Bheja Fry
THERE ARE movies one can watch again and again, 2007 gave us one such movie, Bheja Fry. Bheja Fry did what most of the Hindi films fail to do. Entertain. It once again re-established that small is beautiful. The film packed in humour very effectively in a satirical manner. Though a low budget film, it was the intelligent writing and brilliant performances that made a difference.
Chak De / Nishabd
Two films of entirely different genre; one commercial success, the other commercial failure; yet they both left an indelible mark.
Chak De saw Shimit Amin, firmly saddled in director’s seat. He brilliantly executed girl bonding on-screen. Though, Shahrukh Khan did a decent job of an angst-ridden, yet rational hockey-coach; it wasn’t him, but the team girls who were the real hero(s). Komal Chautala, Preeti Sabharwal, Bindiya Naik, Harpreet Kaur, need more!
He is 60. She is 18. They fall in love. Some love stories can never be understood. NISHABD. The film is nothing short of classic. A true form of cinema, as it makes optimal use of the cinematic tools to tell the tale of unusual lovers. It beautifully utilizes lighting, background music, emotions and the raw and rustic camera angles to heighten the drama. The fluid camera-work complemented the scenic locale of Munnar in Kerala to its optimal. Add to that a lifetime performance of Amitabh Bachchan and a confident oozing Jiah. Amazing!
Johnny Gaddar
For long we have heard and not seen that film is a director’s medium. Sriram Raghvan makes us see that film is indeed a director’s medium. This stylish crime thriller was a commercial failure, but one of the very few films that left a mark. Johnny Gaddar had deft writing. Each character had been worked on and detailed to perfection. Add to that the track of 07 “Doob ja mere pyaar mein…”
Guru
Directed by Mani Ratnam, Guru was inspired by the life of corporate legend, Dhirubhai Ambani. Abhishek Bachchan breathed fire into the role enacting the part with élan. It is so far Abhishek’s biggest solo hit and also the first hit of 2007.
Jab We Met
Isn’t it ironical, Shahid and Kareena’s earlier flicks: Fida and 36 China Town. were duds. However, as soon as the couple broke off, they gave one solid hit. Jab We Met. The firmness of this hit can be gauged from the fact that per print average in 8th week of Jab We Met was way better than per print average of Om Shanti Om in its 6th week. Now that’s some solid hit!
Cheeni Kum
If comedies are difficult to make; satirical comedies are even tougher. Cheeni Kum despite the flaws in its writing became a huge success, as it worked on very well with its target audiences – women and elite class. They found this story of a older man and a younger woman, set in London against the backdrop of a restaurant made to their taste!
Partner
From slapstick let’s move on to comedy. A total commercial set-up; this frame-to-frame hitched copy of Hitch was a runaway hit. In fact year’s first big hit. David Dhawan and Salman Khan combo worked, but Partner will always be remembered for resurrecting Govinda’s career.
Om Shanti Om
Forget the merits, Is OSO the biggest Indian hit ever? Suresh Chaturvedi, a prominent distributor of Delhi-UP says, “Today, with stars being media savvy, a story is planted and it catches on! The numbers are usually grossly exaggerated. All sorts of figures are thrown out, none of them verifiable.” Another distributor, Sanjay Mehta says, “Sholay, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Gadar are firmly ensconced as India’s biggest hits.” One thing that OSO did change however is the way to ‘hype’ the movie. So we have Shahrukh making appearances at cricket matches and BCCI crying ‘foul’. Hype it up, Shahrukh!
Bhool Bhulaiya / Hey Baby / Welcome
Akshay has managed what no other actor has managed, ever since Amitabh Bachchan. Given four hits in a year! While Bhool Bhulaiya, Hey Baby and Welcome were still bearable, Akshay managed a success out of a below average Namastey London too, which is no small achievement. Top it with the top accolades in Om Shanti Om for his Return of Khiladi act, no doubt, Akshay is Khiladi No 1 of Bollywood today.
Eklavya
India’s controversial entry to the Oscars. The film very dramatically tells the story of revenge and intrigue set in a palace in Rajasthan. The best aspect of the film were the transitions, probably, the best ever seen on Indian screen, as far as one can recollect. Given the choice of films, a perfect selection to represent India at the Oscars
3.75 / 65 votes 
