10 Must-Watch Movies Of 2017 by Suhel Johar

10 Must-Watch Movies Of 2017

Good films apart, an unusual trend in 2017 was Bollywood’s openness to take up subjects that are apart from the usual, but perhaps much needed nowadays.

Tumhari Sulu

 

 

Vidya Balan plays the role of a school dropout who has big ambitions and is looked down upon by her educated sisters. She does not take her education as a barrier to success and becomes a late night radio show, as a sensual radio jockey in a saree.

This profession (raunchy and ‘hot’ RJ) was something that Bollywood, or our society, never really considered a ‘fit’ role for the ‘heroine’. This makes it special for thousands of working women whose jobs are considered to be ‘dirty’.

Bareilly Ki Barfi

 

Bareilly Ki Barfi is a hooray moment for Hindi cinema. This romcom set in the North Indian town of Bareilly, breaks the shackles of Bollywood's continued dependence on cardboard cuts and instead introduces you to real people, whose charms are infectious. The writers Nitesh Tiwari (director and writer of the much-acclaimed blockbuster Dangal) and Shreyas Jain put together a sweet, identifiable crowd-pleaser that excelled in the writing, direction, acting and music departments. This light-hearted comedy refrained from being slapstick and slowly weaved its charm.

 

Badrinath Ki Dulhania

 

Not often does a film capture your attention right from the beginning and keeps you invested till the very end. Badrinath Ki Dulhania is what happens when a substantial social message forms a significant undertone of a modern-day breezy love story leading to an outright ‘paisa-wasool’ Bollywood film. It impressed you with its well-woven plot, crisp performances, groovy numbers and of course, the good intentions. The fact that it questions the patriarchal mind set with a breezy modern-day love tale made it a relevant watch.

 

Phullu

 

There are several taboos in the society and one of the most unfortunate ones is the menstrual cycle of women.

Director Abhishek Saxena with Phullu talks about personal hygiene of women especially in villages. With not many films on social messages, Phullu stood out for its unique subject and story telling.

Though it doesn’t have very big names on its roster, the performances and the bold subject are strong enough to carry this film.

Days are gone when films were used to change the mindsets of people and Phullu is that one step towards it. Although, the pace of the film could have been faster, it was successful in touching the right chords.

 

Kadwi Hawa

 

Recently Delhi experienced one of the worst environmental hazards of all time when the air quality levels in the city crossed dangerous levels, leading to a constant state of panic throughout northern India.

With the major metropolitans like Mumbai and Bengaluru following the same lines as Delhi, there is a huge need to talk about environmental issues. And what better way to do this than a Bollywood film?

Kadwi Hawa does exactly that and at the right time and way. It talks about the serious issues impacting the environment and rural life while keeping the narrative around the residents of a village and their relationship with one another.

The film’s backdrop is about climate change, but it also touches upon farmers’ suicide, which is another very important concern that craves for our attention.

 

Secret Superstar

 

Though it unravels quite a bit like a fairy tale and centres on a teenager, Secret Superstar is impressive in its depiction of troubled low-income households and small town aspirations. There's something to be said about the spirit of its leading lady's ambitions as she goes about seeking empowerment for herself, her mother and inspiring a little breakthrough for her benefactor along the way.

 

Jolly LLB 2

 

Jolly LLB 2 is the perfect blend of persuasive star power, crisp creativity and comical eloquence. And the sheer pleasure of watching Saurabh Shukla, Annu Kapoor and Akshay Kumar spar and size each other up is alone worth revisiting its unabashedly crowd-pleasing antics again and again.

 

Trapped

 

Trapped is a consuming experience. It sucks you inside its world and makes you feel everything its protagonist is going though. I felt I was Rajkummar Rao all through Trapped. I felt his panic, his claustrophobia, his desperation, his rage, his resolve, his exhaustion and, finally, his release. What. A. Film.

 

Anaarkali of Arrah

 

The story of Anaarkali of Arrah is predominantly about a woman and her choices.

Anaarkali is an erotic dancer, who always wanted to be an erotic dancer. But the punchline is that unlike other movies, where women in such professions are often pitied upon,  this film doesn’t let you feel sorry for her for even a fraction of a second. A must watch!

 

Mukti Bhawan (Hotel Salvation)

 

This movie is not breaking a taboo or teaching anything out of the world. But it still makes to this list, because if you believe in life and take death as a fact, this might be one of the most beautiful films you will ever watch.

When 77-year-old Daya feels he must get to Varanasi immediately so that he can die there and attain salvation.

His son, Rajiv, has no choice but to drop everything and take his stubborn father to the holy city, leaving behind his wife and daughter.

Mukti Bhawan is a celebration of death which is complete with all its complexities of life. It brings to us themes which have either been ignored or dealt with irrelevance in Bollywood so far.