Rewind 2023: 12th Fail to Kathal - The best Hindi films of the year
Best Hindi films of 2023
2023 will go down in history as the year when Bollywood made a remarkable comeback and how! From record-breaking blockbusters to surprise hits to OTT gems, Bollywood had something to offer to everyone and no one was complaining. It is the year when Shah Rukh Khan came back on the big screen with a bang and delivered not one but two blockbusters and one hit. While action films ruled the box office, there were also surprise hits like Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail- a film that tugged at everyone's heartstrings. Stars like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kajol and Shahid Kapoor made their digital debut and proved their talent in projects that one usually wouldn't associate them with.
So here it is. As we wrap up 2023, presenting the best Hindi films of the year.
12th Fail
A classic underdog story, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail resonated with one and all. Headlined by the immensely talented actor Vikrant Massey, the film narrates the story of a man from the deep interior of central India who fights several odds including language barrier and poverty and clears the civil service exams - considered one of the toughest exams in India. While the film talked about a man's hardships and how he rose to the occasion despite the odds, the film also managed to put a smile on the viewer's face for its beautiful screenplay. The film's success was pertinent for 2023 as it shined at a time when big-budget action thrillers featuring Bollywood superstars ruled the box office. Yet, 12th Fail worked despite the absence of a big name, only due to its heartwarming story and stupendous performance by its lead. Read WION's review of the film here
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
Karan Johar talked of inclusivity and acceptance in this most fun film of the year. At the onset this Ranveer Singh-Alia Bhatt film was a love story of two very different individuals yet when you look deeper it talked of preconceived notions, gender politics and so much more. All wrapped in a quintessential Karan Johar style Bollywood masala entertainer. It helped that the film had great performances from both Ranveer and Alia and included a sweet track involving Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi. Read WION's review of the film here.
Three Of Us
Avinash Arun's film features three adults finding love, companionship and friendship at an age when one needs it the most. The film talks of Shailaja, who after discovering she has early onset of dementia, travels back to her childhood home in Konkan village with her husband, and revisits memories of her childhood and meets her former lover. The film is subtle with its messaging yet effectiveprimarily for its beautiful screenplay and stupendous performance by its leads - Shefali Shah and Jaideep Ahlawat.
Kathal - A Jackfruit Mystery
Directed by Yashowardhan Mishra, this satirical drama is mostly fun as its protagonist, Inspector Mahima Basor played by Sanya Malhotra is deputed to find the culprit as two jackfruits go missing from a local political leader's home. The film opens to the complexities that come in the case and Malhotra's character's frustration on being assigned a job that she feels is pointless and only to appease the leader. The film eventually takes a serious turn of events when while looking for the jackfruit thief, Mahima and her team unravel an old missing case that needed attention. Smartly written and well performed, Kathal had its heart in the right place. Read WION's review of the film here
Jaane Jaan
Trust Sujoy Ghosh to create the perfect environment for a thriller. Based on Keigo Higashino's novel The Devotion of Suspect X, Jaane Jaan is a murder mystery set in the misty, hilly town of Kalimpong in West Bengal India. Kareena Kapoor plays a single mom, who takes the help of her neighbour, the Teacher (Jaideep Ahlawat) to get rid of a crime she commits one fateful night. Things get complicated when a cop comes to their town to investigate the crime and tries to unearth the sequence of events to arrest the culprit. Ghosh creates a sense of doom and uncertainty with his screenplay and the film is filled with great performances by Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat. Read WION's review of the film here
The Mirror, Lust Stories 2
Konkona Sen Sharma's directorial film The Mirror was part of the anthology series in Lust Stories 2. The brightest film of the lot and also the most sharp - The Mirror took a clever and comical take on the class divide that exists in urban areas of India. A woman finds an unspoken pleasure in witnessing her house help's sexual escapades in her bedroom daily. It becomes routine of sorts- where the house help uses her employer's plush bedroom for intimacy with her husband because the couple never has any time of their own in their own home- a slum cramped with people. The employer initially is shocked at what she is witnessing but eventually secretly derives pleasure from it.Propelled by superb performances by Tilottama Shome and Amruta Subhash- The Mirror not only shows reality to its protagonist but to us viewers as well about our preconceived notions and prejudices about others. Read WION's review of the film here
Jawan
Shah Rukh Khan's second release of the year was essentially a typical Bollywood masala potboiler but in reality, a socialist film which was headlined by the superstar. The vigilante thriller had SRK taking up issues like corruption and red-tapism in the system and delivering a monologue on the importance of voting and choosing the right candidate. All brilliantly enveloped in song-dance-drama. Directed by Atlee Jawan also worked because of SRK's double role, great music by Anirudh, Nayanthara and Deepika Padukone's charm and Vijay Sethupathi as the villain. Read WION's review of the film here
Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai
Filmmaker Apoorv Singh Karki's film featuring Manoj Bajpayee in the lead was a difficult film to watch but also an important one. The film, loosely based on a real-life incident, involved a lone lawyer fighting a case of a minor who has been molested by a spiritual guru at his ashram. The film's story was known to many in India and yet its was propelled due to Bajpayee's credible performance.
Notable mentions: Khufiya, Ghoomer, Goldfish, Gulmoher
