Decade (2010-2019) : Best Hindi Albums

Unlike the movies which found a good variety and going in right direction.. Music I felt went down the hill year after year, mainly because there was overdose of unwanted remixes of classic songs, almost 90% of them were trash and the trend of Rap in every song was another headache to deal with. Tanishk Bagchi is the main culprit and I won't be surprised if he ends up spoiling atleast 50 more songs in next decade. Remixes that did work for me were 'Khoya Khoya Chand' bartender version by Mikey McCleary and 'Hawa Hawai' by Prashant Pillai both wonderfully re-created, sung by talented Suman Sridhar.

The multi-composer strategy also became a norm and it produced varied results, albums like 'GullyBoy, Ek Villain, Kabir Singh, David, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy and Delhi Belly' to name some of the best ones. 

Coming to the top composers whose albums atleast during start of decade would be highly anticipated, how did they fare! Was sort of a mix year for AR Rahman, there were some disappointing albums which you don't usually associate with him, but then he made up for it with some amazing compositions. It was Imtiaz ali with whom he paired to give firstly the terrific, 'Rockstar' which ofcourse was the album of the decade, following up with 'Highway' and 'Tamasha' which had some lovely tracks to listen to. Other notable albums were 'Raavan', 'Jhootha Hi Sahi', 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' and 'Mom'

The decade however belonged to Pritam Chakraborty and Amit Trivedi, both having their hands full of numerous good albums. Pritam gave 'Cocktail', 'Barfi', 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani', 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', 'Jagga Jasoos', 'Jab Harry Met Sejal' and 'Dangal' while Amit Trivedi had gems like 'No One Killed Jessica', 'Lootera', 'Queen', 'Bombay Velvet', 'Fitoor', and 'Manmarziyaan'. I would just slightly call it Pritam's decade because some of Amit's albums work better with film than as a complete audio.

Totally loved Vishal Bharadwaj's tracks in 'Haider' and '7 Khoon Maaf', but apart from them there wasn't much to enjoy as per my taste. Sanjay Leela Bhansali also failed to deliver single great album, he composed for 'Guzaarish' and 'Ram Leela' entirely, while co-composed for 'Bajirao Mastani' and 'Padmaavat', each album had 1-2 good songs at best. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy were a disappointment too, 'Raazi', 'D-Day' and 'Mirzya' were the only standout albums that I loved.

Vishal Shekhar gave excellent 'Anjaana Anjaani' in 2010, but it was 'Shanghai' in 2012 that was their best of the decade (one of very under-rated albums), rest of their albums were pretty average with exception of 'Hasee Toh Phasee' and 'War'. Salim-Suleiman started with a bang giving 'Band Baaja Baraat' in 2010, unfortunately thats their only highlight of the decade.

Sachin-Jigar duo were easily the new composers that made a mark in 2010 with 'Saibo' and 'Karma is a bitch' tracks in 'Shor in the City', then the fun 'Khoon Choos Le' of 'Go Goa Gone' or angst 'Bezubaan' from 'Anybody Can Dance'. 'Badlapur' however was their complete album of the decade, each song turning out to be too good. Other notable albums were 'Meri Pyaari Bindu', 'A Gentleman' and 'Hindi Medium'. Ajay-Atul also had a good time with 'Singham' and 'Agneepath', but my favourite was 'Zero' and to some extent 'Dhadak' too. 

Other highlights of the decade was Sneha Khanwalkar with some super creative tracks in 'Gangs of Wasseypur' (almost made my top10). Ram Sampath was very much on same line when it comes to innovative tracks in 'Delhi Belly', also some enjoyable tracks in 'Talaash' and 'Fukrey'. However, the less said about 'Raees' the better it would be. And Clinton Cerejo compositions in 'Te3n were really good, another of under-rated album of the decade.

It's a straightforward call for the no.1 spot, but took a lot of time to decide the next 9 albums. Despite been a low last few years in terms of great music, there's been enough unforgettable music albums that have come in this last decade. Surely, would have loved more competition, hopefully the next decade list is lot more tougher to make.

Here's my favourite 10 albums with their Music Directors and Lyricists :


1. Rockstar (2011)
Music Director : AR Rahman 

Lyricist : Irshad Kamil 

The magic of Rahman-Irshad in these 11 songs (additional bonus of 3 background themes) is still alive well and truely, even after having drained off listening to them non-stop in last 9 years. Mohit Chauhan the perfect choice for being voice of Jordan (Ranbir Kapoor) sang different genre songs from romantic 'Tum ho', to folk 'Haawa Haawa', angst 'Saadda Haq/Naadaan Parindey', religious 'Kun Faaya Kun', to songs where Jordan is on self-search 'Jo Bhi Main/Phir Se Udh Chala' and the fun track 'Sheher Mein'. There's lovely Kavita Krishnamurthy rendition of 'Tum Ko' and Harshdeep Kaur's 'Katiya Karun' which is the only track that I liked less from others. Rahman hasn't given another gem of album since Rockstar, maybe it would never come. Special mention to how hauntingly beautiful 'The Dichotomy of Fame' instrumental is. 

My Favs : Saadda Haq, Aur Ho and Jo Bhi Main

2. Badlapur (2015)

Music Director : Sachin-Jigar 

Lyricist : Dinesh Vijan and Priya Saraiya

Sachin-Jigar had been giving some gem songs in past, but Badlapur was first time when the album clicked fully for me. From the excellent 'Judaai' track, an unusual pairing of Rekha Bharadwaj and Arijit Singh nailing one of very well composed emotional track, to the angst 'Jee Karda' with Divya Kumar's vocals, the very romantic with a sadness feel all over in 'Jeena Jeena' beautifully sung by Atif Aslam in low pitch (why doesn't he sing such songs more). Also, liked the seductive tone in  'Sone ka paani' and the beats of 'Badla badla'.

My Favs : Judaai and Jeena Jeena

3. No One Killed Jessica (2010)

Music Director : Amit Trivedi 

Lyricist : Amitabh Bhattacharya

Amit Trivedi blew me away in Dev.D, and No One Killed Jessica was his next great work. A slightly under-rated album I feel, with only the catchy track 'Dilli' sung by Aditi Singh Sharma getting its due. Vishal Dadlani vocals in another great angst track 'Aitbaar' and my personal favourite, Shilpa Rao in 'Yeh Pal' a song about feeling frustrated about life, Meenal Jain and co in a beautiful track 'Dua' and then a vast variety of singers from Anushka Manchanda, Neha Kakkar, Aditi Singh Sharma, Tochi Raina etc in a fun party song 'Aali Re'. 

My Favs : Aitbaar and Dua

4.  Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)

Music Director : Pritam Chakraborty 

Lyricist : Amitabh Bhattacharya

And enters Pritam Chakraborty with one of best romantic album of the decade. From Arijit Singh's title track on the pain of one-sided love, to the fun dance track on 'BreakUp', and 'Cutiepie' another enjoyable dance track. Shilpa Rao's seductive rendition of classic track 'Aaj jaane ki zidd na karo' for a change redone well unlike the poor remixes we usually get. Yet another album with a angst song that works, 'Bulleya' though I prefer Amit Mishra version. Only 'Alizeh' and 'Channa Mereya' (favourite of majority I believe), didn't click for me. 

My Favs : Ae Dil Hai Mushkil title and Bulleya

5. Fitoor (2016)

Music Director : Amit Trivedi

Lyricist : Swanand Kirkire

Another Amit Trivedi album, and another pure romantic album that I loved, its a pity the film was bad and also its another album that didn't get that much love as it should had. 'Pashmina' beautifully sung by Amit Trivedi promoted more as seductive track but is actually about falling in love for first time, 'Haminastu' by Zeb Bangash is a haunting take on Kashmir with some great lyrics by Swanand Kirkire, 'Tere Liye' by Jubin Nautiyal and Sunidhi Chauhan with a romantic duet that I madly love. English version of 'Ranga Re' by Caralisa Monteiro is another great track, very romantic with a seductive touch. 'Hone do Batiyan' doesn't work for me, and also the title track by Arijit despite been good was slightly underwhelming for not having more antara lines in there. 

My Favs : Tere Liye, Pashmina and Ranga Re (English)

6. Gullyboy (2019)

Music Director : Dub Sharma, Divine, Naezy, Spitfire, Sex On The Beat, Rishi Rich, Major C, Ankur Tewari, Karsh Kale, Ace, Ishq Bector 

Lyricist : Javed Akhtar, Noxious D, Maharya, MC Tod Fod, MC Altaf, 100 RBH, Ankur Tewari, Gaurav Raina, Karsh Kale, Tapan Raj, Dub Sharma, Spitfire, Divine, Naezy, Kaam Bhari, Ace

If you were tired of un-necessary raps by likes of Honey Singh, Badshah etc in almost every song, then this album came as a respite with 18 original tracks. A film about Mumbai's street rap style and every composer comes up with a song to impress. There's the socio-political talk going through Dub Sharma's songs like 'Azadi' which uses the famous JNU protest lines 'hum leke rahenge azadi' and 'Jingostan' that says '2018 hai, desh ko khatra hai'.  'Asli hip hop' track almost feels like a dig at how poor the raps have been in this decade. 'Doori' talks about the upper-lower class living society, well sung by Ranveer and composed by Rishi Rich, the poem version is pretty good too.  'Ek Hee Raasta' tells about the dreams of people which they compromised for a different life. The best rap tracks are easily 'Sher Aaya Sher' filmed on MC Sher, full of swag and composed/sung by Divine, and the very famous catchy 'Apna Time Aayega' composed by Dub Sharma and Divine, Ranveer letting it all out in this highly motivational track. Ranveer is also super in 'Kab se kab tak'. Also, Kaam Bhaari's 'Kaam Bhaari' and Ace's 'Har Gham Mein Khushi Hai' are enjoyable rap songs. 'India 91' rap song is given a classical touch. There's few non-rap songs that work too, like 'Goriye' which is restyled, 'Train song' which is about triumph, 'Jahaan tu chala' with Jasleen Royals typical style vocals and Ankur Tewari's 'Jeene mein aaye mazza'. Meri Gully Mein is only track where I felt Ranveer voice didn't do the song justice. Special mention to the 'Rap competition' in the movie where they go one on one ripping each other's personal life apart through rap songs, never knew a such thing existed.

My Favs : Apna Time Aayega, Azadi and Sher Aaya Sher

7. Ek Villain (2014)

Music Director : Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, DJ Shadow, Rabbi Ahmed, Adnan Dhool 

Lyricist : Manoj Muntashir, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed, Adnan Dhool 

Some may find songs of this album cliched/routine, I have no problems in admitting that the melodies and sad tracks wooed me over very easily. Over the years, Shraddha's version of 'Teri Galliyan' has grown on me a lot with Ankit Tiwari's final stanza working much better in here than his solo version, Mohammad Irfan's 'Banjaara' is a lovely melody track and there's the Soch Band (Rabbi and Adnan) with 'Awari' track that talks about loss and interpretation of how world looks at call-girl. Mustafa Zahid's 'Zaroorat' is good but lacks that wow feeling like his songs in 'Awarapan' movie. 'Hamdard' was the only track that I didn't enjoy.

My Favs : Teri Galliyan (Shraddha version), Banjaara, Awari

8. Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017)

Music Director : Pritam Chakraborty

Lyricists : Irshad Kamil 

Pritam Chakraborty and Imtiaz Ali combo gave another album to remember, not an instant love though as many songs took time to grow. 'Jee Ve Sohneya' was however a track that I fell in love with first instance, Nooran Sisters are simply fantastic in this soulful track that kinda of reminds of the famous 'Chitthi Aayi Hai' track from 'Naam' movie. Love the lines 'jabse gaanv se main shehar hua, itna kadva ho gaya ki zeher hua' in 'Safar' which has the usual Imtiaz template, very well sung by Arijit Singh. 'Ghar' and 'Parinda' (tochi version) are the hidden gems of the album. 'Phurr' (film version) is the guilty pleasure song, with vocals of Mohit Chauhan, I like the romantic tone played out in this fun dance track EDM style. Then there's Diljit's sweet punjabi track 'Raula' thats more fun with the visuals. 'Hawayein' for some unknown reasons never clicked for me despite sounding as a good romantic track. Both 'Radha' and 'Beech Beech Mein' got great ideas but fail for me in execution, the latter track has grown up in last few years though. 'Yaadon Mein' and 'Butterfly' works only in some parts.

My Favs : Jee Ve Sohneya, Phurr and Parinda

 

9. Kabir Singh (2019)

Music Director : Mithoon, Amaal Malik, Vishal Mishra, Sachet-Parampara, Akhil Sachdeva

Lyricist : Mithoon, Irshad Kamil, Manoj Muntashir, Kumaar

Another romantic album makes my list, the film may had been under controversy and I too didn't like the film (not for same reasons) but the album is full of great tracks. 'Bekhayali' (Sachet Tandon version) is ofcourse the anthem track now, full of angst against the society with more focus on the undying love despite breakup. Jubin Nautiyal's version of 'Tujhe Kitna Chahein Aur' is another track that gets me emotional everytime I hear. Vishal Mishra's 'Kaise Hua' a song about how a person became so important, and Akhil Sachdeva-Tulsi Kumar's 'Tera ban jayunga' that is about a guy going to any extent for love, both songs work really well. 'Yeh Aaina' song got beautiful lyrics, if only singer wasn't Shreya Ghoshal. Armaan Malik makes 'Pehla Pyar' likeable. 'Mere Sohneya' was the weakest track of album.  

My Favs : Bekhayali (Sachet version), Tujhe Kitna Chahein Aur (Jubin version)

10. Bombay Velvet (2015)

Music Director : Amit Trivedi

Lyricist : Amitabh Bhattacharya

Very much like Rockstar, here its Neeti Mohan with 6 tracks as voice of Rosie (Anushka Sharma). She combines with Mohit Chauhan in a very lovable romantic duet 'Behroopia'. While 'Naak Pe Gussa' and 'Sylvia' are fun tracks, she gives all the feels in 'Dhadaam Dhadaam' a heartbreaking track. But its 'Ka Kha Gha' where Neeti totally excels, love the last stanza way she sings 'KA KHA GHA' in high pitch. Shefali Alvares also gets 3 tracks, and I enjoyed her in two of them, 'Shutup' that has jazz background or 'Mohabbat Buri Bimari' where her vocals makes the song standout in comparison to other two versions of Neeti and Shalmali. There's remix of 'Jaata kahan hai' with ever reliable vocals of Suman Sridhar giving it her own fresh touch. 'Aam Hindustani' and 'Darbaan' didn't work for me. Special Bonus in 3 background themes, 'Tommy Gun' is likeable, but the main title theme is spectacular and been in my playlist ever since. 

My Favs : Ka Kha Gha, Behroopia and Jaata kahaan hai

Also, CHECK OUT -

• Decade (2010-2019) : Best Hindi Films

• Decade (2010-2019) : Top 100 Hindi Songs

Decade (2010-2019) : Best Hindi Movies

First the Oscars, then Corona, then my laziness and then my exams.. all this has meant this decade lists got late by over a year.. but it had to be done, since its the decade where I grew up watching lot more hindi films then I ever did before and also it was the time when I got interested in English movies to an extent that its very much on par with Hindi Movies now. Maybe next decade could be one where I take a step into Regional and World Cinema.

Wonder what would had been my top picks for 2000-2009 decade, Chak De India, Rang De Basanti and Dev.D definately would had featured in it.

Coming to the 2010-2019 decade, it was a very uneven decade at theatres, with the last 3 years specially giving very few great movies. Inspite of that I believe our films have been doing much better and taking up different interesting stories going the unconventional route, be it Piku, Lootera, Vicky Donor, Bala, Udaan, Band Baaja Baraat, The Lunchbox, A Death in the Gunj, Anaarkali of Aarah, Mukti Bhawan etc. Even if some of them didn't work fully for me, it was a delight to watch something fresh on the big screen.

Then there were some lovely biopics (was a overdose though with many turning out to be bad) like Dangal, Shahid, Neerja, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, MS Dhoni, Paan Singh Tomar and Aligarh. Among the South Indian Remakes, films like Son of Sardaar, Simmba, Drishyam, Singham, Rowdy Rathore, Kick were some of my guilty pleasures.

Talking about the directors that matter, Imtiaz Ali started with a bang giving us 'Rockstar' following it up with likeable 'Highway' and another impressive with his 'searching for himself' template in 'Tamasha', ended on a sour note with his weakest movie 'Jab Harry Met Sejal' (I did like it though). I liked Anurag Kashyap's 'The Girl in Yellow Boots' and 'Ugly', but it was easily 'Gangs of Wasseypur I & II' that stole the limelight. Also, worthy mentions would be 'Raman Raghav', 'Manmarziyan' and 'Mukkabaaaz'. His short stories in 'Bombay Talkies' and 'Lust Stories' were bit average to my liking and 'Bombay Velvet' was a total disaster. 

Liked Zoya Akhtar's 'Gully Boy' a lot even though it felt very restrained, something similar I felt in 'Dil Dhadakne Do' too, would be nice to see her go all out or maybe thats not her style. Sanjay Leela Bhansali remained in news for his controversial history based movies, starting the decade with 'Guzaarish' that was okish (Hrithik's act didnt work for me), 'Ram Leela' (sparkling Ranveer-Deepika chemistry) that I loved and followed up with 'Bajirao Mastani' and 'Padmaavat' both working in patches. It may sound odd but I madly loved Anurag Basu's 'Kites' then, I am sure won't be the case now, emotions get better sometimes in liking a movie more than what it deserves. I do however still love 'Barfi' and even 'Jagga Jasoos' I felt was very nice movie despite the issues I had with it. Rajkumar Hirani impressed with 'PK' minus the preaching tone at places,while 'Sanju' was a Ranbir Kapoor movie I don't wanna remember ever happened for the narration style that tried to show Sanjay Dutt mistakes in as positive way as possible or the label it got 'whitewash'. 

Mix decade for Maneesh Sharma, starting with brilliant 'Band Baaja Baaraat' followed by average 'Ladies vs Ricky Bahl' (but a positive, it gave us Parineeti Chopra), then a fun concept well executed in 'Shuddh Desi Romance' but then a failed concept in 'Fan'. Abhishek Kapoor gave a brilliant adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's novel in 'Kai Po Che' (the debut of Sushant Singh Rajput), then a surprise with how bad 'Fitoor' turned and ended with 'Kedarnath' that was strictly okay. Vikramaditya Motwane's 'Udaan' I didn't love as much as many others do, but 'Lootera' was awesome, still remains the only film where Sonakshi Sinha acted. 'Trapped' was a little underwhelming for me while 'Bhavesh Joshi' worked in bits. Sriram Raghavan totally disappointed in 'Agent Vinod' but boy how did he turn it around with 'Badlapur' and then 'Andhadhun'. 

Karan Johar gave 'My Name is Khan' that I loved then, not sure if I still do because of a certain actor involved. I totally enjoyed 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' and also his short stories were fun to watch in both 'Bombay Talkies' and 'Lust Stories'. Its the other directors Karan launched during last decade that had lasting impression and hope of many great films to come in future, 'Shakun Batra' with interesting rom-com 'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu' and my very favourite  'Kapoor and Sons'. While Ayaan Mukherjee followed up his great work of 'Wake Up Sid' by giving us 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'. Abhay Chopra's directorial debut in 'Ittefaq' remake was pretty good watch too.

Vishal Bharadwaj also had a mix kind of decade, '7 Khoon Maaf' was a joy to watch though majority didn't like it, 'Matru's Bijlee Ka Mandola' suffered from poor leads casting, I still had fun watching it, 'Haider' was easily his best of the decade and oddly it took me 2nd viewing to love it, 'Rangoon' was my most disliked movie of Bharadwaj (and I didn't hate Kangana then) and 'Pataakha' had one of hilarious 1st half I had seen in last decade. Hansal Mehta was very much on the same lines,with a brilliant 'Shahid' to begin the decade, 'CityLights' that worked in patches as I found it too manipulative, 'Aligarh' on the other hand was super and heartbreaking to watch, 'Omerta' was very underwhelming given Rajkumar Rao as lead and great trailer had expectations high and 'Simran' was fun at places in what was otherwise a film that failed in the execution. 

Among new notable directors, Gauri Shinde made a mark with 'English Vinglish' and a decent follow up 'Dear Zindagi'. Meghna Gulzar gave two brilliant movies 'Talvar' and 'Raazi'. I didn't see Nitesh Tiwari's 'Chillar Party' while 'Bhoothnath Returns' was fun in parts, but his next 2 movies 'Dangal' and 'Chhhichhore' were so brilliant and also made me feel he's a better version of 'Hirani' with less manipulative style narration and yet entertaining while delivering a message. Shoojit Sircar another director that made his name giving some great movies working with talented writer Juhi Chaturvedi, 'Vicky Donor', 'Madras Cafe', 'Piku' and 'October', they all worked very well for me. Could easily say the decade belonged to him with the 100% record with that many movies.

There were some interesting horror films, like 'Ek Thi Daayan', 'Aatma', 'Stree', 'Ragini MMS' and arguably the best been 'Tumbbad' with that terrific cinematography and a very fun story with a take on greed. However, there's still a long way to go in this genre, certainly a right step from those Bhatt camp regular horror films that only works on cliche jump scares. 

If you been following my blog in this last decade then you would know that 'Rockstar' was always gonna be my no.1 movie of decade. It was pretty close battle for 2nd spot though between Badlapur, Kahaani and Dangal, can almost say it was like a joint 2nd.

Since I have written in detail on most of these films before, so keeping it bit short this time, here's my list  :

Decade (2010-2019) : Top 10 Hindi Movies

1. Rockstar (2011)
Mujhe bilkul acha nahi lagta, main khud apne aap ko acha nahi lagta..

Imtiaz-Ranbir-Rahman-Irshad-Mohit, each one of them came up with their best work giving a gem of a movie that I madly loved and still do. Easily, the best hindi musical movie, and I had no issues with Nargis performance too, unlike the critics I won't have enjoyed any other actress, not even Deepika.  Imtiaz Ali uses non-linear narrative showcasing Jordan's journey of passion, fame and destruction perfectly. 9 years goneby, I would still rate it 10 out of 10 today.

Fav scenes
• Jordan and Heer's magic touch hug.
• Jordan telling Khatana bhai that he feels no happiness despite having the fame he always wanted.


2. Badlapur (2015)
Log kehte hai apne dushman ko maaf kar dena chahiye.. main bhi yehi maanta hoon...

Lekin, unhe tadpa tadpa ke maarne ke baad.

 

Sriram Raghavan with a brutal and insane way presenting the revenge angle along with his routine way of using old film references at right moments.Was fun watching Varun Dhawan in a non-comic role, and how his character slowly turns grey with a perfect ending. Nawazuddin was as always in super form, and the supporting cast of Vinay Pathak, Kumud Mishra, Divya Dutta chipping in with good performances. Lovely music by Sachin-Jigar.

Fav scenes
• Raghu doing a solo dance remembering Misha with background of 'Jeena Jeena' track.

• Liak telling Raghu how he was never as cold brooded person as Raghu has turned into now.


3. Kahaani (2012)
Kaun ho tum? 

'Kya fark padta hai'.

Excellent suspense thriller from Sujoy Ghosh that delivers in its final act and there's a high percentage chance that you won't be able to guess the final twist coming. Vidya Balan in one of her best performances, and also introducing two great actors Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Saswata Chatterjee. Also, its the film that started the 'Nawazuddin Siddiqui' fame (Paan Singh Tomar to be more precise). Special mention to the crisp editing by Namrata Rao capturing the Kolkata streets very well.

Fav scenes
• Milan Damji final conversation with Vidya Bagchi.
• Bob Biswas scaring Vidya Bagchi after almost pushing her in front of coming train at metro station.


4. Kapoor and Sons (2016)
Hum phir se khush nahi ho sakte? 

We can try.

Of all the directors coming out from Dharma Productions, there's only two that have made a mark and looked like they are ones to watch in future, Ayaan Mukherjee and Shakun Batra who made this amazing movie thats very close to my heart still. Based on dysfunctional family mainly setup in lovely surroundings of Conoor, Shakun explores various family fights, love, betrayals in a very non-melodramatic manner, everything is so subtle and yet so full of emotions. Rajat Kapoor and Fawad Khan stole the show, however I enjoyed performances of entire cast. Still in awe of that Nolan kind moment (I don't know if others feel same way too) when Shakun cuts 3 parallel scenes together, revealing many secrets of characters, some to us and some in the story.

Fav scenes
• The plumber sequence when the entire family is arguing.

• Harsh singing 'Chaand si mehbooba' during one of rare moments when the family is happy together.


5. Dangal (2016)
Agar Silver jeeti toh aaj nahi toh kal log tanne bhool javenge. Gold jeeti toh misaal ban jaavegi.

Aur misaale di jaati hai beta, bhooli nahi jaati. 

A sports drama with inspiring real life events of Phogats family masterfully directed by Nitesh Tiwari who very much falls in league of Rajkumar Hirani and Aanand L Rai, entertaining thorughout. Won't term it as biopic because of all the changes in the match scores done. Despite being predictable the finale and the national anthem still gives me goosebumps. Aamir Khan is splended, be it the physical transformation or the kind of father he portrays so well, a character or person you should hate but you can't. Zaira Wasim and Fatima Sana Shaikh, both playing young and adult Geeta perfectly. Girish Kulkarni with a one-dimensional filmy villian coach was the only weak link. Pritam's music was lovable, specially the motivating title track.

Fav scenes
• Mahavir Singh Phogar having a dangal bout with her grown up daughter Geeta Phogat who feels his moves are outdated now.
• Geeta Phogat remembering the advices given by her father in past as she makes the 5 point daav to win the gold medal.

6. Band Baaja Baraat (2010)
Bread pakore ki kasam.

Maneesh Sharma's debut as director in a movie based on wedding planning setup in Delhi, which is beautifully presented by Namrata Rao's cuts. Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma chemistry was very sizzling. It was Ranveer's debut and he just gave that feeling that he maybe the next big thing in our Hindi Films Industry which now in 2021 holds very true. 'Ainvayi Ainvayi' and 'Tarkeebein' my favourite tracks, and also some great dialogue writing too as I still remember that funny 'bread pakore ki kasam' line. Its easily the only film in this list, that grew on me in years much more than the 1st time and also its my 1st film I saw in theatres in Mumbai when I got settled in here.

Fav scenes
• Bitto Sharma convincing Shruti Kakkar for partnership in wedding planning, promising he won't cross line.
• Their conversation on the terrace in the climax sequence.


7. Piku (2015)
Kamaal hai, aap har baat ko peth se kaise jodh dete hai..

I am picky when it comes to enjoying lighthearted movies, but Piku was hard to not love as Shoojit Sircar delivered another masterful film on unusual constipation theme. He tackles it in a fun drama screenplay with help of Juhi Chaturvedi's well written witty but realistic dialogues and the trio of Amitabh-Deepika-Irrfan with performances that compliment each other completely. The film also deals with ideologies of parents and the aging problem when we develop a love-hate relationship with them due to their habits. Lovely to see Moushumi Chatterjee in a supporting role. I liked the simple ending.

Fav scenes
• Bhaskor singing bengali song on road journey when Rana asks the meaning which he replies as 'this journey should never end', making Rana immediately ask him to sing something meaningful instead.
• Rana shouting at Bhaskor when he hears him argue with Piku for thinking he is a burden to her.


8. Kai Po Che (2013)
Main ambani ban jayunga, Omi ko CM bana denge.. chal ab rickshaw pakadte hai..

A very good adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's novel 'The Three Mistakes of my Life' by director Abhishek Kapoor based on 3 friends who go through events like earthquake, godhra train and the riots. It could been easily melodramatic specially the scene where Ishaan dies, but Abhishek handles in a very subtle manner yet there's no lack of emotions. For me, 1st half belonged to Sushant Singh Rajput (brilliant debut) as a father like figure to Ali, obsessed in making him become a perfect cricket player, while 2nd half to both him and Amit Sadh who would get manipulated a lot. Rajkumar Rao was effective as always playing a kanjoos friend. Hitesh Sonik's background score along with Amit Trivedi's music was other highlight of the movie.

Fav scenes
• Omi asking Ishaan if he would come with him for Ayodhya yatra to which Ishaan replies 'Tu jahaan kahega, chal padunga"
• Govind introducing his son 'Ishaan' to Omi who gets emotional with the excellent theme running in background.


9. Barfi (2012)
Umeedein ho toh kaagaz ki chidiya ke bhi pankh hote hai..

Anurag Basu's sweetest movie that compliments the title 'Barfi' with Ranbir Kapoor's another finest performance playing a character that is deaf and dumb. Priyanka Chopra is lovely to watch calling 'Buh fii' or always holding hand with little finger which is her way of telling she trusts the person, as she played a autistic character. While Ileana D'Cruz in debut showcased her acting skills in a well written role. Enjoyed how Anurag develops comic situations like the Ranbir's bulb test habits or running away from cop Saurabh Shukla a lot, some are inspired or copied but I still do enjoy watching it. One of my fav feel-good movies that has heartbreaking moments in all the 3 leads characters.

Fav scenes
• Barfi heart-broken lets all his emotions and angst out at Shruti, then leaving but making sure she has a smile on face.
• The expression on face of Shruti when she hears Jhilmil call 'Buh fii' just when they were about to leave the place in the climax.


10. Talvar 
Tumne insaaf ka murti dekha hai? Uss murti ke haath mein ek talvar bhi hai. Magar pichle 60 saalo mein uspe jang lag gaya hai.

Based on the Aarushi Talwar Case, a double homicide that took place in Noida, 2008. A 14 year old girl and a domestic help is found dead and the fingers go over the parents for committing such horrendous crime of killing own daughter. Meghna Gulzar narrative shows both angles, one where you feel parents can't have done this, and another where you think maybe they actually did it. However you can easily see that she does take side of parents in the story which is a reason why those people who don't agree parents are innocent may not enjoy or like the film. I ofcourse loved film because I believe the parents didn't do it. Coming to the movie, the performances of Konkana Sen Sharma and Neeraj Kabi as parents is spot on, going through a tough loss and then getting labelled as murderers with the constant media who grills on news channels. Irrfan Khan in top form as the CBI 1st team leading guy who goes through the every possible proof to come to conclusion only to be taken off case later because of stupid reasons. Gajraj Rao as the casual inspector is also fun to watch and also irritating because had he done his job well, the case wont had even gone to CBI. Tabu is only weak link of film, mostly because everytime her scene comes it feels like trying to give forced lighthearted moment, except for the final scene where she is watching news of Talvars getting arrested with Irrfan sleeping having lost the faith in the system. Its a tough movie to watch whichever narrative you wanna go with, having a tight screenplay with no songs there. 

Fav Scenes : 

• Ashwin taking complete class of Inspector Dhaniram, totally angry at how poorly the scene of crime was handled by him. 

• Ashwin and Ramashankar Pillai having a dig at the other CBI team telling how they came to a conclusion first and then searched for proofs to support their theories. 

SPECIAL MENTIONS : 

Baahubali 1&2

Mahishmathi chain ki saans lo.. mera beta aa gaya. Baahubali laut aaya.

Seen hardly 4-5 Regional movies in last decade, Baahubali (both parts) stands out as the best movie that very much tells how a masala movie should be done which our hindi industry often fails at. 

The plot revolves around a place 'Mahishmathi' where Baahubali (Prabhas) and Bhallaladeva (Rana Daggubati) face-off to get the throne. But both act differently to get it, Bhallaladeva is real son of Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan) but very evil and believes in winning any manner while Baahubali grows up under Sivagami treating her like real mother and always wants to make sure his people are safe and fine while fighting enemies. Part1 very successfully shows the son of Baahubali slowly learning about where he belongs and how Bhallaladeva has kept his mother, Devasena (Anushka Shetty) in bediyan since his birth. Love how Avanthika (Tamannaah Bhatia) leads Baahubali to Mahishmathi even though at places she does ham. Devasena's dialogue 'mera beta aayega' (I had seen the hindi version first) totally reminded of Karan Arjun in a good way. Almost every character is given good time to develop, whether its BhallaDeva running Mahishmathi treating the people cruely or Baahubali eager to free Devasena or Katappa (Sathyaraj) who is bound to serve always. The  flashback scenes and then how the battle happens leading to Baahubali getting the throne is superfun to watch including the wierd talking style of Kalakeya (Prabhakar). 

Part2 is little cheesy for the portions where Katappa and Baahubali disguise as smalltown villagers at the Devasena place. And there's that unwanted Tree action scene, or the final cheesy dialogue of Bhallaldeva 'aao devasena saath mein mar jaate hai'. Also, Tamannaah got totally sidelined to my liking. Thats the only flaws in a otherwise very good end to the Baahubali series. Love watching the plotting Bhalaladeva and his father do in the mind of Sivagami who learns about the shadyantra bit too late. Prabhas and Anushka Shetty share excellent chemistry, specially the romantic part. Why Katappa killed Baahubali was well known yet the scene is emotional when the time comes and then that dialogue 'jab tak tum mere saath ho, mujhe maarne wala paida nahi hua mama'. And love the touch they give when Baahubali dies, going with a high 'Jai Mahishmathi' chant. The final battle between Bhalladeva and Baahubali (son) is well constructed too, never giving feel of being lengthy. 

Rajamouli succeeds in narrating this story largely because its so full of emotions, everytime you are rooting for Baahubali, and two other factors that help are the visuals and music. Even the title credit comes on screen in a mega manner and a total treat to eyes, so are the scenes involving battles, elephants, ceremonies and much more. MM Kreem's music was so good that I even enjoyed listening to the Telugu versions, 'Khoya Hai' & 'Jal Rahin Hai' from Part1 and 'Jiyo Re Baahubali', 'Jay Jaykara' and 'Shivam' from Part2 were my fav tracks. Also, the background music was so good, with 'WKKB', 'The King and His Sword', 'Mahishmathi Brace Yourself', 'Royal Love', 'Stoned Heart' and 'Lullaby of Death' being favourites. I certainly have slight preference towards Part1, but in the end I enjoyed both movies a lot with top performances from the entire cast.

Fav Scenes : 

• Baahubali (son) enters Mahishmathi palace with background music and Devasena's dialogue that follows.

• Katappa running towards Baahubali (son) with a sword to kill when in the rain and darkness he sees his face finally realizing who it is followed by the foot of Baahubali on his head. 

• Baahubali cuts off the head of one of Bhallaladeva sena who misbehaved with Devasena and other women. 

• Sivagami announcing new king as Baahubali's son after the demise of Baahubali. 

La La Land 

Welcome to Seb's.

I started watching English movies consistently by 2014 I think, which is why I am skipping the decade list for Hollywood. But there's no way I won't talk about 'La La Land' which would had been my straightforward no.1 movie pick.

The kind of musical movie I enjoy, first one from Hollywood, a romantic at core with backdrop of jazz where Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) got a sizzling chemistry as they try to make their careers as pianist and actress respectively while facing reality of letting their relationship go hand in hand become tough. There are still some conversations that happen through songs but they are far and few and even those worked for me.Also, Ryan and Emma not perfect dancers/singers gives that real feel. The story is narrated by Damien in a very magical way that you almost don't see the hardhitting heartbreaking climax coming. 'City of Stars' both versions, 'Someone in the Crowd' and 'Epilogue' were my favourite tracks. Like Rockstar, its a perfect movie for me that I can never get tired of watching. 

Fav Scenes : 

• Mia requesting 'I ran' song as Sebastian makes angry expressions for not liking the choice of track. 

• Sebastian's 'Welcome to Sebs' as he watches Mia come to his place with her husband.

Also, DO CHECK OUT -

• Decade (2010-2019) : Best Hindi Albums

• Decade (2010-2019) : Top 100 Hindi Songs

Mini Review : The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)

Directed by : Aaron Sorkin

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1070874/

This is the Academy Awards of protests and as far as I am concerned it's an honor to be just nominated.

Spoilers ahead.. 

Based on the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago, 1968 that was met with protests resulting in riots from three groups, 1st was the leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society - Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) and Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), 2nd was leaders of the Youth International Party aka Yippies - Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) and Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and 3rd was the leader of the Mobilization to end the war in Vietnam - David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch). Then, there were Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins) and John Froines (Danny Flaherty) who had nothing to do with protests yet they were named in the trial. And there was 8th guy, Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), National Chairman of the Black Panther Party who also wasn't part of protest but got named for the obvious racist reasons. Defense Counsel was lead by William Kuntsler (Mark Rylance) along with Leonard Weinglass (Ben Shenkman).while the Federal Prosecution was lead by Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon Levitt) along with Thomas Foran (J.C MacKenzie). The story shows what happened, how the trial proceeds as you very much know with the tone of the judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) that its more a political trial (as Abbie believes) and the result is well known in advance. 

A very quick montage kind opening sequence with brilliantly inter-cut shots on dialogues and a lovely fast background music gives us a brief idea of the 8 guys we will be watching for the entire plot. The setting then immediately moves to the courtroom drama which is very riveting. Even if you are not into politics, it will be hard for you not to enjoy every minor thing and also feel anguish at how the proceedings seem to be in favour of Federal team (represnting the U.S Govt) all the time. Infact the entire court-room tussle could easily be compared to any past event anywhere in the world where justice isn't served and manipulation of laws done by the government, or you could look no where else but India itself how various riots end up with accused getting anti-national labels while the real culprits roam free, but depends entirely what side of story you believe is true.

There's judge Hoffman right away trying to clear out he is in no way related to defendant Abbie Hoffman to which Abbie sarcastically calls him father, both Abbie and Jerry often saying 'over-ruled' to irritate Judge, many times Judge would take wrong names of defendant or a defense lawyer (says a lot about either his efficiency or his behavior), Bobby managing without a lawyer in a trial he shouldn't be part of as day by day he is ridiculed by the judge on clear racist discrimination. Eddie Redmayne is wonderful as Tom and it took me a while to even recognise him, that final scene of his you would want to just standup and applaud (wonder if it was fiction or real). Also, it was interesting to see Tom and Addie's different ideologies while been on the same side.

Mark Rylance is brilliant, be it his take on been told 'he ain't serious about the case', or his anger (which almost everyone from Defense side and us audience felt) at the Judge taking wrong calls all the time handing everyone contempt of court for disagreeing with him. Frank Langella plays his part very well even if he's not a likeable character.  Also, its been a long time since I saw Joseph Gordon Levitt in a interesting role, maybe 'The Walk' was the last.

Totally feel for what Bobby goes through entire trial and then that hardhitting scene where he gets beaten and gagged, love how Schultz reacts to it who despite been from Federal side, often shows the signs of humanity prevailing in someone in the courtroom that doesn't belong to the Defense side. Lee and John's reference to Academy awards of protests is simply hilarious and so is the lady picking calls with 'Hello Conspiracy Office'. Also, we get a nice small cameo of Michael Keaton. 

Despite my hatred against Politics, I found The Trial of the Chicago 7 as filmmaking at its best, its engaging, entertaining, politically baised, questions the morals of everyone involved, manipulation of the government going to any extent and one of best court-room dramas I have seen even with a result that's not satisfying but thats the harsh reality. Reading some reviews it suggested that movie is not entirely accurate depiction of the real incidents, even in that case the fiction elements added doesn't affect the story much to me. Do a favour and give it a watch, but be attentive, as the dialogues are never ending (not complaining) and there's a lot to process in right at start of the film! 

My Rating : 8/10 

Mini Review : Chhalaang (Amazon Prime)

Directed by : Hansal Mehta

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8983164/

Yeh jo tera fluctuation hai na, hero aur chu**** ke beech ka, kamaal ka hai bhaisaab.

Spoilers ahead..

Mahinder Hooda/Montu (Rajkumar Rao) is a PTI at the same government school he got passed from and got the job through his father (Satish Kaushik). He has no interest in teaching but all that changes when a new Computers teacher, Neelima (Nushrat Bharucha) joins the school and he falls for her instantly. When everything is going fine, the school principal Usha Gehlot (Ila Arun) suddenly hires a new much better qualified PTI, Singh (Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub) that doesn't go well with Montu resulting in a competition between both involving 3 sports taking school students, the one who wins keeps the job. 

First half mostly focusses on Montu's laidback daily life with a surprise scene involving exposing couples that hangout on Valentine's day with the reason of 'western influence' should be stopped. That is where the story changes because one of the couple Monty harasses turns out to be Neelima's parents. But that's the only violent/grey side of Montu we get to see as the film rather wants to focus on what importance Sports education plays in students life, or atleast thats what it was intending to do going by that 20 plus sports personalities names Montu takes in his final speech. 

There are many entertaining moments, most of them coming in the 1st half, whether its the take of Montu why he prefers half pants, taking Neelima to a ring shop, Montu's mother getting angry at been called aunty by Shukla, mention of games like Ludo, Pithu, Temple Run when Montu tries to understand how much his selected students are capable of, and the emotional scene where Montu tells his father how he has always left something in the middle in the past because he felt he couldn't do it. 

The moment narrative shifts to the competition between Montu and Singh, the film derails rapidly. Two bizarre sequences, one involving Montu using dogs to put students in danger just to find who is the fastest runner and to make it worse, its used later in relay competition through loudspeaker because our dear student will win when the dog's sound is put in his ears, whatever that was! And then there's Neelima and Montu's father going to students homes to blackmail their parents into sending students at the competition. 

The usual cliches are there with a training montage, a motivational song. But all that has worked still in past, specially if you look up in last few years with Nitish Tiwari's 'Dangal' and 'Chhicchore'. Maybe Hansal Mehta just failed at making the sports competition look interesting enough rather been boringly predictable. 

Funnily, I have to admit, I was expecting at the end Singh to turn out as brother of Neelima and it been a plan she formed to change Montu. Nushrat Bharucha in a way controls men again (Luv Ranjan being the writer you know) but not directly this time. Its a likeable character as she is bringing positive change in Montu but it was bit of hard to understand why she would be close to Montu, then be with Singh and then again change sides. 

The transformation of Montu happens bit too rapidly too, and so does the way his team of nerds that end up winning against a much better team. It is like you are told that a team like UAE is given one month training and suddenly they will beat Australia/India at a World Cup tournament. But this is something that has been done a lot in past sports films too, maybe the fantasy side of it makes the writers go mad because the reality is always different. 

Rajkumar Rao and Saurabh Shukla are in great form, their scenes together are really fun to watch. Ila Arun is lovely in her supporting act, while Satish Kaushik despite been a little preachy at times is enjoyable specially his over-excitedness at ground while watching matches. Jatin Sarna gets wasted in halwai role. Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub is effective but if only those sports sequences were engaging enough. 

Chhalaang works more as an entertainer in parts but it could had been lot more fun.

My Rating : 5.5/10

Mini Review : Enola Holmes (Netflix)

Directed by : Harry Bradbeer

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7846844/

The choice is always yours. Whatever society may claim, it can't control you.

On the morning of her 16th birthday, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) wakes up to a surprise that her mother Eudoria Holmes (Helena Bonham Carter) has gone missing leaving behind few clues, maybe she wants to be found out. Enola who has been brought up in very different manner by her mother, now has to face her brothers Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft Holmes (Sam Claflin) who are eager to send Enola to a finishing school for proper young ladies, more of a institution that converts young ladies into robots for men. But Enola runs away to London trying to find her missing mother and solve the mystery behind her disappearance, and on the way she falls into another mystery surrounding a young runaway Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) she meets on the train who is unaware of a dangerous conspiracy he's involved in. 

Starts off like you expect a Holmes based detective case solving story, but soon it becomes something different entirely. We here are shown how Enola tries to suddenly enter the real world, and not only search for her mother, but also find herself growing in the new dangerous and tough situations she faces on her own and then there's a little romantic angle with mysterious Tewkesbury. This storyline maybe would work for teenage audience, but for others like me it was a disappointment and not really much to enjoy. 

It also didn't help that Henry Cavill felt awfully miscasted as Sherlock almost like he had no personality, that witty one liners or the 'sociopath' attitude (was there very slightly), all of which previously we had enjoyed in Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr's versions. Then we get a  fictionalised different version of Mycroft which was a headache to watch for the kind of anti-feminist he is. It was a major disappointment as I was looking forward to Sam Claflin's act. When he was trying to control Enola and she runs off, I felt thank god they didn't go that route, only to return to same narrative much later on, grr! 

Even if I ignore these problems as in anycase its Enola and Twekesbury who get more screentime, issue is both sub-plots of mother disappearance and why people want Tewkesbury dead, leads to not so interesting adventures which is what Holmes world should consist of. The movie may have worked better if they didn't try to do too much, and stuck with just mother's motives, explore more of her feminism angle and Enola's attempts to find her mother, while outdoing Sherlock. The whole Tewkesbury plot just spoils the narrative and it just becomes more of neither here and nor there. 

I have not seen Millie Bobby Brown in anything else than 'Stranger Things' and she was fun to watch, liked those 4th wall dialogues she would often do (not overdone thankfully), and she had a nice cute chemistry going with Louis Partridge.

Enola Holmes doesn't work for me mainly because it's more of a fictional different take of Sherlock's little sister, not the kind I was expecting from the trailer.  Just about watchable but have to manage some cringeworthy sequences on the way. 

My Rating : 5/10 

Mini Review : I Care a Lot (Netflix)

Directed by : J Blakeson

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9893250/

There are two types of people in this world. Those that take and those that get took. Lions and lambs. My name is Marla Grayson and I am no lamb. I am a fucking lioness. 

Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) is a professional court appointed guardian for many elderly wards in past but she with her partner/girlfriend Fran (Eiza Gonzalez) are in reality conning the judge by using false medical reports with help of Dr Amos (Alicia Witt) and Sam Rice (Damian Young) whose facility is used to put the new wards at. Having been right up her game, Marla next chooses Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest) who appears to be very wealthy, has no heirs and offlate was in touch with Dr Amos. But things turn wild when its learned Jennifer isn't what she looked like, and has got connections with Russian Mafia as Marla tries to get out of this unwanted mess.

The way film starts, voiceover of Marla with her back of head shown, it always felt like we were re-watching 'Gone Girl' (trailer had the same vibe too) with similar tone and style minus the nervy background music. Its fun watching how Marla is easily getting her way, sending normal old people into care centers with proper legal methods. But if you think of same scenario happening in real, then its scary to think how easily someone in your family could end up for no fault of theirs at a place not meant for them.

Rosamund Pike seems to be enjoying the role, you can just feel that with the way she performs, smiles, stares or gives the look of 'you can't win against me' even at a stage in film where she is on verge of death. And Eiza Gonzalez is also a delight to watch as her partner and lover, last saw her in 'Baby Driver'. 

Its two places where the film falls apart, one being the reality check as it often goes in over the top fiction, whether its how easily Marla tricks all old people never getting caught, with the judge or police never getting any hint of the fraud. Also, how the hell did Marla escape when been heavily drugged and alcohol inserted, still not drown, unless you wanna tell me those Russian thugs used poor quality of drugs and alcohol.. Even getting the security guards down felt unreal. But I am willing to totally ignore these basic flaws, its the whole Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage) vs Marla Grayson angle that didn't felt engaging enough. I would had liked more of Jenniffer, her attempts to escape or Roman trying some other methods to get her out. There was a scope of lot more of dark comedy that way.

A clear classic case of a movie where you wanna root for the bad person, and it helps when she is paired against another bad person. The ending was little cliched, but then thats the only justice you could had given to all the people that suffered due to her which we don't see much in movie because we wanna be kept in awe of Marla's character. 

I Care a Lot is a decent watch, specially first 30 mins.. Rosamund Pike keeps you interested till the end even when the screenplay begins to drop down into the territory you wish it didn't go. 

My Rating : 5.5/10 

Mini Review : Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Netflix)

Directed by : George C. Wolfe

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10514222/

You don't sing to feel better. You sing because that's a way of understanding life. 

Adaptation of an August Wilson play, with the story revolving around the legendary singer Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) known as 'Mother of the Blues' and her band of musicians including a very ambitious horn player, Levee (Chadwick Boseman)  as they assemble for a recording session one afternoon, set in 1920's Chicago. 

Very much get the feel of watching a play, with most of the settings limited to a room and many monologues. The constant banter among the musicians in the band, each telling a dark tale they were part of or knew about. Levee's childhood story version monologue specially makes you feel sorry for him and just maybe side with him after feeling he is on a very tightrope way he would be behaving like he would be a big thing one day and not respecting others. 

Ma Rainey is another complex character, at first you feel she is showing the shades of a famous singer, until you learn the reason behind it, with her wanting to make sure the whites never end up ruling how she can behave. That makes for some interesting scenes involving Ma and the white management that wants the recording done badly. 

A very dialogue heavy movie that does lot of character study on almost all the musicians in the band, and then how it leads to a very dark hard-hitting ending which you can see coming amidst the rising tension during all the never ending banter. It does felt little monotonous at times and lengthy despite been just 1h30mins in duration. Though, at same time I won't deny I was very much engaged in most of the banter that was going on, or the moments when Ma would dominate over the white management. Also, there's the racism and prejudices that comes with it since its set in an very old era. 

Maybe little more story about Ma before they shifted to this recording session could had added that something extra that I felt was missing in the movie. 

Viola Davis as expected shines, despite her not having that much dialogues to begin with, her conversation about what music is to her and the coca-cola scene were my favs. Sadly, its the last movie of Chadwick Boseman, and how good he is in this, specially the scene where he narrates what happened when he was 8 yr old, or his enthusiasm after having bought new shoes. 

Among the rest band, Cutler (Colman Domingo), Toledo (Glynn Turman) and Slow Drag (Michael Potts), each were fun to watch, whether its their reactions to how foolish Levee would often sound or their own dark secrets they share with time.

'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' is a good watch for all the performances, bit restrictive on the plot nevertheless I still felt fully invested barring some places. And always good to know about some history I ain't aware of, though many may remember this movie for Chadwick Boseman, being his last one and he does deliver too. 

My Rating : 6.5/10