Top 5 Bollywood movies of 2019

Gulf News

Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/2F66dFF  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos  Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Before the curtains come down on Bollywood in 2019, here’s a look at films that shined  #Dubai #Bollywood #movies

Transcript

00:00It was in star-driven movies that held any steam in Bollywood in 2019.

00:04Khan's or Kumar's did not have any sway at the box office,

00:08and it's only the good stories that shone bright.

00:13Here are my top 5 picks, in no particular order of preference.

00:16The first movie that you must have on your list is perhaps Ayushman Khurana's Article 15.

00:22Now, this is a very neat procedural crime thriller

00:25about two young women who get sexually violated and are hung on a tree.

00:30Ayushman Khurana plays a very erudite, elitist cop who's a Brahmin,

00:35he belongs to the upper caste, and how he's on call to investigate

00:39the death and disappearance of missing women in a small village.

00:43It's a very interesting movie because it's not often that in Bollywood

00:46they tackle grim subjects with such gravitas.

00:50In fact, Ayushman Khurana, as this cop, is brilliant.

00:53He gives a wonderfully restrained performance as well,

00:56and every other actor in this movie has done their bit to elevate this

01:01crime thriller into one of the most must-watch movies of the year.

01:04Gully Boy is another movie that has to appear on your must-watch list in 2019.

01:09Director Zoya Akhtar takes you into the Mumbai slums,

01:12into the life of an angst-ridden Murad, played brilliantly by Ranveer Singh.

01:17One of the best parts about this film is that you know Ranveer Singh

01:20as this flamboyant actor in real life,

01:22but he gives one of the most restrained performances of his career

01:25as this angst-ridden rapper.

01:27In fact, one of the best parts about this movie was also actor Siddhant Chaturvedi.

01:32He was the Bollywood breakout star of the year.

01:34Gully Boy did the impossible.

01:36Through a Bollywood film, they managed to make life about rappers

01:40and the way they talk about their struggles and poverty into a very entertaining tale.

01:45I would give Gully Boy a chance and watch out for their performances.

01:49It's Ranveer Singh and Siddhant Chaturvedi that really shines.

01:53There's also actor Alia Bhatt, who does a great job as this feisty girlfriend.

01:57They've won several awards.

01:58In fact, this was also India's nomination to the Oscars

02:02in the Best Foreign Film category,

02:05but it did not win because it was loosely inspired by another Hollywood flick.

02:09So people were not too happy with the nomination, but it's a movie worth watching.

02:132019 was the year that saw the return of Priyanka Chopra to Bollywood screens.

02:18The Sky Is Pink is a sobering movie about a terminally ill teen

02:22and how a family grapples with the tragedy.

02:24There's Farhan Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra, whose life comes to a standstill

02:28when they realise that their daughter is sick and perhaps dying.

02:32The Sky Is Pink is a very sobering movie, but it's also very touching.

02:36In fact, it's a movie that presses all the right buttons of joy, of sadness,

02:40of death being the greatest leveller.

02:43So watch this movie if you're in the mood for a very emotionally,

02:47not manipulative, but a riveting tale.

02:49The fourth movie on my list is Mardani 2.

02:522019 was a year that did not have many women-empowering dramas in Bollywood.

02:56However, Rani Mukerji made her mark as Shivani Roy as a tough-as-nails cop.

03:01She's on a trail to nab a serial rapist played brilliantly by Vishal Jethwa.

03:06One of the best parts about this movie is that it has no songs to structure the narrative.

03:12It's song-free and it's very procedural in the way it goes about solving the crime.

03:16Rani Mukerji is wicked in this movie,

03:19and watching the villain and the actress pa is a treat to watch.

03:23My fifth choice is a very controversial one.

03:26It's Kabir Singh starring Shahid Kapoor.

03:28Now hear me out here.

03:29I know it's one of the most divisive movies of 2019

03:33because it's celebrated a hero that's toxically male and very, very sexist.

03:37He's also a misogynist.

03:39So it's not easy to like this emotionally damaged man-child who's also a surgeon in the movie.

03:44His warp relationship with Preeti played by Kiara Advani forms the crux of this warp love story.

03:50There's not much to love here in terms of the couple,

03:53but the way it was acted was brilliant.

03:55Shahid Kapoor is wonderfully despicable as a surgeon who's an alcoholic and a substance abuser.

04:01There's a lot to hate in this movie,

04:03but what makes it appealing is also the performances.

04:06And it's a story that did not go well down with the critics,

04:09but it's one of the highest grossers of 2019.

04:12If you can forget the debate about whether Bollywood movies should reflect reality

04:17or whether they should glorify its heroes, toxically male heroes as somebody great,

04:22then perhaps there's a lot to enjoy in Kabir Singh.

04:25This is my top five list of Bollywood films.

04:27But if you're in the mood to watch more movies,

04:29perhaps pick up a tabloid or go online on gulfnews.com

04:33to see our list of movies that shone in 2019.

04:37Have a great time at the movies.

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