Runner-up: Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Honeymoon Travels, and Jab We Meet

10. Chuk De India - After rejuvenating the adaquate subtilty in Nana Patekar's act in Ab Tak Chhappan, Shamit Amin does wonders for Shahrukh Khan here, nearly reviving his innocent charm to the days of acting like "Sunil" in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa.

09. Cheeni Kum - This film is plain and simple a masterpiece for it's dialogues; straight-forward, fearless, no beating around the bush. Given it's content, I was certainly pleased that I didn't hear Tabu once mention at any point "par yah hamaraa bazurgh hai, inkie aagya mahan na mera farz hai" implicating this about her father. Instead, we hear: (Paresh Rawal)"over my dead body will you marry this man" (Tabu)"And when will that be". Given it's easy going setting. the humour, the charm is Fantastic!

08. Bheja Fry - Vinay Pathak was freaking irritating in this. But wait. That's the idea. And he's utterly great at it.

07. Life in a... Metro - If "chick" flicks had a whole new level to live up to, this is it. This time, it's driving forces are maturity, naturalism, and even capitalism.

06. Guru - This is one of those films that I will perhaps never completely grasp. Was Ratnam glorifying the rise of the Ambani monopoly struture in India or was it the opposite? Or was it a film about the rise of the human spirit defying all odds, if it were the latter, it seemed like a fraudulent effort. The former is an issue I'm not completely fond of myself and shudder to think that Ratnam wanted a good intended Dhirubhai Ambani biography. Being the big Ratnam fan that I am, I am obviously preplexed with his motive here, given what I have already discuessed, I don't see myself ranking this as a potential future classic, the more I think about it, the more I find myself moving away from it.

05. Taare Zameen Par - This film has it's moments of brilliance, scenes which strip reality down to it's brutal honesty. However, I was left unmoved since the ending gives the implication of a paradox in the screenplay which I believe many have fail to recognize and are too busy praising the obvious.

04. Johnny Gaddaar - By and large, watching this film was the most fun I had with a hindi film this year, and a particular scene involving Dharmindra during the film's turning point is a gem, one of the best scenes of the year. The rest of my thoughts, you can read here(if you haven't already).

03. Gandhi, My Father - Arguably the most overlooked Indian film of the year, almost everything about this film is pitched perfect. No other film this year has displayed a more detailed craft in editing, writing, photography, and direction. Not to mention, the film's superb performances from the leading cast.

02. Anwar - On the surface, it's a film about a director's post-911 expierence with reality and depicting it as a worldwide entertainment issue the media has capitalized on. Though, given the filmmaker's previous work, it's layered screenplay and philosophy, this film has alot to do about futile love.

01. No Smoking - It's a film that fucks with my mind and I absoloutely love it. A first for an Indian film. For more of my thoughts on this film, you can read here.


PS: Have not yet seen Dharm, Blue Umbrella, Om Shanti Om or Saanwaryia.

Surprised Manorama didn't make it to the list

I forgot about this, haven't seen this yet. I'm surprised myself, since I've liked almost everything Abhay Deol has done since his début, plus Manorama's also got the ravishingly beautiful Gul Panag in it, too.

better not!