AnksReview - Top 10 Hindi Films of 2020

I know I am a little late on putting this in as I was watching and finishing a few notable movies of 2020. So here is my list of Top 20 Movies of the unique year 2020.

1. Thappad

Thappad is a family drama set up in Delhi where a wife played by Tapsee Punnu got slapped by her husband during one incident.  The complex subject is being portrayed by great simplicity and with amazing performance. The movie makes you think about how we take big things for granted and forgiven in our society. This is by far the best movie of 2020 and kudos goes to Anubhav Sinha for great direction.

2. Serious Men

Serious Men is a comedy satire that questions how our society blindly follows intelligence without knowing the depth of it. It's a story about a father who always wanted his son to be the brightest by tricking the world as he knows it. Amazing movie and great performance by Nawazuddin.

3. Raat Akeli Hai

Raat Akeli is a Crime Thriller about a murder investigation of a famous family by a cop played by Nazazuddin Siddiqui. The movie is gripping, has its own speed, and surprises you in the climax and not to mention another great performance by Nawzuddin. 

4. Ludo

Ludo is an ensemble action-comedy with a common thread among four characters which is played by Pankaj Tripathi. It's witty, funny, shocking, and keeps you on the edge. A great watch

5. Panga

Panga is a sports-drama based on the story of a Kabaddi Player who makes comes back to the world championship in her mid-thirties and her struggle towards it. The movie was quite well made and an amazing performance by Kangra,

6. Unpaused

Unpaused is a movie made of short stories with Pandemic Lockdown as a backdrop on how the Pandemic affected the life of people from various walks of life. The beauty here is the simplicity of stories and great performance backed by superb direction.

7. Kaamyab

Kaamyab is a drama based on the retired character artiste from the Hindi Film industry whose rolls were famous but never recognized in the mainstream. It's a movie amount about their struggle to survive and keep artists among them alive and also their personal lives.

8. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saawdhaan

Shubh Mangal Zyada .... is a slapstick comedy by Ayishmann Khurana on Gay Relationship and it's acceptance by a traditional middle-class family. It's a good light watch not as good as its first franchise.

9. Chintu Ka Birthday

Chintu Ka Birthday is a comedy-drop setup in the backdrop of Iraq's crisis where a normal Indian father wants to celebrate the birthday of his son. It's a very simple movie but has a deep message and beautifully made. Vinay Pathak is simply a delight to watch with his performance.

10. Lootcase

Lootcase is a movie on the comedy of errors where normal printing press workers find Rs 10 crore of a politician and how he gets into trouble with a series of funny events after that. The good part of the movie is its plot and comic timing which keeps you interested.

I hope you all like the selection and please let me know about any movies which I missed.

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Thappad (5/5)

Thappad: Slap on your belief

Thappad is an intense family drama directed by Anubhav Sinha. It's a movie about a perfect family of Amrita (Tapsee Punnu) and Vikram (Pavail Gulati) where Amrita is a modern and ideal housewife who takes care of her house and Vikram is ambitious professionals who want to grow in career.
The movie starts with the usual daily chores life which is quite common in any family and where Vikram is preparing himself to win a promotion to move to London. The movie start with an untoward incidence that happens in a party where Vikram slaps Amrita on rage in front of everyone over a scuffle with his office colleague. That one slap changes Amrita's perspective about her life and unfolds how that slap jolted her but people around her were okay with it. The slap shook her to the core and her ideas about relationship and self-belief and she decided to divorce Vikram for it.

Thappad is not a film about a wife teaching her husband not to take her for granted. It’s about a woman's self-discovery, realizing what is fair, how women are expected to adapt to new normal and accept the casual insensitivity towards them. While watching Thappad you will be quite involved in Amrita’s story and you can so relate with it and feel so uncomfortable about this ugly fact which is shown in the movie. Thappad also busts all our myths that well to do family, or educated / professional class, women who are in power are immune to these issues.

It’s full credit to Anubhav Sinha who perfectly told this story with beautifully crafted characters like Vikram & Amrita Parents, their friends, and siblings, feminist lawyer, housemaid, all perfectly played by the amazing casts. It is a very well written movie and I would say well balanced as it doesn't dramatise the slap or show family drama but focusses on the real issues which we subtly ignore in our society. Thappad has amazing casts and each one does justice to their characters however the great credit goes to Taapsee Pannu who carried the role so beautifully without any flaws.

This one a must-watch for every Indian especially "Men" to have self-realization on how we don't even know how we ignore some minute things in our life around which can create a big impact. The great movies life these usually inspire you, make you think to change the things around, however, this one made me questions my belief system. 

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AnksReview - Top 10 Hindi Film of 2019

A Happy New Year to everyone and now It's time for me again to come up Top 10 Hindi movies of the year 2019 which made the mark by its contents, story-telling method, acting performance, and overall movie watching experience.

The list is prepared and put in order of Rank and was selected based on the overall experience of movie watching, story, screenplay, direction, and entertainment quotient as well.

1. Gullyboy

Gully Boy is a story about a struggling poor young guy from Mumbai's slum who is trying to make end meet and get into the world of a street rapper. The movie shows how to pursue your dreams is more important than anything and passion & hard work pays off. The movie is another feather in the crown for Zoya Akhtar who always delivered wonderful movies and kudos to all actors especially Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, and Vijay Raaz. This one is indeed the best movie of 2019 from all aspects.

2. Super 30


Super 30 is a biographical movie directed by Vikas Behl based on the life of Anand Kumar from Patna who started an IIT entrance test coaching class for 30 poor students free of cost. The movie is about his own struggle and how with all adversaries he become one of the most successful teachers who delivered a 100% result all the time. The movie was a come back for Hrithik Roshan with his flawless acting and the way he immersed himself in the character of Anand Kumar.

3. Article 15

Article 15 is a story about social issues such as cast discrimination that our country has been facing since a long time.  It's a very well crafted story with superb direction by Anubhav Sinha set up in the backdrop of a village of UP. Ayushmann Khurana played an IPS officer who hails from metro town with utmost sincerity. This is a dark movie about the reality of our society.


4. Uri: The Surgical Strike

Very rare we see a movie of army and war events without being too emotional and melodramatic and Uri: The Surgical Strike is such a movie where movie making is amazing, real and keeps you on the edge even when you know what will happen next. This is a very well made movie with high-class action and not to miss an awesome performance by Vicky Kaushal who carried this movie in his shoulder.

5. Bala

Bala is a movie about a boy from Kanpur who gets into the problem of baldness at a young age and which makes him insecure among people as he relates all his problems of life on baldness. The movie is funny to the core and carries a soul that keeps it special. This is another one of Ayyushmann's movie in the list of Top 10 and you will realise no one else can pull this role the way Ayyushmann did it backed with the superb direction of Amar Kaushik and acting performance by Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam.

6. Soni

Soni is a Netflix film directed by Ivan Ayr. based on crime drama focussing on Delhi Police and Women Safety issues in the backdrop of all Gang Rapes cases in the capital. The movie goes deep into how women are treated in social as well as at work with discrimination and being objectified on a daily basis. This is a dark movie that will shake your conscious by showcasing the ugly reality of our society. 

7. Section 375

Section 375 is a courtroom drama directed by Ajay Bahl and based on a rape case where a film crew member is allegedly raped by the director of the film. The movie is well researched and provides a legal angle on how such cases are being dealt with in a real manner starting from the police investigation, public outrage, #MeToo campaign, consent and legal perspective about the same. The strength of the movie is its treatment with the subject and great performance by Akshaye Khanna and Richa Chadda.

8. Sonchiriya

Sonchiriya is a film directed by Abhishek Chaubey set in ravines of river Chambal valley. It tells the tale of dacoits in 1975, who termed themselves Baaghis, the rebels and how a gang who feel cursed by one killing incident in the village. The movie has amazing shots and sequels which stays with you even after you watch the movie. It has an ace performance by every cast and the one which stands out is Manoj Bajpayee, Ranveer Shorey, Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar and Ashutosh Rana. 

9. Mission Mangal

Mission Mangal is a movie based on the event of India Mission to Mars and how our space scientist with all red-tapism, limited resources makes it to Mars. The movie is a good tribute to scientists though as per me it has trivialised the subject by putting unnecessary humor and references which made me kind of undecided to put it on the list however it makes it here because of its entertainment quotient and comparison with other movies released in 2019.

10. Badla

Badla is a well-crafted mystery thriller directed by Sujoy Ghosh and a remake of the Spanish movie "The Invisible Guest". The movie is about an accident and a mystery related to it and how it unfolds as the movie progress as it throws various twist and turns as well as possibilities. The movie is a scene by scene copy of a Spanish movie however the direction and performance make it entertaining, that's the reason it is at no. 10.

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Gangs Of Wasseypur [Action / Drama] - (5/5)

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Gangs Of Wasseypur: The Bloody Revenge jo sabki kah ke lega

Gangs of Wasseypur (GOW) is a story of two groups within Muslim community in a small town during the british rule in india when coal mines were established. The film starts showing two rivalries between Qureshi & Pathans where the pathan Sajid Khan has been forced to leave Wasseypur with his pregnant wife to Dhanbad. There he starts working for Coal Mine's contractor Ramadhari Singh who eventually kills him as Sajid Khan was planning to overtake him. Sajid Khan's son Sardar Khan vows to take revenge from Ramadhari Singh and start forming gangs and looting Ramadhari Singh's establishments and becomes a biggest goon in that area. The revenge story goes from generation from British rule to 70s and then 90s and also on backdrop shown how wasseypur and their people's life got affected whereas the rivalry stayed as it was.
There is not Hero or Good or Bad reference in the movie. The movie depicts the true social color of a society at different times and it's transformation. The USP of movie is it's characterization and the way every cast has given justice to it. The role which stands out is of course Manoj Bajpai and Richa Chaddha as Nagma. The movie shown shades of grey, love, lust, fear in each characters. The other amazing performance was a pleasant surprise by a great filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia who played Ramadhari Singh. I must say each everyone even in smaller avatar was at their best.
The another integral part of movie is the story telling, editing, background score, OST which was perfect with the scenes and yes not to miss the cinematography & all the location which is used while making this movie.
This really takes Anurag Kashyap to next level and the movie shows the hard work & honesty he put in making this movie.
Gangs Of Wasseypur is anytime can be rated as Cult and it is going to be one of the Bollywood Classic.

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Anks Movire Review: Paan Singh Tomar (Action/Drama) - [ 3.5 / 5 ]

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Paan Singh Tomar: Rebel on the Run

Paan Singh Tomar is based on true story of a famous athlete who was in army and champion in 3000 meter steeplechase race. His passion was running and had great values for his teachers and very patriotic person. He, who was called pride of nation got involve in land battle with his own cousin brother back home at Morena Dist., Chambal where he tries to fight with his cousin through legal systems. To his horror he realises how pathetic the systems to common people, even his medal was useless to get him justice. The battle gets worsed when hhis son got beaten up badly and mother gets killed- then he decides to take the guns in hand and become most famous dacoit of Chambal region. The movie talk about his journey and ideology as a person and concludes with his encounter.
The movie is well made and has had exception performance by everyone, of course Irfan Khan stands out throughout with his strong expressions and dialogs. Mahie Gill doesn't have much screen presence but is quite apt on what she does in the movie. A Very good direction and good visualisation of chambal region.
Overall a good watch.

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