2000-2009 : A shout-out to my favorite movies. Part 1

It is pretty obvious that making a top-10 list for a whole decade is about an order of magnitude more difficult than doing it for a year. There are so many great movies that it hurts to leave some of them out, more than it feels good to acknowledge the best ones. There is, of course, no question of ranking among those that, for whatever reason, make the cut to the top list.

Any 'favorites' list is always highly time dependent anyway. If you ask me to make a list today, it will very likely look at least somewhat different than the same list made on any other day. Usually the difference lies near the bottom of the lists while the top is pretty robust. The problem with a decade-spanning list is that 20-30 movies probably deserve to be part of the robust top-list! That didn't stop me from going ahead and chopping the list at 10, anyway!

So, what I'll do today is to list those 10 movies that got chopped away just because I chose to stop the top list at 10. Every single one of these movies would probably have figured in one of those alternative top-1o lists that would've resulted had I chosen some other day to do the chopping.

The Just-Missed-The-Top-10 List (in alphabetical order)

2046: It doesn't look (or sound) nearly half as good on TV as it did on the big screen. But the impact of that one screening still lingers. When I see some of the most beautiful scenes of this movie on DVD, my mind instantly gets transported to that first viewing! Add in the little cameo by the brilliant Gong Li, and the coquettish turn by Zhang Ziyi, and the movie becomes all but irresistible for me. Such a beautiful, beautiful film!

Atonement: Another movie that had me completely due to its beautifully shot frames and wonderful soundtrack. The way the screenplay plays around with time and narration makes you enjoy the movie every time you see it. Does the book do that too? Saoirse Ronan is the standout in a great ensemble cast, but this really is Joe Wright's show all the way. (Maybe it has a lot to do with Ian McEwan's book, but I haven't read that yet).

Catch Me if You Can: Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks in one of Spielberg's most entertaining recent effort. I caught it in my gym twice over last year and both the times I couldn't switch to any other channel for next hour and half.

Crash : It crashed Brokeback Mountain's expected party at the oscars and deservedly so. Some people called it contrived, which it might've been, but it is engrossing throughout. Some great stories, great acting ensemble, and a message that really resonates with me. Some of the gasp-inducing moments haven't lost any of their power even after so many viewings.

The Departed : I remember liking Infernal Affairs a lot, but it is The Departed that stayed with me longer. Perhaps because I ended up seeing it many times as compared to just once for Infernal Affairs. Still, I don't think you can keep a movie with Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlburg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin out of many top movies lists even if it was directed by me. This, on the other hand, was one of Scorsese's better recent works.. so... :)

In the Mood for Love : Slow motion was discovered/invented for this movie. Wong Kar Wai invaded my imagination with this movie (and continued with 2046!). I don't think I still have a clue about the ending, but that really doesn't matter. Every time I see it, I marvel at the clever screenplay. Yet, at the end of the day the thing that I can't get out of my mind are those slow motion scenes and that awesome soundtrack!

Lage Raho Munnabhai : Munnabhai M.B.B.S was good, but all the things that reminded me of old Hollywood movies always stopped me from holding it in very high esteem. What Hirani (and Abhijat Joshi) did with Lago Raho was astounding though! This was as original, and as indian as I have seen anyone get in bollywood with something as entertaining. Hirani kept talking about Hrishida and Frank Capra, but I don't think anyone would've expected him to make a movie that wouldn't have looked out of place in either of those directors' filmographies. While everyone was laughing at the jokes, I kept marveling at how they had managed to write something THIS entertaining starting with the idea of Munnabhai and Gandhigiri! This is the closest I have felt any movie has come to making me feel the way I did when I saw Dekalog.

No Country for Old Men : My roommate didn't see what was so great about this movie, and I DO think that it makes things difficult for us in the last 5-10 min by that long contemplative ending about Tommy Lee Jones. But then, I guess, there is a reason it is called No Country for Old Men. What makes it such a great movie for me is those nearly perfect scenes of cat-and-mouse and the performances of nearly everyone in the movie. There is a constant sense of anticipation throughout the movie even when hardly anything action-y is happening on screen. Javier Bardem elevates it to another level, but, really, it is the Coens that just had the perfect day in office with this movie. (or maybe it is McCarthy.. I haven't read the book).

Memento : What an entrance to the public consciousness by Chris Nolan! And then he followed it up with all those awesome movies. Easily one of the directors of the decade. How exactly DOES one write a movie like Memento?? Aamir might have found this boring and incomprehensible, but I think this really is flawless.

Million Dollar Baby : When I saw Gran Torino, I liked it more than Million Dollar Baby. The theme of GTorino was certainly closer to my heart than MDBaby. Yet, today, I must say that MDB stays with me more. It might have something to do with the amazing work by Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank, or maybe it's just that I happened to see MDB again recently. Hard to separate, those two movies.

So.... these were the movies that lost out just because today is today. Up next, the part 2 of the list with the top-10.

Update: Part 2 of the list is here.

Albums and composers of 2009

Happy new year to you all! 2010 is here, so I guess I need to get my act together otherwise I'll still be publishing my 2009 lists in march 2010!! (Which is not as rare as it should be, because there is always some potentially good movie from previous year that I don't get to see till well into the next year). Anyway... moving on to this list..

As I mentioned earlier, once I had made a long-ish list of all the more important songs of the year, the statistician in me couldn't NOT do at least a little meta-analysis to see whether the list data could be churned to come up with a top albums/top composers list that might sound reasonable when compared to my own vague impression of the year. This turned out to be more or less correct, except some little surprises. In retrospect, I could've done a better job than the highly simplistic [-rank ∝ rating points] but who cares? :) The ranks don't really matter anyway. This is just an opportunity to write about some of the good stuff of the year gone by. So, here you go...

Top 5 albums of 2009

5. Gulaal by Piyush Mishra.

An album that probably takes some time to grow on you because it is so unlike most other songs that we get to hear nowadays. I don't know why Anurag Kashyap thought of Piyush Mishra, but it definitely turned out great. How many times do we see a movie set in either the past or the not-so-urban india whose music, even if good, sounds exactly like any other movie (Asoka, I'm looking at you!)? Gulaal sounds exactly like it should. raw, rustic, and perhaps most importantly, violent! I haven't yet seen the movie, but I am told that the movie actually fails to live up to the power of the songs.

'Ranaji' was probably always going to gain early attention of music channels due to its lyrics, but it is the all-male songs of the album that give it its real flavor. Although 'Aisi saza' is a great song, you don't really think of it first when you are thinking of Gulaal's music. It is the Rahul Ram tracks (Raat ke musaafir, and Yaara maula) and the Piyush Mishra tracks (Sheher, Duniya and Aarambh) that really make this album a must-hear.

4. Blue by A R Rahman.

This was a little surprising, actually. While I really like some of the songs in Blue, I'd have thought that Gulaal would've come higher than Blue, whereas Blue actually just edged ahead in the results (a very thin edge, admittedly). On second thoughts, perhaps it was always going to come out this way because, individually I like Blue's songs better though Gulaal just has a higher overall impact due to the theme. Blue is, after all, just a fun album. Till end of 2007, Rahman hadn't done a 'fun' album in hindi for a long time. Most of his projects used to be prestige projects of major directors that were based on some serious theme or were period/costume projects. His 'fun' projects seemed to be confined to tamil movies. Since then, however, we have had 'Jaane Tu Ya.. Jaane na', 'Ghajini', 'Yuvvraaj' and now 'Blue'. It really is a pleasure to hear these songs that sound normal everyday songs when you hear them for the first time and yet, the more you listen to them the more clear it is that they have ARR class written all over them. :)

Well, most of them, anyway. 'Chiggy Wiggy' seems to be one of the exceptions. The english part sung by Kylie Minogue is catchy enough, and some of the hindi part by Sonu Nigam is foot tapping too, but the transition between them is just plain pedestrian. Thankfully, the rest of the album is worthy of ARR. I've written about 'Aaj Dil Gustaakh', 'Fikraana' and 'Bhoola Tujhe', but even the other three songs have a lot going for them. 'Blue theme' is quite fun and exciting. 'Rehnumaa' took a long time to grow on me, but it never seemed skip-worthy. 'Yaar Mila Tha' seemed the most unusual on first hearing, but after getting used to its rhythms it also is quite a fun song, perhaps mainly due to the lyrics.

I was afraid ARR might've signed a sure-shot turkey when I heard about Blue, but I forgot that he has done that a hundred times in Tamil and the end-result is only that the turkey gains class, rather than ARR doing any substandard work.. :)

3. Dev.D by Amit Trivedi.

After Aamir, most people were probably waiting for the next album by Amit Trivedi. Not many, however, would've expected an album with 18 songs most of which probably get a pass grade from most people. Regardless of what your taste in music is, you'll probably find SOMETHING to admire in this mega album. From pure desi sound of "Dhol yaara dhol" to punjabi-dance numbers like "Hikknal"/"Mahi Mannu" to the absolutely wonderful modernize, yet carnatic-evoking "Paayaliya" to an insane mix of pop/rock (and even 'wedding orchestra') sprinkled throughout the rest of the album, it has everything. I have written about my favorites from the album - Paayaliya, Dhol yaara dhol, and the themes - but most of the rest of the songs (except the punjabi ones IMO) are more than just hum-along nice. Not many songs were so great that I'll probably be singing them 2 years from now (except Paayaliya, nothing approaches the heights of Iktaara, for example), but the sheer range of reasonably good songs throughout the album is absolutely stunning. On any given day you can easily find me hearing to any of "Yahi Meri Zindagi", "Saali Khushi", "Pardesi", "Dil Mein Jaagi", "Nayan Tarse", "Ek Hulchul Si" etc and fully enjoying the experience.

2. Delhi-6 by A R Rahman.

2008 was Rahman's year all the way. For someone who was averaging about 2-3 albums a year over last 2-3 years, 2008 was a veritable deluge of albums! Jodhaa Akbar, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Ada, Sakkarakatti, Slumdog Millionaire, Yuvvraaj and Ghajini! I don't think anyone could then have expected 2009 to begin with an album that was as good as the best of previous year, if not better than all of them!

Delhi-6 was one of those albums that makes a well-trained ARR fan, after the first hearing, say to himself "ok... some songs are nice enough, but most of them aren't all that catchy really. This means this is going to be a great album!" :) And great it turned out to be! There are a lot of things here that seemed 'strange' to me in the first hearing but turned out to be exactly the things that make me love those songs now - the continuum keyboard ending of "Rehna Tu", the dreamy soundscape of "Dil Gira Dafatan", the rustic/urban duality of "Genda Phool", the trying-too-hard-to-be-modern off-beat rhythms of "Delhi 6", the nice-but-perhaps-too-long simplicity of "Arziyan" etc. In fact, "Masakkali" is probably the only instantly likeable song (and it stays likeable after many hearings). Yet, over last year, I have not heard any other album nearly a tenth as many times as Delhi-6. So much so that some friends had started to detest having to sit in my car because all they could ever hear in my car were Delhi-6 songs! :) Perhaps the fact that ARR hasn't come up with many albums this year has something to do with it. Still, I had a lot of recent choices that I used to put in the CD player every once in a while (all those 2008 albums mentioned above), yet I ALWAYS used to come back to Delhi-6 because of a sudden craving for Rehna Tu or Arziyaan or Genda Phool or Delhi 6. :) All of which makes it quite evident why I myself felt quite shocked to see Delhi-6 ending up a close (verrry close) second to....

1. Kaminey by Vishal Bhardwaj

Hmm... how did this happen? How can I ever explain this?? Kaminey is of course great, but above Delhi-6?? Perhaps, in retrospect, had I rated the songs rather than just simply ranking them, then Rehna Tu and Arziyaan would've been enough to pull Delhi-6 higher (after all, it really was THAT close between 1 and 2). But I think there is more to it. Kaminey songs gained much more from the movie itself (I have written about their great use in the movie whenever I discussed any song of Kaminey) as compared to Delhi-6. I started loving Raat Ke Dhhai Baje, Go Charlie Go, and Kaminey after I saw them in the movie. Also, I find every single song in Kaminey much more impressive than at least two Delhi 6 songs (Dil Gira Dafatan and Kaala Bandar...). So, while Delhi-6 attains loftier heights with Rehna Tu and Arziyaan, overall Kaminey probably DOES deserve to be called the better album.

As I mentioned before, it is probably impossible for any composer to have this sort of synergy between songs and the movie unless he/she is also the director! Any album that doesn't turn out to be a weak link of a movie as good as Kaminey HAS to be a great album. And Kaminey's songs are actually part of its strengths. Extra points to Vishal for including a message song about AIDS without making it sound (or look) out of place in the movie (even though it IS the weakest song in the album). In a movie that is so much like a rollercoaster ride, not a single song breaks the flow or, indeed, seems less than welcome. For that fact itself, Kaminey is my album of the year!

(er... one of the top 2 anyway :P )

As for composers, I think the list above makes it pretty clear who the top 4 are. Rahman easily trumps Vishal for the top spot when Blue (and Connections) are added to Delhi-6. Vishal, Amit Trivedi, and Piyush Mishra follow in that order, with Amit Trivedi running Vishal pretty close when the awesome "Iktaara" is added to Dev.D. The last slot is easily picked up by Pritam, who had some really good songs in Love Aaj Kal and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahaani (and maybe New York and Tum Mile, which I haven't heard). Then again, perhaps other duds like Billu, Dil Bole Hadippa and De Dana Dan should've pulled him down. :) If that were the case, Shankar Ehsaan Loy would take his place in an year when they were particularly lacking in inspiration. As things stand, I think Pritam deserves his place at 5 for some really good songs.

So, the final list of composers is..

1. A R Rahman

2. Vishal Bhardwaj

3. Amit Trivedi

4. Piyush Mishra

5. Pritam

Up next: My favorite movies of 2009.

My favorite songs of 2009 : Concluding Part

Previous posts about this list: Intro, Part 1 (24-25), Part 2 (18-23), Part 3 (12-17), Part 4 (6-11)

The top 5. This will probably feel more like a countdown unlike the 6-songs-crowded-on-the-podium feel of previous 3 posts. I still can't separate the top 2 songs (and the next 2), but then there is no reason to! Who says one HAS to choose between songs that bring you equal pleasure.

First, a recap... full list till now...

#24. Aaj Din Chadhheya and Dev-Chanda themes

#18. Dhhol Yaara Dhhol; Himalaya Theme; Rahi Re; Sheher; Tu Jaane Na and Ye Dooriyaan

#16. Chor Bazaari and Fikraana

#12. Aaj Dil Gustaakh Hai; Aisi Sazaa; Bhoola Tujhe and Raat Ke Dhhaai Baje

#6. Delhi 6; Genda Phool; Go Charlie Go; Kaminey; Man Chandre and Pehli Baar Mohabbat

Phew! So.. ladies and gentlemen... I give you... my top 5 hindi songs of 2009

#5. Dhan Te Nan from Kaminey.

Remember that first promo of Kaminey? The one that instantly made Kaminey the most awaited movie of the year for everyone? Well, it worked for a lot of reasons, specially the dialogue - "तीन फ़ाल फ़े... फ़कल भी नहीं देखी मैंने उफ़्की", "अब कहाँ गयी तुम्हारी स.... स.... साइंस! होम साइंस!", "तो क्या rape किया मैंने तुम्हारा?!!", "मैं फ़ को फ़ बोलता हूँ...", "अबे फ़ को फ़ नहीं तो क्या ल बोलेगा?" - but not the least of those reasons was the PulpFictionesque trumpet in the background that explodes at the perfect moment with the song that must surely be a shoo-in for the most popular song of the year!

What an idea it was to take that quintessential bollywood action movie sound "Dhan Te Nan" and turn it into such a wonderful song for the dance floor! And, with Kaminey, it goes without saying (I'll say it nevertheless :P ) that the way it is used in the movie is purrrrfect! High on drugs and anticipation of a gloriously fun-filled life ahead, celebrating the biggest success of their lives on a dance floor, what will the two friends sing BUT "Dhan Te Nan!" :)

Sukhwinder does what he normally does with such songs, but he actually doesn't get into the mood nearly as well as Vishal Dadlani does! As for lyrics, Gulzar does his usual Gulzargiri, of course..

"आजा आजा दिल निचोडें

रात की मटकी तोडें

कोई goodluck निकालें

आज गुल्लक तो फोडें!"

"कोई चाल ऐसी चलो यार अबके,

समंदर भी पुल पे चले

फिर तू चले उसपे, या मैं चलूँ,

शहर हो अपने पैरों तले!

कहीं खबरें हैं, कहीं कबरें हैं,

जो भी सोये हैं कबरों में, उनको जगाना नहीं"

All I can say is that Gulzar only needs to be kept away from Subhash Ghai! He writes some of the most enjoyable lyrics in hindi movies almost effortlessly.

#3. Paayaliya> from Dev.D and Rehna Tu from Delhi-6.

Dev.D isn't an easy album to like on the first hearing. A lot of the songs are just so unlike "movie songs" that one gets a little uneasy listening to the first 4-5 songs of the album. And then comes "Paayaliya". You don't know what to make of it what with all the "अरज अरज करी, करज करजवा को करे हर पल बेचैन", "नींदें बिसर कर दे" etc lyrics and the voice that sings the first line giving it a rustic feeling, yet the instruments and the actual singing voice and style (not to speak of the backing vocals saying "By God" etc) make it sound so modern. And yet, nothing really sounds 'inconsistent'. You might not know what to make of it, but you like it nevertheless. This is one song where lyrics just don't matter to me at all! She could've sung this in aramaic and I'd still have liked it! Amit Trivedi got everyone's attention with Aamir last year and amazed people with the sheer range of music in Dev.D, but it took THIS song to convince me that we really are looking at someone special. The songs starts well, but it is really the tune of the stanzas that make me love this song so much. I mean the tunes for "अरज अरज करी, करज करजवा को करे हर पल बेचैन" and then later for "हो! जिया पे छाये, जिया पे छाये, छाये छाये छाये छाये रे!" The lyrics, as I said, are there just as convenient space-fillers. The might mean something, but honestly, I really never feel like thinking about them when the song is going on. And if I try to think about the lyrics later, I invariably get sucked into listening to the voice in my head that is singing the song and forget all about the lyrics again! What a song! :)

ARR seems to always keep the best (or one of the best) song of the album for himself to sing, doesn't he? :) Or perhaps it is something to do with the combination of his singing AND the genre of songs that he sings that just makes me love them.

It is a sign of a great album that your favorite song of the album keeps changing for a long time before possibly settling in on one (sometimes that stage never arrives. Every time I listen to a song from Dil Se, THAT song suddenly seems to be the best in the album). Delhi-6 is one of ARR's better albums of last 5-6 years, and yet, it took me a long time to look beyond 'Rehna Tu' when I thought about my favorite song of the album. ARR's soothing vocals, SUCH a nice melodious tune and Prasoon Joshi's romantic lyrics, wow! All we needed was a great video to go with it, but Rakesh Mehra let us down. :( I think they were going for the same thing that they did with Rang De Basanti - using the songs in completely unexpected places (no one would've expected Luka Chhupi and Roobaroo to be used the way they were). It sort of worked for a lot of people in RDB (Roobaroo didn't work for me though... I mean the picturization, not the song), but it just didn't work at ALL for Rehna Tu and Dil Gira Dafatan here. Sigh! अब क्या कर सकते हैं? We can keep listening to the song and try to keep the accompanying visuals away from our mind. That isn't all that difficult actually. Specially when the song ends with that long continuum keyboard piece, one doesn't think of any visual at all, and just listens! If I had to choose one piece of instrumental magic for this year, it has got the be the last 1 min of Rehna Tu!

Which brings us to my two songs of 2009!

#1-2. Arziyaan from Delhi-6 and Iktaara from Wake Up Sid.

Last year all year-end reports mentioned Benny Dayal as the newcomer singer of the year, whereas the REAL find was the voice of Javed Ali. Smooth as - pardon the cliché - silk. Had you asked me before I listened to 'Arziyaan' whether a song of qawwali/sufi genre would suit Kailash Kher's voice or Javed Ali's I'd have chosen Kher. Yet, every time I hear any part of this unusually long song in my mind, it is ALWAYS in Javed Ali's voice, not Kailash Kher's. Not to say that Kher doesn't do justice to his lines. Just that Javed Ali absolutely OWNS this song.

Did I say Javed Ali owns this song? That's just in terms of singing, of course. As for the rest, I don't think I even need to talk about ARR here because, after all, we anyway expect him to do wonders in this genre. Forget doing wonders, has anyone else even composed anything in that genre in last 5-10 years? The fast paced, dance floor friendly qawwali songs, yes, but not anything with a slow, soothing, sufi touch.

So, there you go, Rahman did what Rahman does - be a genius. Nothing new there. Actually, it is Prasoon Joshi who REALLY owns the song. This is a long song and the lyrics are good throughout, but seriously speaking he didn't really need to write anything beyond "दरारें दरारें हैं माथे पे मौला, मरम्मत मुकद्दर की कर दो मौला " and I'd have been sold anyway.

"प्यास लेके आया था, दरिया वो भर लाया,

नूर की बारिश में भीगता सा तर आया "

"एक खुशबू आती थी, मैं भटकता जाता था,

रेशमी सी माया थी, और मैं तकता जाता था....

जब तेरी गली आया, सच तभी नज़र आया,

मुझमें ही वो खुशबू थी, जिससे तूने मिलवाया..."

As I mentioned, it was actually 'Rehna Tu' that was my favorite song of the album for the longest time and while that song didn't go down in my estimation over time, Arziyaan went through all the familiar stages of those songs of ARR that stay with you the longest. From "hmm... nice sounding song, but perhaps a bit too generic" to "hmmm.. this is actually pretty nice.. Javed Ali sounds so good!" to "that maula-maula bit is pretty addictive, though perhaps the song goes on for too long" to "WOW! what lyrics! marammat muqaddar ki and all!!" to, finally, "too long? I could listen to this for hours!!! How long have I been continuously singing this for, again? 2 days perhaps!" :) Song of the year, without doubt.

It's that voice. Kavita Seth's voice has something in it that gives Iktaara that extra punch. From the first line of the song "ओ रे मनवा तू तो बांवरा है... तू ही जाने तू क्या सोचता है, बाँवरे" to the way she pronounces बूँद-बूँद and मूँद-मूँद... she just elevates the song so much!

As for the song itself, Amit Trivedi has outdone himself here! He thought of this song for a background piece in the movie?! THIS song?? It carries the whole album! In an year when Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were particularly lacking in inspiration, I'm sure this song from Amit Trivedi got played more times than all S-E-L songs from this year, let along from this whole album. I think I'll wait for one more album from Amit Trivedi, and if it is nearly as good as Aamir, Dev.D or this song, I'll probably start saying that he is to hindi film music what Vishal Bhardwaj and Raju Hirani are to hindi films! :) Meaning, I'll wait for every album by Amit Trivedi as much as I now wait for Vishal's and Hirani's movies. There is always the danger of a new composer running out of all of the great songs in his mind after the first few albums, but we shall keep hoping.

That concludes this list. Up next, albums and composers of the year. And then the usual list of movies of the year (and maybe decade).

My favorite songs of 2009 : Part 4 (no. 6 to 11)

Previous posts about this list: Intro, Part 1 (24-25), Part 2 (18-23), Part 3 (12-17)

Again, all six of these songs are at 6. Posting here in alphabetical order.

Genda Phool from Delhi-6. Such a nice little song! Everything about this song works, the singing, the "aye hay hay" chorus going in the background, even the call to pigeons at the beginning (that's what it is, isn't it?), the fusion between folk singing and modern-ish instruments/arrangements. AND the video. As I said, Rekha Bhardwaj elevates most songs that she sings. Great song from an album full of great songs.

Go Charlie Go from Kaminey. I didn't realize how good this instrumental track is till I saw it being used in the movie. It adds so much to that perfectly shot "Go Charlie Go" sequence. If you have seen the movie, you know what I mean. Perhaps the memory of Charlie hurtling through the corridors gives me such a rush whenever I hear this track.

Kaminey from Kaminey. "जिसका भी चेहरा छीला, अन्दर से और निकला; मासूम सा कबूतर, नाचा तो मोर निकला". Gulzar in full form. Kaminey wouldn't be half the album it is with anyone else writing the lyrics. Then again, it wouldn't be half the album it is with someone else directing the movie either. While Delhi-6 the movie pulled the album down a notch, Kaminey the movie added a lot to the album. While the lyrics, the soothing composition and the soft vocals of Vishal help the song stand on its own, its use in the movie and that image of Charlie sitting in the boat contemplating his past and perhaps looking at the future with trepidation just lifts the song to another level.

Man Chandre from Connections. I can't think of another recent slow song of ARR, or anyone else for that matter, that is so instantly likeable within one minute of its beginning. The santoor (it IS santoor, I suppose) right at the beginning followed by the amazing voice of Shraddha Pandit rightaway makes you stop whatever you are doing and pay attention. Sukhwinder then hijacks most of the rest of the song, but it sounds great nevertheless. Perhaps a little more of Shraddha wouldn't have been bad. The song probably gets a bit monotonous after a while (mainly due to the repetitive lyrics) but it definitely sounds very different whenever the singer changes (Sukhwinder or Shraddha or the chorus singing the same lines actually make those parts feel SO different to each other). The monotony actually reminds me of "Javeda Zindagi" from Anwar which also had an awesome tune repeated too many times.

Nevertheless, Man Chandre is a must-listen. Specially, as a song to be played in the background when you are doing some work.

Pehli Baar Mohabbat from Kaminey. I am afraid I'll sound too repetitive if I start talking about this. The lyrics, the visuals, and the songs of Kaminey are so in-sync with each other that it is impossible to talk about any of the songs without talking about the other stuff.

"तुझे गुदगुदाना, सताना, यूं ही सोते हुए

गाल पे टीपना, मीचना, बेवजा बेसबब...

याद है... पीपल के, जिसके घने साए थे,

हमने गिलहरी के जूठे मटर खाए थे.."

wow! :)

He used the song for credits, but it worked as a great trailer of the movie, with all those cute moments between Guddu and Sweety. The video below doesn't have the full song. The audio-only version is here.

Delhi 6 from Delhi-6. I remember not liking this song when I heard it for the first time. This is one of those ARR songs that is just so "strange" when you hear it the first time that you don't see youself liking it a lot. and yet.. after a few hearings, you can't imagine what made you think so initially! And I can't imagine that now. It really is such a foot-tappingly hum-alongingly good song, isn't it? :) I remember I got that "wow! why didn't I like this before, this is actually a pretty good song" when I saw it in the trailer.

I was glad this became as popular as it did. I guess it just became the official Delhi song for some time. Perhaps one of the few odes to Delhi in our movies (was there any at all before this?).

And what a nice job Prasoon Joshi has done! "ये शहर नहीं, महफ़िल है"!

Update: Concluding part is here

My favorite songs of 2009 : Part 3 (no. 12 to 17)

Previous posts about this list: Intro, Part 1 (24-25), Part 2 (18-23)

No. 16-17

Chor Bazaari from Love Aaj Kal. Another song from the inconsistent LAK. Like I said, I am still to like any of his dance-friendly fast paced songs like "Twist", but this is one of the faster songs that I actually have begun to like. Then again, it is the fun lyrics, singing, and picturization that probably should get a lot of the credit (though Pritam does well too). I hadn't really liked this all that much when I had heard the album for the first time, but this was one of those songs that kept playing on the radio a lot of times while I was in India and (unlike "Man Ka Radio") grew on me. Seeing it on screen didn't hurt either, with Deepika Padukone's completely bindaas jumping around on Delhi's streets. :)

Again, the video isn't embeddable. See it here. The audio-only version is embedded below.

The other song at no. 16 is Fikraana from Blue. I was SO annoyed with ARR when I heard that he has signed up for THIS movie. Given that he gets to work in so few projects nowadays, it simply made no sense for him to sign something so obviously inconsequential as Blue (or later Couples Retreat) was. Yet, after listening to Blue, it was obvious that he had a lot of fun composing this. And when ARR has fun, it still means great music! :)

Fikraana is one of the more catcy recent ARR songs. The "jeete hain lad lad ke hum" part always gets me to hum along. I had expected the song to fade away after a few days, but it didn't happen. I still find it quite fun.

No. 12-15

Aaj Dil Gustaakh Hai from Blue. 'Fikraana', as I said above, is catchy, but not nearly as catchy as 'Aaj Dil Gustaakh'. I guess the video and Lara Dutta help a little, but even standing alone the song grabs your attention rightaway with the piano and strings in all those unexpected places. It makes the song sound a little strange, yet really good and foot-tapping even when you listen to it the first time. The starting "O ya sa! Maa ya sa! Saa ya sa! So ya sa!......... Chal Chal shara rara re!" was our apartment anthem for quite some time. :)

Aisi Sazaa from Gulaal. This is actually the odd-one-out song from Gulaal in the sense that it doesn't quite evoke the rural atmosphere that all the other songs do by their lyrics/singing/arrangements. Perhaps that's why this is the most easily likeable song in the album. You don't really have to pay attention to the lyrics to like the singing and the music. While the rest of the album has since grown a lot in my estimation, this is still the song I enjoy the most.

Bhoola Tujhe from Blue. Today is Blue day, evidently. :) The only song in the album that seems to be made for anything less than just 'fun', yet the sound seems to be pretty consistent with the album as a whole. A soothing ditty; a worthy addition to ARR's huge list of slow, romantic, soothing songs. Rashid Ali's voice instantly reminds one of the Jaane Tu... songs, which isn't a bad thing at all!

Raat Ke Dhhaai Baje from Kaminey. Man, what an album! Perhaps not as good as Omkaara (at least not as varied), yet SUCH a great match to the movie. Perhaps only a composer-director can make music that seems to mesh with the movie SO well (er.. maybe not... Slumdog Millionaire seems an obvious recent counter-example... Also, I don't have great expectations with Guzaarish's music.. perhaps Bhansali will surprise me.)

Anyway, in an album full of great songs, this would easily be the most fun song if not for 'Dhan tan nan'. Yet, I didn't quite like this all that much initially, specially as it seemed a climb down from the OTHER 'pehli baar mohabbat' song in the album. And then.. I saw it in the movie! Easily the best wedding song of the year! :) Rekha Bhardwaj seems to elevate every song she sings, really (not that Sunidhi Chauhan is less than good.. they form a great partnership). Full audio version is here.

Update: Part 4 is here.

My favorite songs of 2009 : Part 2 (no. 18 to 23)

Previous posts about this list: Intro, Part 1 (24-25)

Again, there is no preference among the songs in a particular post. All six of today's songs are at 18.

Dhhol Yaara Dhhol from Dev.D. Amit Trivedi is easily one of the most versatile composers from the new generation. At least thats how it seems from his work till now. Dev.D itself is such an eclectic album! Will talk more about Trivedi when I post the list of composers of 2009.

What with all the REALLY attention-grabbing songs in the album, this song actually took some time to grab my attention. Now I consider it one of the better songs of the album. The lyrics aren't really all that great here but I think the singing really works. The picturization doesn't hurt either!

Himalaya Theme from Connections. As I have posted before, it is SUCH a pity that this ARR album never saw a proper release. Some of the instrumental music here is really good, not to mention the songs that would've been very popular had this been a movie album etc. Anyway, I find Himalaya to be a really soothing little track (and even considered keeping it as the background score of my wedding site! :P )

Rahi Re from Luck By Chance. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy started the year with LBC, which was a pretty good album actually, but somehow their output through the rest of the year wasn't inspiring. While SEL's work in Luck By Chance is good, what really elevates the album is some good and simple lyrics. I love some of the lines in Rahi Re. While I already loved the song before watching the movie, its visualization has now inextricably attached itself to the song in my mind. The Michael Clayton inspired (copied, actually) end credits use of the song in what actually was a surprisingly good yet simple movie adds to the song's value really. (aside: Zoya did a GREAT job at all the songs actually... they are absolutely non-intrusive.. each song has a different character and comes alive on the screen in a way that really adds to the effect of the song AND the movie.. ). The video here doesn't have the full song, and you might not want to see it if you are planning to see the movie. In that case, the audio-only version is here.

Sheher from Gulaal. The surprise album of the year. One doesn't realize just HOW powerful these songs are unless one starts paying attention to the lyrics properly.And this song specially is nothing BUT powerful lyrics! I haven't yet seen Gulaal, but a friend of mine told me that the songs raise the expectations of raw power and violence etc so much that the movie actually struggles to match that impact. If that's true probably the songs will lose some of their potency once I see the movie, but as of now, I always have goosebumps when I hear some of these songs.

Tu Jaane Na from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahaani. Pritam composes, Atif Aslam sings, and the song is in my favorites list! I have never had a high opinion of Atif Aslam and even this song sounds better in other singers' versions but then they used Atif's version as the primary version in promos and also in the movie itself. Now, I could post a link to those other versions, but then you won't be able to enjoy watching a delicious looking Katrina Kaif in a splendidly shot music video. The problem was that it was just that, a music video. In the movie it just comes out of nowhere so that you have to switch off the movie part of your brain, switch on the leching-Katrina-Kaif part, and then switch on the movie part again. I was annoyed! Anyway... here you go.. switch on the leching part of your brain now.. :)

Ye Dooriyaan from Love Aaj Kal. Pritam again. He had a really good year. Hopefully it also means that he has stopped lifting songs/tunes from other people and has got enough confidence in his own abilities to just go original from now on. I am still to like his dance-floor friendly songs and LAK is a typical album that way. For all the insipid "And we twist"s in the album, there are also some nice songs like Ye Dooriyaan. Then again, perhaps I have yet to find a song sung by Mohit Chauhan that I didn't like. :) Just like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Aaj Din Chadhheya.

Use of this song in the starting credits was probably very confusing for a lot of people. But I think the payoff later in the movie was well worth it. AND it works so much better the second time you see it (after seeing the movie). couldn't find an embeddable video, so you can see it here. The audio-only version is embedded...

Update: Part 3 is here.

My favorite songs of 2009 : Part 1 (no. 24 and 25)

Introduction to the list is here.

Two songs stand shoulder to shoulder at no. 24. er.. two-ish I should say. since one of them is a combination of tracks.

First is Aaj Din Chadhheya from Love Aaj Kal. I didn't like it all that much when I heard the album for the first time which came as a surprise to me because I have liked probably all Rahat Fateh Ali Khan songs that I have heard. But the song grew on me after I saw it in the movie.

The other tracks on no. 24 are the Dev-Chanda themes from Dev.D . I have always found it difficult to separate them, perhaps because I always tend to hear them consecutively. So, I am treating them as just one track here. I could only find theme 1 on youtube.

Update: Part 2 is here

My favorite songs of 2009 (Intro)

One good thing about not staying in India is that one doesn't get bombarded with every single song that releases, through movie trailers, music videos and nowadays FM. While this certainly means that I need to do some extra work in order to make sure that I don't miss out on any potentially good album/song by reading about things online and listening to anything that seems interesting, it fortunately saves me from a lot of Himesh songs. :P (I realized this while I was in India recently and had to listen to "Man Ka Radio" every time I was travelling in the car :( ). On the flip side, however hard I might try, I always tend to miss at least 1-2 albums/songs in the year that might be getting a lot of attention in India. 'Miss' in the sense that even though I might know about them, perhaps I just didn't find the time to listen to them when they released and then forgot about them. In 2008, Aamir was one such album that I discovered pretty late in the year.

This year, some of the albums that I probably didn't listen to enough times (or even once in some cases) to be able to judge them fairly were Kurbaan, New York, Paa, Tum Mile and perhaps 3 Idiots. That still leaves a LOT of albums and songs that I was able to hear properly to be able to make a long list of my favorite songs of the year. Over next few days I'll post my top 25 songs of the year, followed by a list of some of the songs that almost made it to the list. I tried to make an almost exhaustive list of all the songs released in 2009 that seemed worthy of being in such a list before ordering them according to my preference. The ordered list was then used to make shorter lists of albums and composers of 2009. I'll post these lists after I'm done posting the songs list. So, here we go....

Update: Part 1 is here.

My final* top movies list for 2008

* - 'final' only in the sense that this is unlikely to change for many weeks/months to come. The only movies that I still need to see that are likely to have any effect on this list are Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and the oscar foreign language nominees (including Waltz With Bashir and The Class). There have been some changes from the 'almost final list' posted earlier.

First, some special mentions. Most of these are pretty good, definitely watchable movies for one reason or another. e.g. Doubt is easily watchable purely for the performances, Benjamin Button is technically awesome in every way and most of the female performers make it worth your while even though things don't quite come together as well as they could've.

Special Mentions

20) The Wrestler

18-19) A Wednesday; Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na

16-17) Doubt; Mumbai Meri Jaan

15) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

12-14) Dasvidaniya; In Bruges; Slumdog Millionaire

11) Vicky Cristina Barcelona

And now, the top 10...

8-10) Milk; The Reader; The Visitor

I have already written about Milk and The Visitor. The Reader is thoroughly elevated by the two leading role performers - David Kross and Kate Winslet (a performance that probably deserved the oscar that it fetched for Kate.. probably, because I rate her higher in Revolutionary Road which wasn't even nominated!). It's also a great story which is really not as much of a holocaust movie as it is being made out to be. The central dilemma of the story is only set up with holocaust being the background, but it is still just Kate's character's extraordinary story. So, if you don't particularly like watching holocaust movies (even the one's that you think might be good), don't decide on passing on this movie for that reason. However, if you have a problem with excess nudity, be warned - there is more of it in this movie than perhaps all the Best Picture nominees of last 30 years combined! :)

6-7) Mithya; Frost/Nixon

Both of these were part of the original list, so I've written about them there.

3-5) Gran Torino; Let The Right One In; Revolutionary Road

I've already written about Let The Right One In. Gran Torino is so good that I still find it hard to believe that the academy didn't acknowledge it with even a nomination, let alone an award! And I'm not even talking about the Best Picture nomination. After all, none of my top 5 got a best picture nod, but at least one could see the reason (however unjustified) for some of them (Comic book movie, animated movie, foreign language 'vampire' movie). Gran Torino, however, is exactly the sort of movie that should've been an academy favorite. AND it did much better at the box office than most of the other nominees. I still can't believe it was snubbed so thoroughly. It is one of Clint Eastwood's best movies as a director, and that IS saying something.

Revolutionary Road was such a gut-wrenching experience for me that later I wasn't surprised to read in a lot of reviews that the movie is a bit "too sad". What DID surprise me, was that the reviewers seemed to think that being too sad is a valid reason to bring the movie's rating down! If a movie can make you sad, it really is doing something right. Kate Winslet is astounding in this movie - I think this might be her best performance ever. Or at least the best I have seen her perform. Leonardo DiCaprio is as good as he usually is, but is comfortably overshadowed by Kate here. I think I might be turning some of this movie's potential audience away by saying that it is 'too sad', but then it really did affect me very deeply at some level. That might be a very subjective thing, as things like this are probably highly dependent on one's own mental make-up, one's experiences in life etc. All I can say is, don't go by Rottentomatoes ratings in this case, specially if once in a while you don't mind a sad movie. A sad movie, but a great one.

2) WALL-E

already written about this

1) The Dark Knight

this too... :)

The (almost final) top 10 for 2008

It's the last day of the year and I am almost ready with my top 10 of the year (YAY!!).. There are still some movies that haven't opened in my city yet (and some others that I missed earlier in the year) that can probably bump some of the movies in this list later but I don't expect any major changes.

Some of these movies that I haven't seen (in order of decreasing probability of appearing in the top 10) are:

Revolutionary Road

The Class

The Wrestler

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

The Reader

Gran Torino

Waltz With Bashir

A Wednesday

Rachel Getting Married

Tahaan

The Band's Visit

Mumbai Meri Jaan

Sorry Bhai!

Kung Fu Panda

Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na

Dasvidaniya

So.... some special mentions first.. And some of these will probably figure in my top-10 list if you ask me a month from now as these things are hardly ever that clear-cut. But, I am making this list right now, and they don't figure in the list right now...

15. Rock On!!

14. Iron Man

13. Synecdoche, New York

12. Doubt

11. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

That brings us to the top 10. But I must say something about the overall quality of these movies. While some of these (top 3-4) are really good and would've deserved to be in top 10-15 movies of most recent years, the others are really there because of lack of quality competition this year (or, maybe the movies that I haven't seen yet will change this impression). Anyway, to the list then..

10. In Bruges: It released quite early in the year and has probably slipped from most people's mind by now. Quite an interesting, though a tad slow in patches, mixture of drama, comedy and perhaps even thriller. Really good performances by both leads (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) and a nice cameo by Ralph Fiennes. There are times when it seems to meander, but by the end everything comes together beautifully. Not unmissable, certainly, but definitely worth a watch.

9. Milk: I am still not sure why this movie is so low in my list. It seemed to be quite good. Most of the parts (performances, screenplay, cinematography etc) are great and yet, overall it still left me a little aloof. As I had said in its mini-review, it is probably because it is a biopic and works within the overall framework that most biopics follow. There is no reason why it won't rise 2-3 spots in this list once I get to see it again. I would put it in unmissable category for the movies of this year, if only for the story that is worth being aware of and the absolutely amazing performance by Sean Penn.

8. Slumdog Millionaire: I've already talked about this before. Most of it is quite entertaining, but that is about as far as it goes. No real "aftertaste". It might seem amazing to non-indian critics to see hindu-muslim riots sewn into the narrative the way it is, but for indian viewers it probably seems very unoriginal. It's funny that I am actually writing negative things about this movie while including it in the top 10 list! :D As I said before, this was probably a weak year in terms of movie quality. As entertaining as a large part of this movie is, it probably wouldn't have figured in my top 10 list in any other year.

7. Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Woody Allen falls in love with Barcelona (and makes us fall in love too, with an amazing "Barcelona" song running in the background throughout). So, the best thing he could do was put some really good looking actors in that city and spin a story around them. Some of the situations here are quite funny, but really it's Penelope Cruz's and Rebecca Hall's characters and performances that make this movie as good as it is. Quite a fun movie. Penelope Cruz will probably be nominated for this and might even win it.

6. The Visitor: Talked about it here.

5. Mithya: Easily the best indian movie that I saw this year. (I should say hindi movie since I haven't seen any non-hindi indian movie this year). By all accounts, that might change once they release the DVD of Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! but Mithya clearly holds its own even against some of the better movies released in the US this year. It takes the basic concept of Don and twists it around in an unexpected manner. The movie has some funny scenes and dialogue even before this twist, but it REALLY goes to another plane after that point. I thought it was really impressive when I saw it but I didn't think I will start liking it so much even without watching it again. This is what I call "aftertaste"! :)

4. Frost/Nixon: Martin Sheen Michael Sheen becomes a superb interviewer and the actors around him are all in form. But all they really do is prepare a setting in which Frank Langella shines brightly as Richard Nixon. Langella will get a well deserved nomination here as should the screenplay and direction. The political-historical drama genre is something that makes compelling viewing if done well (The Queen, Good Night and Good Luck, All the President's Men etc). It is a pity that no one attempts it in Hindi cinema because they don't think it is viable. This is one of the more engrossing movies of its kind that you'd have seen.

3. Let the Right One In: Again, talked about it before. It has only gone up in my estimation since then. Along with Mithya, and possibly In Bruges, this is one of those movies in this list that you will probably not hear as much of as the other more famous movies. Yet, it is easily a must-watch. Don't reject this movie because you have heard that it is a vampire movie, or because you didn't like the trailer. This is really a gem.

2. WALL-E: Sigh! Pixar... They clearly don't get tired of living up to all of our expectations. And yet, WALL-E has shown the Pixar has its own problems. The kids/teenage targeting frachise is such a huge money spinner and Pixar quality animation is such an expensive undertaking that they end up compromising just a little here. As cute as WALL-E is, it is actually absolutely unbelievably unqualified masterpiece material during its first half. The second half has its own great moments (the definition of dance that WALL-E and EVE present outside Axiom when the captain says "Define dance!" is one of the greatest moments EVER in a film...), and yet all the running around of crazy bots and the fight with Auto are purely there for the young ones in the theatre. That this is still at number 2 for the year (and one of the best animation movies ever) only goes to show the greatness of the rest of the movie.

(aside: initial reports are suggesting that Pixar's next "UP" is probably going to be similar. i.e. it has an amazing first half where the movie seems almost like a great grown up drama but then it probably changes into something more palatable to children's taste... we'll see... if the first half as great as in WALL-E, maybe we can live with some battles with monsters etc!)

1. The Dark Knight: I can't talk about this movie. I really can't. Every time I thought about writing a mini-review, I just didn't know where to start. I can write all the great adjectives I can think of and yet will find myself feeling that I didn't do justice to it. So, maybe I'll try to write about things that I didn't like. Some of the "two-face" stuff was probably average. As was the IR-vision stuff. But that is really about it. Virtually every other scene of the movie was jaw-droppingly great. WOW!! Christopher Nolan is a genius. I can't wait for whatever he does next. Heath Ledger will get his oscar, and it will be a pity that anyone who hasn't seen the movie will always assume that his death had something to do with it. Philip Seymour Hoffman is great in Doubt, and some of the awards are acknowledging Josh Brolin in Milk, but if you ask me, no one comes even close to Heath's Joker. TDK made my year!