Bahubali: The Conclusion (MULTI-LINGUAL)
This multilingual film broke every box-office record to be the top-grosser in the history of Indian cinema. Bahubali: The conclusion is a sequel of Bahubali: The Beginning which was a huge success by itself. It was suspense ‘Why did Kattappa kill Bahubali’ which made people watch the conclusion. However, it was also the way the story was framed around the suspense which made the movie watchable more than once. In fact, the entire story becomes interesting with the introduction Amarendra Bahubali and the love of his life – Devasena.
What’s beautiful about the sequel’s story was that it was not just the character of Amarendra Bahubali which was larger than life but the introduction of a brave, bold warrior princess is what makes it strong and powerful.
Secret Superstar (HINDI)
As young as 17, Zaira Wasim is conquering the film industry in her own stride. Debuting in Dangal Zaira was full of power and energy sporting the role of Geetha Phogat. However, at such a young age she managed to take up an entire film on her shoulders. Produced by Amir Khan, the movie starred the man himself in a supporting role. This movie also won Zaira the National Child Award for exceptional achievement. The story is based on a young talented singer facing a lot of hurdles including domestic violence. The film was not only critically acclaimed but also a success at the box office.
Dangal (HINDI)
The biography of Geetha and Babita Phogat with Mahavir Singh Phogat played by Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Sheikh and Sanya Malhotra won a million hearts. The love of a father and a daughter, the struggle of a woman fighter and breaking all those stereotypes, ‘Dangal’ produced by Aamir Khan and Walt Disney, took Indian cinema to another level. The movie directed by Nitesh Tiwari earned Rs.2000 crores worldwide.
Newton (HINDI)
Newton is an unusual and a rather very unexplored genre in Indian cinema. Listed in the black comedy series, ‘Newton’ has become a huge success as a commercial film with a good story. In fact, Newton, starring Rajkummar Rao has been nominated under the ‘Best Foreign Film’ category by the Academy Awards or the OSCARS. Directed by Amit V Maruskar, Newton is one a kind film which might take some wit and concentration to crack up and enjoy.
Vikram Vedha (TAMIL)
Vikram Vedha is one of the best commercial films of the year. Starring Vijay Sethupathi, Madhavan, Shraddha Srinath and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, the movie keeps one’s wit guessing the next move just like chess would do. Using the concept of ‘The famous tales of King Vikramadityan and Vetal’, directors Pushkar and Gayathri know how to keep their audience glued to their seats. What had made it the best was the unusually contrasting characters of Vikram and Vedha and the stunning characters they met while hunting for the “right and the wrong”. No two actors could have done justice to these two roles like Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi. The two actors performed exceptionally well and the actresses did justice to the role given to them. It was in fact labelled as ‘the best film in Tamil this year so far’.
Njandukalude Naatil Oridavela (MALAYALAM)
A Malayalam movie starring Nivin Pauly and directed by Althaf Salim is a simple story which is a beautiful mixture of tragedy and comedy. The protagonist’s mother who struggles to survive through cancer and her everyday saddness was taken as the strength of the storyline and converted into a beautifully dark humour. One might find themselves smirking amidst all the struggle the family is going through while watching the film.The movie not only performed well at the box-office but consisted of an engaging story and yet again a power packed performance by Nivin Pauly. Yesteryear actress Shanthi Krishna was an absolute delight to watch onscreen.
Hindi Medium (HINDI)
The genre of comedy was well-used to convey a social message in the film Hindi Medium starring Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar. A knowledge on Right to Education (RTE) was well used here and talked about language barriers which is another issue the country is currently facing. Directed by Saket Chaudhary, the movie not only did decent at the box-office but one of the biggest commercial successes of the year in the Bollywood film industry.
Theeran Adhigaram Ondru (TAMIL)
Yet another successful film in the Kollywood industry, ‘Theeran Adhigaram Ondru’ is an unmissable cop-thriller based on the real-life story of the then DGP SR Jangid who paved way to keeping the highways of Tamil Nadu safe and sound. Karthi not just nails the role of Theeran, but also keeps the audience glued to their seats with the unexpected twists and emotional tragedies in between. The dacoity of ‘Bawarias’ was so well captured that the DGP himself was happy with the way the film was made.
Aramm (TAMIL)
Nayanthara’s acting, the emotions of the villagers and the story by itself is what made Gopi Nainar’s ‘Aramm’ a huge success. Much like many actresses in the industry today, Nayanthara proved herself capable of handling a film all by herself and making it a humungous success. Aramm deals with the ongoing water scarcity in various villages of Tamil Nadu. However, what makes the film outstanding is the strong emotions in between an existing social problem. Every scene was created using the tools of simplicity and substance.
Qarib Qarib Singlle (HINDI)
A commercial love story dealing with the love of this generation is what Qarib Qarib Singlle is all about. The chemistry between Irrfan Khan and Parvathi Menon is impeccable and these two actors know how to “act”. In fact, these are the actors who choose scripts that are strong, socially correct and yet, entertaining and worth watching. Parvathi’s debut into Bollywood cannot get any better. She was at her simple best with the right kind of emotions at the right places. Directed by Tanuja Chandra, this is one of the finest romantic-comedies this year.
The Ghazi Attack (TRILINGUAL)
Another under explored genre of Indian cinema are war dramas and The Ghazi Attack is a successful film because of its beautifully-crafted war story. Starring Rana Daggubati, Atul Kulkarni, Kay Kay Menon and Taapsee Pannu, the film is inspired from the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. The story revolves around an Indian Navy officer who along with his team stays in a submarine for 18 days. The film explores the mysterious conditions under which the submarine Ghazi sank near the coast of Vishakhapatnam in the year 1971.
Fidaa (TELUGU)
Considered to be one of the top commercially successful films of 2017, Fidaa stars Sai Pallavi and Varun Tej in the lead roles. Another successful rom-com, this story of Bhanu and Varun won a million hearts. Unusual twists including a man giving up his career for a woman and a woman loving herself more than her feelings for a man was what made the film extraordinary and a vision onscreen not forgetting the subtly beautiful chemistry between Sai Pallavi and Varun Tej.
Take off (MALAYALAM)
Sometimes a real-life hero story executed effortlessly is all it takes for a movie to be critically acclaimed and a box-office success. Take Off, falling under the thriller genre is the story of an Iraqi Insurgency (ISIS) which held many foreign hostages as captive in the year 2004. However, amongst many hostages killed and gone-missing, 49 hostages from India were safely released and looked after. However, the ordeal of 46 nurses amongst the 49 is what the story revolves around. Starring Parvathi Menon, Kunchacko Boban and Fahadh Faasil, the movie was critically acclaimed for its storyline and accurate acting done by the leads.