2016: A Roundup

Started 2016 with a resolution to revive my near-dormant. The plan was to watch 100 movies (#100MoviePact) and write at least 100 words about each movie watched. Happy to report that I hit the target (110 movies!) but didn’t write after the first thirty-six.

As I usually do, here is a roundup of 2016… the things I loved the most. Listing them alphabetically…  

Afreen afreen  

Many years back, we used to play the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan song at our b-school parties and get on our knees, dancing around a batchmate and embarrassing the hell out of her. The reprise – featuring Nusrat’s talented nephew – is almost as magical.

And Coke Studio. Oh, Coke Studio.

While at it, you can listen to my favourite songs of 2016. Includes a couple of Bangla songs as well.

Blossoms 

I have been in Bangalore for a little more than a year now and have not ceased to marvel at this bookstore. As social media laments the closure of bookstores all over, Blossoms not only survived but managed a new branch just down the road from their original outlet. Both store have mindboggling range, chaotic displays, helpful staff and a genuine desire to sell books.

Clinton, Hillary Rodham

It is now fashionable to say she was the wrong candidate to be pitted against Donald Trump but for all the charges you can throw at HRC, there was no doubt she was simply the best-prepared candidate to run for the US President. She did many things right but I loved for this one tweet (that came after she lost)… which is still pinned to the top of her Twitter page.

Dangal

An important character is unable to watch a critical wrestling match in the film. As he sits helplessly in a room, he suddenly gets to hear the first strains of the national anthem. As he realizes the significance (only the gold medallists are honoured by playing their anthems), he stands up – almost as reflex – as do cinema halls across the country. Much has been said in praise of Dangal but writer-director Nitesh Tiwari won it for me when he made me stand up in this scene.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

For fans of the seven legendary books, this was like the highlights package of an epic World Cup victory with some bonus DVD features thrown in. Many fans didn’t like it. Many were disappointed that it was a script (dudes, read up on JKR!). But I loved it. Time travel and alternate histories – always the theme of satisfying stories – didn’t disappoint this time either.

Jeffrey Archer

With two books of the Clifton Chronicles bringing the saga to a satisfying close, Jeffrey Archer managed to reaffirm his position as the number one storyteller of our times. His Harry Clifton turned out to be that perfect English gentleman who would be missed long after he is gone.

Kapoor & Sons

This – along with Phogat & Daughters – was the movie of the year for me. A difficult story of a dysfunctional family soared and uplifted me with a crackling script. Established stars, established actors and an established producer came together to make us really look forward to the forthcoming works of Shakun Batra, who became an established director with his film.

Earlier review on blog.

MAMI (JJWS, Old Stone, After the Rain)

At the beginning of the year, I had promised myself that I’d watch a few films at a film festival. I fulfilled that promise by spending three days at the MAMI Film Festival, watching nine films – including five on day one. A Chinese (Old Stone), Japanese (After the Rain) and an Arabic (Barakah Meets Barakah) film stand out from what I watched as did a nostalgic reunion of the stars of my teen-favourite, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. What I really enjoyed was the unplanned forays into unknown films, rushing from one screening to the queue for another, gasping at particularly felicitous moves on screen and occasionally dozing off (!) during not-so-interesting ones.

Planning to do Kolkata International Film Festival in 2017.

Nasir Husain

One of my favourite directors got an authoritative biography – Music Masti Modernity – that caught the magic of his cinema through a thoughtful lens. Drawing extensively from past interviews as well as fresh interviews of his family and colleagues, MMM shows how well-researched and readable books on cinema can really be.

Pink

Amitabh Bachchan played – with his customary aplomb – a mentally unbalanced lawyer fighting for three victims of sexual abuse. His mental affliction was probably symbolic of the disadvantages anyone taking up a cause like this faces in our country. Bachchan and the three actresses made a slogan out of ‘No means no’ and one wonders if this line is half as effective as Bachchan’s other clarion call for polio (‘Do boond zindagi ki’), he should be given all the public service awards – in addition to the acting ones.

Produnova, PV Sindhu
An unknown Russian gymnast became the talisman of a billion (exaggerating here, but it's okay) people as people stayed awake cheering a girl from Tripura make her mark at the highest sporting stage of the world.
PV Sindhu suddenly showed us how badminton can be the next big thing in India - short matches, lots of drama, glamorous adversaries and a fair bit of talent.
They didn't win but hey, we waited 28 years for a second World Cup in cricket. Surely, we can wait (ahem) four years for the other sports.

Raman Raghav 2.0

I don’t think I will have the stomach to watch this film again but will remember it – along with Ugly and Gulaal – as part of Anurag Kashyap’s Underrated Trilogy. It was somewhat expected that RR2.0 won’t set the box office on fire but somehow, it didn’t even managed to get a lot of fanboy praise.

Earlier review on blog.  

Rekha  

Yasser Usman followed up on his biography of Rajesh Khanna with an equally readable book on Rekha. Rekha’s heady life in Madras and then Bombay has been chronicled with a rare balance that is usually missing Bollywood biographies. Rekha is a polarising character and this book does a great job is looking at her life from the multiple perspectives.

Sultan of Delhi – Ascension

The first part of the saga of a gun-runner-turned-Emergency-era-fixer-turned-Delhi-mover-and-shaker took the pulp fiction saga template – underdog rising to the top of his profession – and gave it a solidly desi twist. The book ends tantalizingly, with the promise of a sequel coming up next year.

Udta Punjab

I don’t know if I am including Udta Punjab the soundtrack or the movie. As a music album, it was fantastic – a heady mix of the crazy and the soft – picking up the flavours of Punjab and created a modern soundtrack around it. The movie was studded with some fantastic performances, most notably Shahid Kapoor.

Earlier review on blog. 

Virat Kohli

No further comments required.

Waiting

Again, one of the underwatched movies of the year. Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin put in brilliant performances in a superbly written film.

Earlier review on blog. 

Zen Pencils and other web comics

Got to know of, got addicted to and ended up buying two volumes of Zen Pencils, a simple yet thought-provoking compilation of comics around famous, inspirational quotes. 

Found other cool web comics like Lunar Baboon and Shuffle Photo. 

2016 wasn't the greatest of years, maybe for the world at large. It wasn't too bad, for me personally.

I guess it was the 'could have been better' kind of year. Hoping to get into 2017 with a lot more reading, a lot more writing, a little less movie watching (110 was too much!) and a lot more fun-having. 

Happy 2017.
Like the number, may the year also be a prime one of your life!