Entertainment / Top 10 Movies Of 2013

Top 10 Movies Of 2013

Entertainment Dec 24, 2013

by Anokhi Admin

Our London correspondent and Bollywood editor for Cineworld Cinemas in UK, Ashanti Omkar shares her Top 10 Hindi movies of 2013.

February – Special 26

Videos: Youtube /Tseries

Akshay Kumar as you’ve never seen him before – this smart heist movie inspired by true events, captured the hearts of many a cinegoer and kick started the Hindi film season in the UK.

February – Kai Po Che

Videos: Youtube /UTV Motion Pictures

The young acting trio of Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh and Raj Kumar Yadav teamed with beautiful visuals and a tight script, based on Chetan Bhagat's novel, 'The 3 Mistakes of My Life' worked a treat with film fans. This coming of age tale, peppered with a political backdrop, with a glorious score by Amit Trivedi captured many hearts.

May – Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Videos: Youtube/ Tseries

A huge box office success. We saw Deepika Padukone in her second avatar of 2013, after Race 2. Ranbir Kapoor played his charming role to a tee and Aditya Roy Kapur along with Kalki Koechlin added to the foursome of friends.

June – Raanjhanaa

Videos: Youtube /Eros Now

This film saw Southern star Dhanush, (son in law of Superstar Rajinikanth), very much a underdog in the world of Hindi cinema, take on a role he has played several times in his hit Tamil movies. His undying love for Sonam Kapoor aka Zoya, in a cross caste unrequited love relationship brought a huge following in India and abroad. It featured double Oscar and double Grammy winner, AR Rahman’s best Hindi scores, with songs that epitomised romance, like 'Tum Tak'.

July – Lootera

Videos: Youtube / Balaji Motion Pictures

Based on O Henry's 1907 short story 'The Last Leaf', this is the most beautiful film of 2013, crafted to perfection. Both Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha (in her most bulky part to date) give us a visual treat, with gorgeous music to boot, by Amit Trivedi.

July – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Videos: Youtube / Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

Comparable in my book, to the stupendous film 'Rush' by Ron Howard, starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, this take of sports and more so, the psychology of a sportsman, took India by storm. Based on the life of Milkha Singh, the ‘Flying Sikh’, Farhan Akhtar embodied the character that he prepared for, meticulously. The brilliant 'Rang De Basanti' director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, took helm with a tight script written by Prasoon Joshi to make this one of the best films of 2013.

August – Chennai Express

Videos: Youtube / UTV Motion Pictures

When I spoke to Shahrukh Khan during 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan', he told me: “If you’re a South Indian, you’ll like Chennai Express. Rohit Shetty creates a fun action-comedy for the first time and deliveres just that. A film that obviously resonated with audiences not just in India, but the world over. Deepika Padukone joined him in this journey across India, to the Southern-most tip, as a feisty Tamil girl dressed in beautiful traditional attire. The fun film made millions and was a rousing success in the worldwide box office.

July – Shahid

Videos: Youtube / Eros Now

From the winning stable of Anurag Kashyap Films, this independent film screened in London for it's European premiere. It also had a successful Indian release in October 2013 and was loved by Toronto back in 2012, when it had it’s world premiere. The true story of Shahid Azmi epitomised by Rajkumar Yadav, was an exceptionally directed biopic by Hansal Mehta, tugging heartstrings.

November – Goliyon Ki Rasleela Raam Leela

Videos: Youtube/ Eros Now

This much anticipated film by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the man behind epics like 'Devdas' and 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' gave us everything Bollywood celebrates: the music, the dance, the gratuitous violence, the lavish locales, gorgeous lead pair and intricate colourful costumes. Not without controversy, as a film that touched upon the hard topics of gang-rape for example, and even had an appendage to it’s name of ‘Ram Leela’. Yet a film that showcased a strong female character in Deepika Padukone, in her 4th 100 crore hit of 2013, alongside Supriya Pathak and Richa Chadda. Ranveer Singh played a very different character to his 'Lootera' role and won hearts a plenty. This Indian 'Romeo and Juliet' tragedy of star crossed lovers, was one of the best in 2013 making it a blockbuster worldwide.

December – Dhoom 3

Videos: Youtube /YRF

This record breaker, in every sense of the word, had 5500 screens the world over (with 4500 in India). With the star power of Aamir Khan, teamed with Katrina Kaif, Jackie Shroff, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra and young Siddharth Nigam (who plays a younger Aamir) and the gloss of Yash Raj Films, it is no surprise that this year indeed ended with a Dhoom, as the makers publicised. All the high octane elements of film franchises like 'Die Hard', 'Fast and furious' and 'The Transformers', made this one to watch for all cinema goers this festive season.

Special mentions:

Krrish 3 was a huge box office blockbuster, with India’s first superhero emerging as Hrithik Roshan told me: “This is just the birth of the superhero.” A film that was very nearly canned, as it was a huge risk, given it’s minuscule budget when compared to Hollywood superhero movies. The 3rd in this franchise, told a tale that was sincere and well enacted.

Aashiqui 2 (April 2013) was not released in many key international markets but was appreciated by many and watched on TV and on DVD by the diaspora, who shared enthusiasm for this sequel to the 1990 hit. Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor’s poignant performances were much loved, alongside the super-hit music by Mithoon.

The Lunchbox – this Irrfan Khan starrer screened at the London Film Festival and was lauded as a very strong potential for India’s Oscar choice. While it didn’t make that cut, The good road, a rare Gujarati language journey movie showcasing unseen locales of the Kutch region of India, was sent for consideration, alas it did not make the best foreign language film cut with the Academy.

Bombay Talkies – the film celebrating the centenary of Indian cinema, pr specifically, Hindi cinema aka Bollywood, did not get a worldwide release but closed the London Indian Film Festival, to a full house.

Vishwaroopam (the controversial film starring Southern stalwart actor Kamal Haasan) and David (starring Southern star Vikram), were Tamil films with a Hindi dub – both did well in the UK box office and screened at Cineworld cinemas, but only the former was screened in both languages.

Gippi from Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, the coming of age drama of an awkward teen, by Sonam Nair, was trailered in the UK, but was not given a cinematic release.

Fukrey, the story of slackers produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, was a film that didn’t capture the UK box office, even though it resonated with many in India, just like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which was a film that crossed 100 crore in India.

Go Goa Gone starring the crown prince of Bollywood, Saif Ali Khan, was loved by many who enjoy offbeat genres of films (in this case, zombies hitting Goa), but didn’t fare well in the UK.

Shuddh Desi Romance, the beautifully shot tale on modern live-in relationships and confused youth towards traditional marriage attitudes, did well in the UK box office, as it did in India too. The hot newcomer leads, Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra and Vaani Kapoor were a plus point too.

Don't forget to share your fav 2013 Bolly flicks with us too.

_{Videos: Youtube}

Guest Blog By Ashanti Omkar

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