of Freedom Fighter Vasudeo Balwant Phadke
30. Inside Job – Matt Damon and others; a detailed look at what happened in the financial meltdown of 2008…
This then is the list as on date. I have tried to be fair & balanced; yet am mature enough to realize rating movies can be highly perception driven, ridden with hidden biases & perceptive noise. I have made an effort to identify the sources of error as may be present; and also recognize this will change with time. However, one thing will not change – that Special Effects, Computer stuff and tech heavy stuff will not quality, as that is my personal opinion of it being not really fully “art”… I have made every effort to remove language bias in this – and am pleased to note the presence of 20 Marathi movies – with the rest being 4 English and 1 German…
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