The Bollywood Smarts - Top Thoughtful Movies

Comments [ 1 ] By Shreya S. | 17 December 2015 | 8:35pm

The past few years has seen a gradual change in the content of Bollywood movies from. Amidst rib-tickling comedies and big family sagas, a new type of preference has made its home in the hearts of Bollywood viewers. More and more movies being produced are putting emphasis on making the content of their storylines thought-inducing. No longer can you leave you brains at home, these movies make you ponder with mature themes and hard hitting realities. BollyCurry takes a look back at 2015 and some of its thought-provoking movies.

The year brought about a change with the Neeraj Pandey film Baby starring Akshay Kumar, Danny Denzongpa, Anupam Kher, Rana Daggubati, Kay Kay Menon, and Taapsee Pannu amongst others. The spy thriller is about a new secret agent team called Baby that was set up after the 26/11 attacks to take down terrorists planning attacks against India. The film ran for just under 2.5 hours, but each minute was well worth it with a tight plot, well-written story, stellar acting, and background music. The realistic action added to the thrill of this film that was the first to enter the 100 crore club of 2015, though numbers do vary. Baby earned much praise from critics as well.

In February, Varun Dhawan and

Nawazuddin Siddiqui faced it off in Badlapur, a revenge thriller. The story is about an everyday guy, Raghu (Varun Dhawan), happily married to Misha (Yami Gautam) with a son. A bank robbery goes wrong and Liak (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) ends up arrested, his partner Harman (Vinay Pathak) escapes, and Misha and her son end up dead, this leading Raghu to seeking revenge for their deaths. The entire plot revolves around Raghu and his character's development until he achieves his revenge and its aftermath. The dark and realistic nature of the film appealed to many and the music ruled the charts for many weeks. The film did well at the box office and with critics alike as well.

Akshay Kumar returned in May with the iconic villain Gabbar in Gabbar is Back, albeit with the twist that Gabbar is not a villain (at least for the masses). A film that attacks the corruption embedded in society, the story revolves around Aditya (Akshay Kumar) who teaches at National College and also punishes the corrupt as Gabbar. The film takes you on a ride of morals as you find yourself supporting Gabbar whilst also agreeing that what he does is against the law. It also awakens a sense of justice and anger at the way corruption has become a way of life. The film received much praise from critics and entered the 100 crore club.

Family drama Dil Dhadakne Do starring

Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Farhan Akhtar, and Anushka Sharma also makes our list. While the trailer gave the appearance of being a comedy, the film is actually a reflection of our society and families in general. The film follows the rich Mehra family and their ups and downs as they grow together as a family on a business-sponsored cruise amongst friends, and colleagues. The music was much appreciated and topped charts for many weeks. The film also did well at the box office earning approximately 75 crores whilst critics simultaneously appreciated the film.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan starring Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Harshaali Malhotra, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui is easily the top film of the year. The film paths the journey of Pawan (known as Bajrangi played by Salman Khan) as he sets out to take Munni (Harshaali Malhotra) back home to Pakistan after she ends up stranded in India. The beautiful relationship between the two, their funny comradeship with Chand Nawab (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), and the love story of Pawan and Rasika (Kareena Kapoor) were all highlights of the film, which went on to earn over 600 crore and earned the praise of critics. The music also ruled charts for many weeks.

Drishyam is a movie that was much appreciated

for its storyline with Ajay Devgn highly being praised for his role of the common man. The film follows the story of Vijay (Ajay Devgn), Nandini (Shriya Saran), and their two daughters, Anju (Ishita Dutta) and Annu (Mrinal Jadhav), as they battle the police in an attempt to keep their family safe after the accidental death of Sam, the son of Meera Deshmukh, IG of Goa Police (Tabu). As the family and the police embark on a fight of wits, the audience is only left wondering who will win and who will lose, thus upping the suspense and thrill factor. The film did well at the box office and was appreciated by critics and viewers alike.

Comical satire Bangistan also makes this list, though it did not do well at the box office or with critics. The film is about two normal people, Hafeez Bin Ali (Riteish Deshmukh) and Praveen Chaturvedi (Pulkit Samrat) residing in South and North Bangistan, respectively. They are misled by their religious leaders to become terrorists and blow up a religious convention in Poland where two top religious leaders are about to convene and set aside their differences. The film follows these two as they take on new appearances and then realize how wrong their thinking is. The movie really gets viewers thinking about the meaning of life and how we can often be misled by those we respect, admire, or who are in an authoritative position. A well-meaning movie, Bangistan is sure to get those cogs in the brain turning.

Talvar was a take on the infamous Aarushi

Talwar murder case albeit from a different position. The film portrays the case and the proceedings from the parents' view (Neeraj Kabi and Konkona Sen Sharma) and from the view of a CBI officer Ashwin Kumar (Irrfan Khan). As the film explores the investigation and the court case, it also explores the relationship between the Tandons (renamed from the Talwars) and between Ashwin Kumar and his wife Reema (Tabu). Well-appreciated for its sensitive take on this highly publicized case, the film leaves one wondering whether justice truly prevailed. Vishal Bhardwaj was highly praised along with the actors and other crew as the movie did well at the box office and critics appreciated the film.

The final film to make our list is Jazbaa starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Jackie Shroff and Atul Kulkarni along with many others. The film is a remake of the South Korean movie Seven Days. Anuradha (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), a prominent defense lawyer, is brought by force into a case to save Miyaaz (Chandan Roy Sanyal), a rapist and a murderer, when her daughter is kidnapped. As she sets about to save Miyaaz, Inspector Yohan (Irrfan Khan), a suspended police officer, attempts to find her daughter. The film is a nail-biting suspense thriller as these two race against time. The film did moderately well at the box office and was mostly appreciated by critics and viewers alike.

This progression of producing more meaningful thought-inducing movies is a pleasant change and much welcomed. The social messages conveyed in these movies is a necessary must, especially due to the current world environment. With such a wide and far-reaching base, Bollywood is the perfect platform to transfer these messages and we hope the trend continues to rise. There were many other such movies released in 2015 and as we enter 2016, the trailers of Airlift and Wazir have BollyCurry's hopes high. Do drop your comments on your favourite movies from the above or any other movies you feel really made you think.

Writer: Shreya S.

Editors: Kalpana K.C. and Jenifer A.

Graphics: Harjot D.

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