2004: The Best and the Worst of Indian Movies

Well, I guess the title is kinda misleading since I am covering only Tamil and Hindi flicks here. Quite frankly, though Malayalam cinema is not part of this post, havta admit that it does come up with more than a few noteworthy efforts during the course of every year.

Disclaimer: I have seen most of the movies that needed to be seen save Morning Raga in Hindi and Kaadhal in Tamil but in case I have missed out on some noteworthy performances, would appreciate mentions in the comments section.

Bollywood round up:

The awards IMHO should go as follows:

Movie of the year - Swades
Best actor - Shah Rukh Khan (Swades)
Best actress - Shilpa Shetty (Phir Milenge)
Best supporting actor - Om Puri (Dev)
Best supporting actress - Rani Mukherjee (Yuva)
Best director - Ashutosh Gowariker (Swades)
Best music director - AR Rahman (Swades, Yuva)
Best lyricist - Javed Akhtar (Swades)
Best male singer - Udit Narain (Agar Main, Yeh Tara, Aisa Des Hai)
Best female singer - Alka Yagnik (Badal Jo, Agar Main, Hum Tum)
Best cinematographer - Mahesh Aney (Swades)

Critics award

Best actor - Abhishek Bachchan (Yuva, Phir Milenge)
Best actress - Gayatri Joshi (Swades)
Best director - Revathy (Phir Milenge)

Just a few more personally sponsored awards:

Torture of the year: God Only Knows

Bare-Dare act of the year: Payal Rastogi in Tauba Tauba

Whats-in-a-name movie of the year: Popcorn Khao Mast Ho Jao.. which reminds me of last years winner...Ssshhh..and an interesting story (Now imagine this scene - I go to the theatre and say " Can you give me tickets to..Ssshhh...?" The ticketwala is puzzled and says "But I didnt make any noise" I say " No sir...Sssshhh.." He says " Boss, dont sshhhh me" I am hopping mad now and indicate towards the poster. He looks and says "I am not deaf.. But why are u Sshhing me" I say "wot the *&^% I want to see that movie" He says "Are you serious ?")

"So-we-are-supposed-to-actually-act?" couple of the year: Vivek Oberoi in Yuva and Aishwarya Rai in Bride and Prejudice and both of them in Kyuun...

Movies to watch out in 2005

# Black - Besides the fact that I expect it to be Rani's best film to date, whether it will be Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ticket to the Oscars is the big question.
# Sarkar - RGV's tribute to The Godfather starring the Bachchans
# John Mathew Mathan's untitled next starring Shahid - will he able to recreate the magic of Sarfarosh ?
# Munnabhai meets Mahatma - will the sequel be as good as the original ?
# The Rising - Aamir Khan's long-in-the-making epic

Kollywood round up

The awards IMHO should go as follows:

Movie of the year - Autograph
Best actor - Kamal Hassan (Virumandi)
Best actress - Abhirami (Virumandi) ;-)
Best supporting actor - Pasupathy (Virumandi)
Best supporting actress - Mallika (Autograph)
Best director - Cheran (Autograph)
Best music director - AR Rahman (Aayitha Ezhuthu, Kangalal.., New)
Best lyricist - Na Muthukumar (7G Rainbow Colony)
Best male singer - KK (Appdi podu, Kaadhalikkum aasai, Kaadhal Valarthen)
Best female singer - Shreya Ghoshal (Unna Vida, Ninaithu Ninaithu, Pathukulle Number)
Best cinematographer - Ravi K Chandran (Aayitha Ezhuthu)

Critics award

Best actor - Parthipan (Kudaikul Mazhai)
Best actress - Sonia Agarwal (7G Rainbow Colony)
Best director - Ratha Mohan (Azhagiya Theeye)

Just a few more personally sponsored awards:

Torture of the year: Jai

Bare-Dare act of the year: Vindhya in Vayasu Pasanga

Whats-in-a-name movie of the year: M Kumaran S/o Mahalakshmi (why not go down 4 more generations?)

"So-we-are-supposed-to-actually-act?" couple of the year: Vaseegaran and Priyamani in Kangalal Kaidhu Sei

Movies to watch out in 2005

# Chandramukhi starring THE ONE AND ONLY SUPER STAR
# Mani Ratnam's next with 5 new stars
# Ajit's still untitled movie with Bala
# Mumbai Express starring the versatile Kamal Hassan and my old flame Manisha
# Shankar's Anniyan starring Kenny

PS: Whatever I do, this tsunami thing just won't go away. Neway one of my friend's mom is stuck in the Andamans where she had gone for a holiday. Plssss plssss pray for her well being and safe return.