By
Sharada Iyer
In many ways, the year 2020 was a game changer for Hindi cinema. The unprecedent lockdown which halted all shootings and brought the film industry to a complete standstill, turned out to be a boon for the OTT platforms and brought to fore the definite shift towards the changing landscape of entertainment! While online platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney + Hot Star were the main players, others like SONY LIV, Alt Balaji, MX Player, Eros Now, Zee 5, Voot, etc., also reaped the benefits.
Soon many producers decided to release their new films through these online platforms instead of waiting for the cinema halls to reopen and now people could enjoy watching any film they wanted from the comforts of their home and at a time convenient to them. This move proved to be especially helpful for the smaller producers and films with no big star names attached to them and which would have in all probability got a poor theatrical release.
Without doubt the year was marked with stellar performances from many actors whether in films or web-series. Suffice to say there is no dearth of talent to choose from and given a chance many artistes are capable of sheer brilliance. The year also stood out for showcasing some powerful women characters whether they formed the protagonist in films or whether they were part of a male-dominated crime saga in the web-series. The star performer of the year was undoubtedly Pankaj Tripathi with 4 films –Gunjan Saxena, Ludo, Shakeela, Angrezi Medium, and 3 major web-series- Sacred Games 2, Mirzapur 2 and Criminal Justice 2 to his credit. He has emerged as one of the finest actors our industry has seen and has some wonderful future projects also in is pocket.
As the year progressed, it became clear that some of the best films released on OTT platforms had no big names while some with big stars were the worst performers. Now that this difficult year has comes to an end, let us look back and take stock of what 2020 had to offer. With so many channels offering so much content, it was not possible to see them all. So here is a list of the best and the worst of 2020 from the films I managed to watch.
REMARKABLE FILMS OF 2020 – (released in cinema halls & OTT platforms)
LUDO: Director Anurag Basu deftly combines dark comedy with edge-of-the seat thrills to give us what has unanimously been voted as the best film of 2020. In the film, life is likened to the game of ‘Ludo’ where all players may start off differently but all have to reach the same destination in the end. Keeping this unique idea in mind, the film shows the lives of many characters broadly categorized into 4-5 seemingly unconnected stories with an underworld Don calling the shots. It is how the impeccable narrative and crisp editing combine these stories and characters with superb twists and turns at every step that makes the film attain unforeseen heights of brilliance. The viewer is kept alert and engaged in every scene. Added to this extraordinary tapestry of storytelling are the outstanding performances from the stellar cast headed by the brilliant Pankaj Tripathi followed by Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana Sheikh and the child artist Inayat Verma.
RAAT AKELI HAI: Directed by debutant director Honey Trehan, the cast of this brilliant whodunnit murder mystery is headed by none other than ever dependable Nawazuddin Siddiqui who plays the detective. The setting is reminiscent of an Agatha Christie style thriller with the head of a family getting murdered in the very first scene and a house full of family members to investigate. Nawazuddin has a tough time trying to crack through the façade all the family members seem to be putting up, making it very difficult for him to get to the truth. Giving him able support in this venture is Radhika Apte, who plays the young bride to whom the murdered man was getting married to. The film keeps us engaged throughout and as always watching Nawazuddin is a pleasure.
THAPPAD: The beautiful, secure and seemingly perfect life of a loving housewife comes crashing down when her husband slaps her in front of everyone at a house party. Not even in her wildest dreams had she imagined something like this happening to her and having been caught off-guard, she is at a loss to comprehend and tackle this unforeseen incident. So how does she face this? Is she alone in this battle or does she get family support? Is she able to get what she wants and is she happy in the end? The audience becomes a participant than being just a viewer as the film questions the patriarchy still existing in our society and makes us ponder over our regressive values.
GULABO SITABO: Director Shoojit Sircar delivers a delightful and heart-warming entertainer with the story centered around a century-old dilapidated mansion ‘Fatima Mahal’, its owners Mirza and his Begum and the many tenants residing in it. With a dream cast of superstar Amitabh Bachchan and the current heart-throb Ayushmann Khurrana, the narrative blends an interesting mix of emotion, laughter, petty squabbles, drama and philosophy to keep us engaged throughout. Outstanding acting by these two is the main reason to watch this film. Farrukh Jafar who plays Amitabh’s begum is 95 years old in the film and is supposed to be 17 years older than him in the film, has an interesting role and is a delight to watch.
SHAKUNTALA DEVI: This interesting biopic of our country’s mathematics genius Shakuntala Devi is an eye-opener giving us a rare insight into the life and times of this remarkable lady through the eyes of her daughter. The film unravels her childhood, her realization of her gifted aptitude, and the various obstacles she overcomes to attain the title of ‘Human computer’, as the world saw her at that time. What sets the biopic apart is the fact that she is shown as a human being with her plus points and flaws rather than someone who had only super saintly qualities. And needless to say, Vidya Balan lives the role and no one else could have acted better than her!
BULBBUL: Writer director Anvita Dutt Guptan takes us on a riveting psychological ride in her debut directorial venture where she effortlessly combines elements of folklore, suspense, murder, a touch of spook and edgy characters to give us an engaging dark family drama set in 1881 in pre-independent India’s Bengal Presidency. The haveli of ‘thakurs’ is steeped in patriarchy, regressive traditions and dark secrets which must never come out. The opening scene shows a small 5-year is tricked into marrying a man about 25 years older to her. What follows is an intriguing narrative of events that unfold in her life and how she handles them. Excellent performances from the entire cast gives the film an authenticity which is a huge plus point. Tripti Dimri, Avinash Tiwary, Paoli Dam and Rahul Bose are all superb.
CHAPAAK: Th real-life story of the acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal is brought to life in this film. Directed by Meghna Gulzar and enacted by Deepika Padukone, it touches a sensitive chord in every viewer’s heart. We are left stunned and speechless at the heinousness of the horrific act as the narrative takes us through the journey of the victim. Her unbelievable determination to get back her life on track is both inspiring and laudable. Vikrant Massey gets to play a good character in the film.
ANGREZI MEDIUM: Though the film is not as brilliant as its predecessor Hindi Medium, this one is a must-watch for Irfan Khan’s superb portrayal and also because it will be remembered as his last film. He left us too soon after battling a killer disease that struck him two years ago. It was also the last film to be released before the pandemic hit us after which the cinema halls all over the country were shut down. Deepak Dobriyal and Radhika Madan also come up with excellent performances.
MALANG: Director Mohit Suri combines the right mix of high-voltage action, romance, suspense, murder, good music, good cinematography, excellent performances and superb direction to spin an interesting thriller laced with romance and revenge. Basically, the film is about murders that happen over one night, on the eve of Christmas, leaving the cops baffled. Instead of the linear mode, the narrative moves back and forth making it more engaging. The cast comprising of Anil Kapoor, Kunal Khemu, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Disha Patni come up with splendid performances.
AK VS AK: The film’s concept is very unique with both director Anurag Kashyap and actor Anil Kapoor playing their real selves and displaying real-life interactions and emotions for each other. When Anil refuses to do a film under Anurag, the latter plots a plan whereby he kidnaps his real daughter Sonam, holds her to ransom and forces Anil to find her by early morning or else face the dire consequences. It’s a different kind of reality-based film where things happening are captured directly like a film shooting. The events happen in one night and keep the viewer engaged as it is something new for the viewer also. Anil Kapoor is superb in the film and Anurag also shows talent for acting. The movie is worth a watch just for the novelty of the theme.
FILMS WHICH WERE ENJOYABLE BUT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
LOOTCASE: What happens when a middle class married man working hard to make both ends meet, unexpectedly comes across a suitcase full of cash and no one in sight to claim. He decides to take it with him but hides it from his wife and keeps it in his neighbour’s flat which is locked for a few days. Unknown to him a corrupt cop, a crooked politician and two rival gangs are also after the suitcase. The premise of the film offered so much scope to turn it into either a thriller or a full-on comedy but sadly the film does not fall into either. However, two brilliant performances make the film worth watching- Gajraj Rao as the politician and Vijay Raaz as one of the gang leaders are too good. Kunal Khemu is also good but the script fails him.
CHALAANG: A film dealing with sports with the underdogs emerging victorious can be made very engaging in spite of the predictable end. And any film starring talents like Rajkummar Rao, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub, Satish Kaushik and Saurabh Shukla always has the capability to rise above an ordinary script. However, the story telling is so linear without any surprises that one feels for these actors who have all gone out of the way to put life into the script with their superb performances. Heroine Nushrat Bharucha looks very charming but has not been given mush scope. The film is worth a watch only for the actors.
SERIOUS MEN: The film starts off on an interesting note with Nawazuddin playing a PA to a big-shot astrophysicist! Sick of his menial existence and the ‘lower caste’ stamp on him he does not want his son to fall into this ‘caste’ rut and not being able to achieve anything big in life. So, he plots a devilish plan to fool people and make money. He takes his son into confidence and unknown to his wife they carry out the plan for a while. After a while things take a bad turn and he is caught off-guard. Though Nawazuddin comes up with a stellar performance, the film could have had a crisper narrative and more emotional quotient to convey the message that it set out to highlight.
SHUBH MANGAL ZYADA SAAVDHAN: To have a mainstream hero like Ayushmann Khurrana playing a gay character was fantastic but his acting for the first time was a little over the top in some places. He is the more colourful and exuberant one as compared to his partner Jitendra Kumar who has a quiet presence but is spot on. Able support from an excellent supporting cast of Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta was a plus point. But the focus on the said issue never really touched a chord in the viewer’s heart. It was too light-hearted and the seriousness of such relationships could have been brought out more impactfully.
DOLLY KITTY AUR WHO CHAMAKTE SITARE: This film with excellent performances from Konkona Sen, Bhumi Pednekar and Vikrant Massey had a different concept of showing middle-class women’s struggle for empowerment in a male-dominated society and what they have to compromise at home and in the workplace at every step. Konkona is a working woman, married with two sons and lives in Noida. Externally they present a picture-perfect family but reality is not that. Her cousin Bhumi comes from rural Bihar to stay with her to make a living. The film had good intentions but somewhere it loses steam and was not impactful enough to convey the message.
FIVE WORST FILMS of 2020
The films listed below were unanimous in having a senseless script, thoroughly boring and annoying narrative, listless direction and terrible performances.
LAXMII: Undoubtedly at the top of this list was Akshay Kumar’s horrendous film Laxmii. What made him choose this film and come up with one of his worst performances is a mystery. His pairing with Kiara was a misfit. While the original Tamil film (Kanchana) itself was useless, this one was infinitely worse with the climax reaching heights of absurdity. Touted as a horror comedy, it didn’t do justice to either. The so-called horror scenes were comical and the comedy scenes were anything but funny.
The only redeeming feature of this film was the 15-minute presence of Sharad Kelkar in the title role of Laxmii. He acts the role of a transgender brilliantly and he proved that to make an impression a small role done with sincerity is more than enough.
COOLIE NO 1: Remakes are always a terrible idea because nothing can compare with the original. Just at a time when the industry is under the scanner for nepotism, David Dhawan decided to remake his own hit film of 1995 starring the one and only Govinda with his son Varun Dhawan and together they had the audacity to think they would be able to pull it off! Honestly didn’t the two sit and watch the film before its release? Horrendous acting from the lead pair is the biggest minus point. Sara Ali Khan should seriously change the kind of roles she is signing or think of quitting the industry. In a year marked by some strong empowering roles for actresses, Sara gets the award for the most regressive role of the year! Paresh Rawal, Javed Jaffrey and Rajpal Yadav trying to do a Kader Khan, Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Shakti Kapoor respectively, was also quite annoying.
SADAK 2: Another film where the director touches his original film and messes up big time with the sequel. The original had Pooja Bhatt while the sequel had her sister Alia Bhatt. It is amazing how Mahesh Bhatt managed to make talented Alia look irritating and made her come up such a bad performance. Nothing in the film made sense and after a while frankly it didn’t matter because it was all too weird and meaningless. Poor Sanjay Dutt got stuck in a dull role. Looked like no one was particularly interested in any aspect of the film.
BAAGHI 3: Does this Tiger Shroff venture even qualify to be categorized as a film? That is the question the makers and the viewers should answer! This start to finish fight extravaganza was a huge headache and by the time we reached the end, our brains had almost dropped off. With a wafer-thin plot, Tiger embarks on a mission to rescue his brother Ritesh Deshmukh and travels to all kinds of destinations. Joining him in this is Shraddha Kapoor who incidentally never seems to be getting any good role.
STREET DANCER 3D: Once again Varun Dhawan comes up with a dampener which leaves our heads spinning as we reach out for our headache pills. While the first instalment of this franchise was excellent with some superb dances and a good storyline, the 2nd was average but this third one is a warning to stop this franchise or to change the cast. After all, Varun and Shraddha Kapoor are not exactly known for their dancing skills. There was hardly any story and none of the dances were good to watch.
NEW FOUND ADDICTION TO WEB-SERIES:
Though Web-series had started off some time back with big names from the industry getting on board to produce, direct or act in them it was 2020 which made them truly addictive.
After the initial frustration of not being able to watch films in cinema halls receded, people soon turned to the various online platforms to watch movies and also got hooked onto the various content-driven, high-quality web-series covering a variety of genres and topics and packed with powerful performances from actors who played memorable characters.
Talented actors like Nawazuddin Siddique, Kay Kay Menon, Manoj Bajpaye, Atul Kulkarni, and the current favourite Pankaj Tripathi gained a lot from the lockdown. New talents like Ritwik Bhowmik, Prateik Gandhi, Ishwak Singh, Tripti Dimri, Rohit Saraf, etc., also made a good impression. Others who would have probably remained in the background playing character roles in big films like Jaideep Ahlawat, Radhika Aapte, Rasika Duggal, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, Divyendu Sharma, Shreya Chaudhry, etc., got the opportunity to play the main protagonists in shows. Actors like Abhishek Bachchan and Sushmita Sen found a new lease of life with their web-series in 2020.
We got to watch some extraordinary shows:
MIRZAPUR 2: This Crime thriller with a brilliant cast headed by Pankaj Tripathi was back with its 2nd season. In every which way it was as extraordinary as Season 1. Shot entirely on authentic locales of Uttar Pradesh- Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Lucknow, Raebareli, Gorakhpur and Varanasi, this crime drama has set such high standards in web-series, it is going to be difficult to better this. Producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani have indeed spared no efforts to give us an astounding and memorable series. Old-timer Kulbhushan Kharbanda also proves that he still has a lot more acting left in him. Female characters also have strong roles.
BANDISH BANDITS: Set against the backdrop of a musical ‘gharana’, this unique family drama not only had an engaging plot but superlative music by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy which had the viewers going crazy and all the songs becoming super-hits. There is enough masala for the young and old alike and amidst all crime thrillers and murder sagas, this series stands out for its good acting, Rajasthani flavour and lilting compositions.
PANCHAYAT: When an educated youth is posted as an officer in a remote village, he is irritated and frustrated and dislikes everything about his work and surrounding. But every episode reveals a particular character of village life that he starts to notice and appreciate and inadvertently also gets involved in spite of his reluctance. The whole setting transports us the serene atmosphere of village life where life is still simple in many ways and people are still dealing with problems at a very basic level. Watching this is indeed a unique experience. Excellent direction, good dialogues and situations laced with humour, excellent performances from Raghubir Yadav, Jitendra Kumar and Neena Gupta are some of the plus points for which the series is a must-watch.
PAATAL LOK: Who would have expected a crime series with names like Jaideep Ahlawat, Abhishek Banerjee, Niharika Dutta and Ishwak Singh to hit a jackpot? Jaideep who has always been given only side roles in cinema found his calling in this series and comes up with a superlative performance and wears his character Hathiram Choudhary right up his sleeve. This police drama co-produced by Anushka Sharma with suspense, thrills, action and a heady adrenaline rush was liked by every viewer who watched it.
SPECIAL OPS: We have Kay Kay Menon heading a special forces unit and the story revolves around his 19-year-old relentless hunt for a terror mastermind. The format of the show is very different and the action is unraveled the during questioning session of Kay Kay by the government agencies. This espionage thriller has us hooked on from the first episode and takes us on an entertaining roller coaster ride.
INDIAN MATCHMAKING: This documentary show about an Indian matchmaker Seema Taparia, who collects biodata of Indians in India and abroad and tries to make ‘jodis’ or pairs to help them find their soul mate. Though the show was criticized for being casteist and classist, it actually holds a mirror to our societal values and our outlook when it comes to marriages. The fact that a third person is asked to ‘fix’ and ‘find’ a match is very common and makes us question our own ideas and values. The show was enjoyable and showed our ideas on marriage in an honest light.
MASABA MASABA: This biographical web-series directed by Sonam Nair, has Masaba Gupta and her mother Neena Gupta playing themselves and is a semi-fictionalized version of her life. Making her acting debut Masaba chronicles her life and shows herself exactly the way she is. Her human qualities which make her falter and commit mistakes and upset her relationships as well but she wades through them all, sometimes winning sometimes losing. The show is worth watching for its honesty.
SCAM 1992: THE HARSHAD MEHTA STORY: Based on the 1992 Indian stock market scam committed by stockbroker Harshad Mehta, the series is adapted from journalist Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu’s 1992 book The Scam: Who Won, who Lost, who Got Away. Prateik Gandhi in the role of Harshad Mehta has won the hearts of many with his riveting performance.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE 2: Like Season 1, this crime drama is also gripping with police procedures and legal rigmaroles as the main ingredients. Pankaj Tripathi reprises his role of the lawyer Madhav Mishra leading to courtroom drama. While Vikrant Massey was the client in the first season, here it is Kirti Kulhari. This one is also superbly entertaining.
ARYA: This crime drama series based on the Dutch show Penoza has Sushmita Sen playing the pivotal role and has enough thrills, action and plot-twists to keep the viewer engaged. It was good to see Sushmita Sen after a long time and she fits the role very well. Directed by Ram Madhvani, the cast includes Chandrachur Singh and Sikander Kher also.
With more and more films and web-series veering toward reality and real-life situations, somehow music is taking a backseat with every passing year. This year, barring a couple of film songs, it was the music of the web-series Bandish Bandits, that made more noise than any film song.
Here are a few of my favourite songs of 2020:
Film: Chapaak
Film: Angrezi Medium
Film: Gunjan Saxena
Web-Series: Bandish Bandits
As we enter 2021, the film industry needs to gear up to face competition from the wide variety of web-series and on-line films which can be watched from the comforts of their homes. People are not going to be swayed by over-the -top film promotions and other gimmicks and unless content is strong, they would probably think many times before stepping into cinema halls amid all the ‘Covid’ restriction protocols to be followed. The films would have to be well worth it.
[Note: All images have been taken from the internet]
The film is loosely based on author Anuj Dhar’s intriguing book ‘Your Prime Minister is dead’ which questions the circumstances leading to the sudden death of our ex-PM Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. Shweta Prasad is the journalist who uncovers several disturbing facts which seem to have no answers. Piited against a bevy of talented seniors, young Shweta not only holds her own but also comes up with a memorable performance.
Angry Indian Godessess , directed by Pan Nalin, has the unique distinction of being our industry’s first full-fletched ‘female buddy’ film. He manages to extract brilliant performances from seven relatively unknown actresses and turns that into the USP of the film. The film deals on the gender inequality of the society as all women irrespective of whether they are at home or workplace are victims of the lecherous gaze, harassment and narrow-mindedness of men-folk thereby robbing them of a sense of freedom and chaining them to a set image.
Meghna Gulzar- Talvar
The dexterity and rapidity with which Amy Jackson finishes off the goons in Singh is Bling was unbelievable and a real treat to watch. Surprisingly Akshay Kumar is a mute spectator in the film and director Prabhudeva has given all fight sequences to Amy Jackson.
After some stunning action scenes in Ek Tha Tiger, director Kabir Khan once again gives his heroine Katirna Kaif a well-defined, full-fletched role with a lot of action scenes in Phantom and she looked super-confident performing all those cool stunts. 
With the three ageing Khans -Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir-enjoying the last leg of their super-stardom, a new Khan is on his way to the top slowly but surely taking long strides and making a brilliant mark in the national as well as international arena with some outstanding films. This year saw the talented Irfaan Khan come up with several terrific performances. Each of the films – Talvar, Jazbaa and Piku (Hindi), Qissa (Punjabi) and Jurassic World (Hollywood) had him attempt a unique character and give it a special touch in his own inimitable way…
My Views On Bollywood 