Top 10 Bollywood Indie Movies 2012

Hollywood describes an “Indie movie” as a movie which has been made independently without any studio money. Off late, Indie movies around the world have been confined to low/medium budget films which deal with subjects that are off the beaten track. Indie movies out in the west generally can be identified by their production design, which tends to mirror real life as they are mostly shot in real places (no studios, remember?) sans overuse of makeup and is shot without the use of heavy lighting.

But out here in India and Bollywood specifically, the definition of Indie movies is different. Firstly, there’s no traditional studio setup here in India and secondly, even the big production houses in Hindi cinema have begun to finance small to medium budget movies (3cr to 20cr to be exact). Indies of Bollywood are generally movies which deal with unconventional subjects and are unfancied to make big bucks in the box office. The rule of thumb says, there won’t be over the top action set-pieces or item numbers in these Bollywoodised “Indie movies”. Out there in the west, Indie movies are considered to be artsy and don’t make a lot of money. But here, even Indies are sometimes categorised as ‘Mainstream’ movies (without the high dose of masala fares as I previously mentioned).

Now that I’ve tried to describe what Indie movies are and what I mean by Bollywood Indies, here’s my list of Top 10 Indies made in Hindi cinema in 2012 (qualitative ranking):

10: Ishaqzaade

Ishaqzaade was the second directorial venture of Habib Faisal and it starred Arjun Kapoor (son of Boney Kapoor) and Parineeti Chopra (cousin of Priyanka Chopra). Faisal had previously delivered the feel good Do Dooni Chaar and expectations from this movie were already high thanks to the hit music by Amit Trivedi. The mere fact that Yash Raj Films, a production house famous for candy floss saccharine-filled epic romances, decided to finance this movie says a lot about how far small budget movies in India have come. Although, the ending was unsatisfactory, the highly believable world created by Faisal and Parineeti Chopra’s competent Zoya more than compensated for the “preachy” ending and the regressive twist after the second half. Arjun Kapoor showed his mettle with his gaon ka rugged Parma.

Budget: 16cr. Box Office Earning: 45cr. Box Office Ranking: 4th.

9: Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

It seemed like Shakun Batra will forever be stuck as the ever-connected first assistant director in Bollywood having served as the first AD in films like Don, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and Rock On. But Karan Johar gave him a chance to direct his first film for Dharma. Off he went, to get his screenplay organized and eventually returned with a script he had co-written with Ayesha DeVitre. The film was sanctioned, and it got made. Inspite of the lead actors being A list actors, everything about the film screamed “Indie!” The way the music was used in the movie, the way the shots were taken, the way the story was told in chapters made it very clear that Shakun was inspired from films like Garden State, The Graduate and 500 Days of Summer. The music reminded me of good ol’ Simon and Garfunkel. The ending was unlike anything we had seen in any Hindi romantic comedy before, and that is what made the film so believable. It did not go for a lazy, happy climax but dared to think differently. And, it paid off. Imran and Kareena were the right amounts of coy and innocent in the film. I personally can’t wait to see this pairing back again in the Puneet Malhotra directed, Dharma produced film in 2013.

Budget: 20cr. Box Office Earning: 42cr. Box Office Ranking: 5.

8: Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurrana

This delightful jolly film set in rural Punjab never failed to entertain for a minute. This film was billed as the first Hindi film to be based on food. I will have to agree with that claim since “Bawarchi” was not a proper food film. It could have easily fallen into the trap of serving us one Punjabi cli?he after another, but Sameer Sharma (the director) steered clear from making that mistake. Instead, Sameer served us a life-of-slice narrative about love. Love for food and love between an odd couple. Huma Qureshi and Rajesh Sharma deliver two pitch perfect performances and alongwith the cinematography and rollickingly realistic Punjabi folk music, this film delivers and how. Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurrana will surely find a place among films like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dev D, Band Baaja Baarat, and Do Dooni Chaar, to name a few.

Budget: 3cr. Box Office Earning: 7cr. Box Office Ranking: 10th.

7: Shanghai

After having delivered three staggeringly powerful and moving pieces of work in Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and LSD, much was expected from Dibakar Banerjee’s most expensive film yet. And it delivered, to say the least. To say that this film frightens you about the state of affairs in the India of 2012, will be an understatement. If watched will full patience and concentration, Shanghai has the power to shake you up like no other film of 2012. It tells a morbid tale of how India aspires to be ambitious but the terms of the ambition is held hostage to the whims and fascinations of a few people. The film boasts of terrific performances from almost all of it’s lead actors (Kalki was the odd one out). Abhay Deol, Farooque Sheikh, Pitobash Tripathy, Supriya Pathak and Prosenjit, all deliver fantastic performances. But it’s Emraan Hashmi’s Joginger which will stay with you long after you’ve seen the film. Here, he shows the talent this “serial kisser” has inside him. The star Emraan never overshines the actor Emraan. This film will take Emraan places (it already has, having signed an Interntaional film recently). He may risk losing a part of his loyal fanbase if he continues to do offbeat films like these but if he keeps doing a Jannat 2, a Murder 3 or a Raaz 3, his stardom is more than likely to remain intact.

Budget: 12cr. Box Office Earning: 18cr. Box Office Ranking: 8th.

6: Gangs of Wasseypur and Gangs of Wasseypur 2

I will collectively refer to both the films as Gangs of Wasseypur (or GoW) as Anurag Kashyap shot his Bihar-set magnum actioner as one film. This film boasts of the highest set of actors with almost 200 of them having dialogue-speaking roles. The logistics of making a movie like this is simply mind-boggling. Yet, Anurag not only accomplished the almost impossible feat but also earned critical and commercial plaudits all over the world. GoW is a stark portrayal of the coal mafia and politics, and about the influence and rivalry of two colliding families in Dhanbad. Manoj Bajpai in the first part and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the second part, deliver two of the most terrifyingly real performances you are likely to see on screen this year. Richa Chaddha, Huma Qureshi and Reema Sen showed the soft power that women carry in these parts of India. The film was released at just the right time (when the Coal Gate scam had just been exposed by the CAG) and it reaped it’s benefits. GoW1 outrun the much more commercial Teri Meri Kahaani (both films released on the same Friday). Special mention must be given to Sneha Khanwalker’s fantastic soundtracks for both the parts. In my opinion, GoW had the best soundtrack for any film this year (only rivalled by Pritam’s music in Barfi). Oh, it also gave us a brilliant actor in the form of Tigmanshu Dhulia.

Budget: 16cr. Box Office Earning: 48cr. Box Office Ranking: 3rd.

5: OMG!! Oh My God

Yes yes, I know this movie stars a Superstar like Akshay Kumar but OMG had to be included for it’s superlative yet simple narration of a very profoud story. Also, Akshay’s role in the film was never highly publicized. Paresh Rawal was always supposed to be the lead actor in the movie. OMG is based on Paresh’s Gujarati play “Kanjibhai vs God” which in turn was adapted from the Australian movie “The Man who Sued God”. Paresh Rawal gave one of the best performances of his career as the atheist Kanjibhai who goes to every extreme length imaginable to avenge the “myth” of God and the business around religion in today’s India. I won’t make any social comment on the movie’s lesson, but I’d say the lesson given in the movie strongly resonated with me (being an atheist for a long time). Akshay Kumar needs to be praised for promoting OMG properly without ever going overboard and it eventually paid off. OMG went on to become one of the most well received movies of the year and having earned 82cr, it is also the highest earning of all the films in this list.

Budget: 15cr. Box Office Earning: 82cr. Box Office Ranking: 1st.

4: English Vinglish

This movie gave Hindi cinema it’s most inherently talented actress of the 1980s back – Sri Devi. The fact that a lead Superstar actress of the bygone era who made a mark with strictly commercial films chose a film like English Vinglish as her comeback vehicle to the Industry, speaks volumes about the change Hindi cinema has gone through in the time she wasn’t around. English Vinglish gave us a talented new woman director and writer in the form of Gauri Shinde (wife or R Balki, who has directed Cheeni Kum and Paa). This is the freshest perspective of a middle-aged Indian mother’s life for a long time. It gave us Shashi, who is cute and innocent and steadfastly stubborn, all the same. Shashi’s zeal to learn English mirrors the zeal that middle class Indians have when it comes to establishing themselves in their careers. English Vinglish gave us believable characters (everybody knows a person like Shashi) and apt cinematography of a New York Hindi cinema hasn’t captured much. The group that Shashi encounters in her English tuition class is the most rememberable group of characters Bollywood has given us ever since Kabir Khan and his team won the nation’s heart with Chak De India in 2007. Films like this need to be made more regularly, and something inside me tells me we will so more such heart-warming films like English Vinglish in the near future.

Budget: 16cr. Box Office Earning: 36cr. Box Office Ranking: 7th.

3: Paan Singh Tomar

Paan Singh Tomar gave us a glimpse of India that we rarely get to see on screen, these days – a rural, distant India of the 60s, 70s still reeling from the Independence struggle. This much-delayed and much-appreciated movie by Tigmanshu Dhulia chronicled the life of Paan Singh Tomar, a long distance runner who represented India in the 1964 Tokyo Asian Games but later became a dacoit to avenge a personal tragedy. Irrfan Khan as Paan Singh Tomar showed us what a powerhouse of talent, he really is. Sadly enough, the west seems to be giving him his due more than Bollywood. The detailed direction, and the real shot taking along with fantastic acting by everyone involved made sure that this “Indian” received acclaim from all quarters. One thing is for certain, Paan Singh Tomar, will be remembered for a long long time.

Budget: 4cr. Box Office Earning: 15cr. Box Office Ranking: 9th.

2: Vicky Donor

Vicky Donor showed us that a film doesn’t need to have big stars or a big budget to make an impact. Vicky Donor, Shoojit Sircar’s sophomore feature film, showed the perils of sperm donation, the social stigma attached with the subject and yet, this film never takes it seriously (even in the climax). Ayushmann Khurrana, the effortlessly talented MTV VJ, debuts as Vicky Arora and writes a song, composes it and sings it in the film. I don’t think I haven’t heard of a lot of people who have seen Vicky Donor and not become a fan of Ayushmann. If he chooses his films correctly and uses his talents well, this sperm donor will go a long way in Bollywood. His was easily the best debut of the year. Also, someone else manages to make a comeback of sorts with this movie – Annu Kapoor. His Dr. Chaddha is the loudest, and the most likable character of Hindi cinema in 2012. Yami Gautam makes her mark as the Bengali bride to Ayushmann’s Punjabi groom. The sequences highlighting the culture divide has been directed with pana?he and even though it resorts to a few cli?hes, you never actually mind them. The music was totally appropriate. John Abraham needs to be given a lot of the credit for producing this film and promoting it properly. All I can say, is I can’t wait to see what the John-Shoojit-Ayushmann combination gives us next. The wait for Madras Cafe (formerly Jaffna) and Hamara Bajaj is killing me already. And, BTW, of all the films in this list, Vicky Donor has, arguably, the most repeal value. Even after all the praise I have bestowed upon this film, it is still not the top Bollywood Indie of the year.

Budget: 4cr. Box Office Earning: 38cr. Box Office Ranking: 6th.

1: Kahaani

The decision of choosing Kahaani as the Top Bollywood Indie of the year was the most difficult and the most easy decision at the same time. There was no Hindi film made in 2012 better than Kahaani and yet, I identified with and loved Vicky Donor a bit more than Kahaani. It was a very very close call, needless to stay. I went with my head at the end.

After delivering two back-to-back duds in ‘Home Delivery’ and ‘Alaadin’, everybody had lost hope in Sujoy Ghosh. But he finally discovered his true mettle and made his finest film yet – Kahaani. The fact that Vidya Balan chose to trust Ghosh and went with her instincts, shows why Vidya is far and above any other actress in Hindi cinema today. Her Vidya Bagchi was unusually clandestine and pleasantly mysterious. And Vidya the Balan effortlessly brought that out in Vidya the Bagchi. Clearly, Kolkata is a lucky place for her, having made her film debut in a Bengali film (Bhalo Theko) and her first Hindi feature film, Parineeta, was also set in Kolkata. Talking about Kolkata, Kahaani showed that if Hindi film directors want, they can make a city an integral character of their films. I can’t imagine a better portrayal of a city in Hindi films in recent times (maybe Dibakar’s Delhi). The cinematography, needless to say, was flawless and brought alive the tension. Unlike the recently released Talaash, Kahaani never mixed up it’s plot development and character development. Both of them were given due importance. Also, unlike Talaash, the climax propelled the film to greater heights. Kahaani gave us Bob Biswas, a serial killer with a heart (ingeniously portrayed by Saswata Chatterjee). In my opinion, Kahaani also had the best casting of any Hindi film this year. No actors were out of place. Kahaani made everyone aware of the talent in regional cinema. Amitabh Bachchan’s beautiful rendition of Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Ekla Cholo Re’ made the film even more special. All in all, Kahaani was the best thriller/Suspense drama Bollywood has produced in the last decade. A truly deserving No. 1.

Budget: 8cr. Box Office Earning: 60cr. Box Office Ranking: 2nd.

Special Mention: Barfi, Chittagong, Ferrari Ki Sawaari and Makkhi. Barfi was too big a film to be considered an Indie, although nobody would have expected it to earn as much as 106cr. Chittagong is the most criminally underseen movie of the year. It’s not flawless, but this brisk movie needs to be seen by every patriotic Indian. Ferrari Ki Sawaari: Sharmann Joshi’s performance in this movie is the most underrated performance of any lead actor this year. This movie made me cry in the climax but it never failed to make me smile, as well. If you loved Munnabhai MBBS, Lagey Raho Munnabhai and 3 Idiots, you will, in all probability, like this Hirani gharana film, as well. Makkhi: Makkhi was the dubbed version of the Tamil Blockbuster, Eega. It received rave reviews but nobody seemed interested in this movie. Makkhi is the most innovative, entertaining and heart-warming Indian movie of the year. Why can’t Hindi film directors experiment more? Agh.

Special Trivia:

• Amit Trivedi has composed the music for 4 of the 10 films in this list.
• Amitabh Bachchan makes a special contribution to two of the women-centric films in this list – English Vinglish and Kahaani.
• 3 of the 10 directors are debut directors.
• 3 of the 10 films in this list are sophomore efforts.
• 7 of the 10 films released in the first half of the year.
• The total production budget of all the 10 films combined was 114cr and the total money earned by these 10 films combined was a staggering 391cr.

P.S. This is a completely subjective list which was compiled regardless of the films’ box office performance. If you disagree with it, be sure to put across your opinion in the comments below.

Zayden tweets @ManvsHandle (Also read - Top 5 Highest Grossing Movies since 2000 – Analysis)

From the Top 10 list above, which is your favorite Bollywood Indie film? Vote below (You can PICK 3 films from the list below)!