Top 10 Bollywood films of 2021: ‘Haseen Dillruba’, ‘83’, ‘Rashmi Rocket’ and more

It hasn’t been a particularly spectacular year for Bollywood movies because it was slim pickings while putting together our list of 10 best films of Bollywood in 2021. Usually, such lists go through a process of whittling down to 10 films with at least 15 films vying for a spot on our list. But this year, Hindi films that impressed were just a handful. There was no filtering, but just scrambling to find 10 provocative and compelling films. Perhaps we can blame the pandemic or there’s a deep bankruptcy of ideas for movies, but 2021 hasn’t impressed us. There were dozens of passable films, but the ones that stood out was painfully limited.

However, there were some cinematic gems that proved that Bollywood is willing to experiment and go beyond star-driven, larger-than-life heroes saving the world narrative. Incidentally, no movies featuring the likes of superstar Salman Khan (who had multiple releases this year like ‘Radhe’ and ‘Antim: The Final Truth’) find a spot on this list. Actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan did not have a single release as an actor this year.

But there have been a slate of bold and empowered actors such as Taapsee Pannu, Adarsh Gourav, Konkona Sen Sharma and Aditi Rao Hydari who have gone out on a limb and proved their prowess on the big screen. Here’s Gulf News’ top 10 picks of Bollywood films that were worth watching in 2021. Here’s hoping 2022 is a more robust year …

‘Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar’: This slow-burn black comedy was a deft take on class warfare and glaring social inequities without being preachy or stagey. It stars Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra as two reluctant runaways who get saddled together due to circumstances. Sandeep (Parineeti Chopra), belongs to the upper crust banking world, while Pinky (Arjun Kapoor) is in the bottom of the class food chain. Chopra is compelling as the tainted corporate honcho. With effortless ease, she’s a textbook elitist who brings a perfectly veiled sense of privilege, entitlement and frustration when her precious life unravels at a rapid pace. Kapoor — who made his debut with her — is the perfect gruff foil. His bottled up rage and understandable angst against women and the world at large is spot-on. Director Dibakar Banerjee has explored the dark side of humanity fuelled by greed and desire in the most enjoyable and wicked way.

‘Geeli Puchi’ from ‘Ajeeb Daastaans’: This short film that tackles sticky topics like caste and gender politics from the highly inconsistent anthology ‘Ajeeb Dastaans’ on Netflix is simply brilliant. Actress Konkona Sen Sharma and Aditi Rao Hydari play two young women who strike up an unlikely friendship. Sharma is haunting as a brittle and hardened woman who warms up to her newly-joined colleague, played by an angelic Hydari. She’s relatively privileged but claims she’s stuck in a marriage without any spark. The two find their groove, but they soon realise that politics trumps friendship or bonds. It’s a great masterclass in women, patriarchy, privilege and their tenuous exploration of self and sexuality.

‘Haseen Dillruba’: It’s an outlandish love story about a diabolical married couple who go to extreme lengths to prove their love for each other. The movie is wicked and reminds you that love is messy and maniac. Director Vinil Mathew has a ball shining the spotlight on the narcissistic and wily Rani (Taapsee Pannu) who marries the seemingly diffident Rishi (Vikrant Massey) on a whim. Pannu as the hyper-confident woman is perfectly cast, while Massey hits all the right notes as an unsure young man who can’t seem to do anything right in Rani’s eyes. She’s the queen of his heart, while she’s always cracking the whip and cutting him to size. Both actors play off each other’s energies with aplomb and the film with its strong undertones of humour hit all the right spots. This crazy love story about two insane people is a fun watch and makes you wonder if love brings out the worst in each other.

‘83’: Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh delivered a captain’s knock in this sporting biopic as the iconic cricketer Kapil Dev who shepherded his underdog team to bring the 1893 World Cup glory to India. It’s a stirring testament to how a spirited set of boys achieved a mammoth victory on the cricketing field. Director Kabir Khan masterfully brings alive one of India’s legendary sporting glories to like with admirable ease. He breaks down the real-life uplifting episode in a way that strikes gold with both cricket-mad Indians and the minuscule minority who don’t particularly care for the game. So it’s a win-win.

‘The White Tiger’: This is not technically a Bollywood film, but features prominent actors such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Adarsh Gourav and Rajkummar Rao in this brilliant film about class warfare. The deep chasms between the have and the have-nots, their entitlement and privilege are grippingly told in this thriller based on Arvind Adiga’s best-seller. In this thriller about capitalist greed, poverty and social inequities Gourav’s character is hired as a driver of a wealthy and politically connected couple, played efficiently by Rao and Chopra Jonas. Their tenuous employer-employee relationship and their unequal bond becomes strained as they go along. Gourav is this year’s break-out star and this film is a searing portrait of social inequalities told in the most entertaining manner.

‘Shershaah’: Keep your tissues handy. Actor Sidharth Malhotra is in fine form as the valiant and brave Kargil War hero Captain Vikram Batra who is a portrait of dignity as he makes incredible sacrifices for his country. The strains of nationalism and attempts to evoke patriotic pride isn’t subtle and as obvious as tankers, but it still works. Actress Kiara Advani, who looks angelic as his girlfriend, hits all the right notes. It’s a tear-jerker and certain scenes may be designed to be emotionally manipulative, but you still go along with the ride. On August 31, ‘Shershaah’ was the most watched Indian film on Amazon Prime Video.

‘Rashmi Rocket’: This is not your regular underdog sports drama that Bollywood usually gravitates towards. It’s a compelling and provocative story about a female athlete who takes on the patriarchy and gender politics in the sporting world. Pannu as an accomplished athlete who is found with more testosterone than the norm and subjected to humiliating sex-testing that finds her dignity being eroded and she fights back. Tricky topics on the markers set on a woman to prove her gender is explored in the most engaging and sensitive manner. Pannu is blistering in her role as Chand and the film does a neat job of exploring a subject that’s not often a part of the public discourse.

‘Dhamaka’: This taut thriller starring Kartik Aaryan as a flamboyant news anchor Arjun Pathak with a fractured personal and professional life is compelling and complex. This is a dignified remake of the 2013 Korean film ‘The Terror Live’ and brings alive a newsroom and how the business of news is manipulative and exploitative. We get a ringside view on how primetime news anchors function and their muddled morality radar. This is a film where a news anchor finds himself in conversation with a terrorist who places bombs in various landmarks in Mumbai. Their imbalance in power and the question of who’s manipulating who is explored with a deft hand. Aaryan is good as a frayed and ambitious journalist who is desperate to hold onto his job, popularity, and relevance. Also, watch out for Amruta Subhash’s brilliant performance as the boss of the newsroom. The question of channel’s popularity Vs your conscience is highlighted brilliant through this engaging film.

‘Sardar Udham’: This biopic on Udham Singh who assassinated Michael O’Dwyer, a former Punjab governor who oversaw the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, may have its flaws, but actor Vicky Kaushal is splendid in the title role. The film, directed by Shoojit Sircar, chronicles his life as an orphan to a powerful political martyr. There may be grey areas in this stirring biopic, but the big picture is thoroughly enjoyable. It also reminds you that actors like Vicky Kaushal thrive when given complex roles.

‘Bell Bottom’ This is a thriller that is unapologetically indulgent towards its lead hero Akshay Kumar who’s on call to save more than 200 passengers from a hijacked plane. And, he looks dapper while doing it in stylish flared pants. The trouble? This political thriller with immense potential never lets you forget that it’s being led by an actor with incredible star-wattage. But there’s fun to be had in this film set in 1984 where an accomplished intelligence agent played by Kumar, land on foreign soil to extricate a couple of hundred hapless passengers from the clutches of ruthless extremists. It isn’t a perfect thriller and may appear stagey, but it wasn’t entirely forgettable either.

Apart from these 10 films, Vidya Balan's 'Sherni' has earned an honourable mention this year. This environmental thriller, which has Balan play a solid and dignified forest officer, explores the murky animal vs human conflict and forces to you address forest politics and the problems faced by tribals who make jungles their home. It cuts a sobering picture and throws up some uncomfortable questions about man's conflict with nature. This film had plenty of teeth.