#manmarziyan

January 13, 2019

by Inakshi Chandra-Mohanty

1. Avinash Tiwary - Laila Majnu

The best performance this year is the heart-wrenching portrayal of Qais (Majnu) by Avinash Tiwary. The descent of Majnu into craziness is one of the most essential and unique elements of the classic Laila-Majnu tale. Making it believable is the difficulty since people becoming mentally ill in love is not a common phenomenon. But thanks to Avinash Tiwary’s desparate eyes, and his weak smile after Majnu undergoes a spout of depression, Majnu’s sadness and his search for pure happiness through his visions of Laila seem believable. If not for his performance in the crucial second half, the film would have remained clichéd and never have been considered one of the best films of the year.

2. Zoya Hussain - Mukkabaaz

Zoya Hussain doesn’t say a word throughout the film. Yet, her performance as Shravan’s (Vineet Kumar Singh) mute lover, is the thread that holds the film together. Her character is the most important in the film as she is the motivation for Shravan’s initial rebellion against Bhagwan Das (Jimmy Shergill), which ultimately leads him to pursue boxing as a serious passion. The climax is also motivated by his love for her. She expresses so well with purely her eyes, whether it is the scene where she glares at her uncle (Bhagwan Das) with confident hatred in her eyes after he slaps her, or the scene where her eyes are wide open and bright in happiness after she meets a friendly man who can speak to her in sign language. Though Vineet Kumar Singh is equally as brilliant in the film, she dominated every scene they shared together which made him less noticeable in those scenes. She has potential to do much greater work in the future and hopefully her voice will have the same emotive impact as her eyes and face.

3. Alia Bhatt - Raazi

One of the most difficult things to master as an actor is the art of crying. If done wrong, an otherwise emotional scene can look contrived and caricaturish. Alia Bhatt in the character of Sehmat has proven herself once again with one of the strongest, most memorable performances of her career. The complex character was one of a sly spy unable to balance her patriotism for her country with her growing love for the family and people who have continuously treated her as their own. In multiple scenes, Alia Bhatt has been able to make the seamless transition from an emotionally distraught woman in one moment to a smart calculative spy in the next. Every frame of the film is the standard for perfection thanks to her fantastic performance.

4. Gitanjali Rao - October

A mother is torn apart by the deteriorating condition of her daughter, Shiuli, yet still has hope that maybe her daughter will recover one day. Despite pressure from her brother-in-law to take Shiuli off the ventilator, she refuses to lose faith, also due to huge support from Dan. Gitanjali Rao has completely immersed herself in this complex character. Her subdued tears and subtle emotions draw the audience to empathize with her. Despite the film’s focus being the relationship between Dan and Shiuli, in all the scenes that she is in, Gitanjali Rao shines above all the others.

5. Tabu - Andhadhun

Andhadhun is one of the best films of the year because of the intelligent script and crisp direction. The performances were only a supplement to the brilliant writing. However, one performance stood out above the script and that was that of Tabu as the shrewd, manipulative Simi. Tabu delivers such an efficient performance that in one scene she is able to make the audience despise her, such as when she instigates Radhika Apte against Ayushmann Khurrana, while in the next she is able to make us sympathize with her, such as when she tries to convince Ayushmann Khurrana that everything was an accident. Her perfect poker face does not allow the audience to ever understand what she is thinking and that is the most essential factor in a role like this where the audience in never supposed to be able to guess Simi’s next move.

6. Vineet Kumar Singh - Mukkabaaz

After 16 years of struggle, while doing small roles in film, with his only noticeable roles being in Gangs of Wasseypur and Bombay Talkies, Vineet Kumar Singh, finally got a chance to shine as the lead character in Mukkabaaz. To prep for the role, he went through extensive training to actually become a boxer so that the action in the film seemed realistic. He even excelled in the emotional scenes. Never has man crying on screen been so moving and heartbreaking, as when Vineet Kumar Singh is frantic while searching for his missing wife. He can also portray multiple different emotions so effortlessly, whether it is jealousy when he sees the woman he loves with another man, or innocent happiness, when she finally begins responding to his desperate flirting. Vineet Kumar Singh is definitely an excellent actor and it is a shame that he has had to wait so many years to finally get a chance to prove his mettle.

7. Sohum Shah - Tumbbad

Even though Tumbbad is in my opinion one of the best film of the year, I still felt that most of the actors were average and the film worked mostly because of an amazing script, beautiful visuals, music that fit the tone of the film, and strong direction. However, if the lead actor didn’t embody the character and deliver a great performance, the film would not have worked despite all these positives. His character goes through so many phases, beginning as a young fit man, fresh with greed in his mind, and ending as an older weak man, who is far more mature but even more greedy, so much so that he doesn’t realize when the greed begins to take over his life leading to his downfall. Sohum Shah has portrayed every emotion with perfection, from greedy happiness at finding the treasure, to anger at his son’s foolishness, to revenge at the man who tried to teach him, to finally fear for his son’s life.

8. Vicky Kaushal - Love Per Square Foot, Lust Stories, Raazi, Sanju, Manmarziyan

This has truly been a breakthrough year for Vicky Kaushal. After Masaan, which shot him to fame, he had done a few films but none that received commercial recognition. However, with five commercially viable films, this year, he has definitely made an impact on the audience. Hence, it is difficult to pick just one of his performances as the best of the year. Whether it is the flirtatious lover boy, Sanjay, in Love Per Square Foot, or the easily satisfied Paras in Lust Stories, or the husband to a spy, Iqbal, in Raazi, to the faithful friend, Kamli, in Sanju, to finally, the eccentric, commitment phobic DJ Vicky in Manmarziyan, every single role of his has been remarkable.

9. Rasika Duggal - Manto

Manto, though a very well made film, is not, in my opinion, one of the best films of the year, mainly because of a weak script with largely underdeveloped characters. However, it was filled with phenomenal performances by all the actors, including the supporting actors who only had a few scenes in the film. Yet, one performance stood out above the rest, and that was of Rasika Duggal as Safia, Manto’s wife. She was the only character apart from Manto that got a significant amount of screen time. She was able to portray the sweet, simple side of Safia, as well as her growing irritation at Manto’s drinking problem, which ultimately leads to strain on his mental health. With her unique voice and subtle facial expressions, Rasika Duggal makes a solid impact on the audience.

10. Anushka Sharma - Pari  

January 6, 2019

by Inakshi Chandra-Mohanty

1. Amit Trivedi - Manmarziyan

In a year when Amit Trivedi presented music for over 10 films, Manmarziyan is a clear winner. Consisting of 14 songs, including the unplugged version of Daryaa, this album has soul, passion, angst, and love. The film begins with the soft Grey Wala Shade, which not only sets the mood for the film, but also introduces the passionate affair of Rumi and Vicky in the heart of Amritsar. The film then transitions to F for Fyaar, which is a Punjabi rap representative of Vicky’s personality and his desire to be a ‘cool dude.’ Later, the peppy song Dhyaanchand, also shows off Vicky’s eccentricity as he dances following Rumi through the inner streets of Amritsar. Robbie’s grey shades are also represented through music, with Sherni, depicting his need to possess Rumi, and Bijlee Giregi, acting as a background to his conflicting feelings, when his trust is broken. There also exist some beautiful romantic, soothing numbers, such as Sacchi Mohabbat, Jaisi Teri Marzi, and Choonch Ladhiyan, which are used to express the growing love amongst all three characters, thus making the love triangle even more complicated. And lastly, there is the powerful and soulful Daryaa, which is the most important song of the film as it represents Rumi’s fickle emotions, which form the basis of the film. With a great quantity of songs, one would expect a few songs to be of lower quality. However, the beauty of this album is that every single song is crafted to fulfill a role in the film, hence making it the best album of the year.

2. Niladri Kumar, Joi Barua, Alif - Laila Majnu

The essence of Laila Majnu lies in its music. No tragic romance is complete without a set of heartbreaking melodies. The soundtrack of this film is unique because it is difficult to emotionally connect to it without the context of the plot and the picturization of each individual song in the vast hills of Kashmir. However, after completing the film, it is impossible to remove these soulful, melancholic melodies from the heart. The music is a supplement to the ongoing love story between Laila and Qais (Majnu) on screen, highlighting the strength and audacity of their love to withstand obstacles in the form of their family, separation, distance, and everlasting wait. Songs like Tum and Sarphiri, signify the transition from Laila’s initial curiosity to slight attraction, eventually leading to true love. On the other hand, there are Aahista and Hafiz Hafiz that focus entirely on Majnu and his transcendental craziness due to the increasing loneliness, once he has grown tired of waiting for Laila. Each and every song represents a different form of the powerful love between them, which is even more necessary when translating a classic, epic, romantic tale. There is also my favorite song of the year, the absolutely addictive O Meri Laila, which consists of classical rawness in its most bare moments, but emerges victorious through the rock-style leading stanza that is so beautifully voiced by Atif Aslam.

3. Amit Trivedi - Kedarnath

Despite having a fewer number of songs in comparison to the other albums on this list, Kedarnath, is able to provide an extremely wholesome album. It is the only one that has five or less songs and yet is still able to encompass a full range of stylistically different tracks. It includes a peppy dance number, Sweetheart, that is reminiscent of the melodic dance numbers that we have forgotten in this era of remakes and rapping. But along with that, it has two beautiful, soothing melodies and a religious track, which delves into the realm of Indian classical music. Amit Trivedi has yet again proven his versatility by providing a set of songs that are so different from one another, yet are able to come together to further enhance this film.

4. Amit Trivedi, Raftaar, Girish Nakod - Andhadhun

If you are a fan of Sriram Raghavan, you must know that he is obsessed with old Bollywood films, especially those from the 60s and 70s. His films, specifically Johnny Gaddaar and Andhadhun, have contained numerous references to older films. Therefore, while composing this soundtrack, Amit Trivedi paid homage to the classic old film songs. Song like Aap Se Milkar and Naina Da Kya Kasoor carry shades of the melodious numbers from the 60s and 70s. Naina Da Kya Kasoor specifically bears resemblance to the R.D. Burman hit song O Mere Sona from the 60s Vijay Anand film Teesri Manzil. To create balance in the album, he also includes some modern numbers such as the energetic Laila Laila, and the dark Wo Ladki, which uses a full orchestra of instruments to create a magnificent, epic effect. The best part of the music from this film is that all the songs are heavy on piano, unlike most Hindi songs, since the main character is a pianist, and the songs are picturized on him.

5. Rachita Arora, Nucleya - Mukkabaaz

चेहरे से असली खून बह रहा था फिर भी विक्की कौशल ने नहीं रोकी शूटिंग

बॉलीवुड के उभरते कलाकार विक्की कौशल हमेशा ही दर्शकों के लिए कुछ हटकर फिल्में लेकर आते हैं. उन्हें लीक से हटकर फिल्में करने के लिए जाना भी जाना-जाता है. विक्की के फैंस उनकी आने वाली फिल्मों का बेसब्री से इंतजार करते रहते हैं. विक्की अपने काम को लेकर काफी गंभीर रहते हैं, इस बात का अंदाजा इसी से लगाया जा सकता है कि एक फिल्म की शूटिंग के दौरान उन्हें चोट लग लगी थी लेकिन बावजूद इसके उन्होेंने शूटिंग…

This Vicky Kashual's MANMARZIYAAN half sleeve T-shirt is Made of Polycotton lycra, with its unique print and regular fit