With Vicky Donor, Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, Hindi cinema changed in 2012

If a person unfamiliar with Bollywood films before were to encounter these films, they wouldn’t have believed those who claimed that the only films that the industry churned out were assembly-line formulaic offerings.

Paan Singh Tomar is one of the best films that came out of the Dhulia-Irrfan combine, and ranks high on my all-time faves. It struggled to be released, but when it did come out — I remember watching the first day first show completely alone in my South Delhi swish multiplex — it blew us away with its rawness, authenticity and the power of its performances and story-telling. Irrfan, flying on the track, national-level athlete forced into becoming a dacoit, was sublime.

Paan Singh Tomar is one of the best films that came out of the Dhulia-Irrfan combine.

Ayushmann Khurrana’s first film still remains his best. Directed by Sircar with a story from Juhi Chaturvedi, it was about a sperm-donor who has to keep his ‘job’ secret, and how it impacts his relationship with his lady love, Yami Gautam, also in her most natural act. For conservative Bollywood, to even speak of sperms, let alone a mention of the sexual act, was a major leap, and the way in which Khurrana embraces his role, made this film a joy.

READ ALL STORIES FROM 25 YEARS OF INDIAN CINEMA SERIES HERE 

Anurag Kashyap’s coal-mafia-mein-rival-gangstergiri double bill GOW 1 and 2 is high in his filmography, and one of my most favourite films of his. It is a formidable achievement to carry the plot, its myriad characters and the many decades it spans, for five hours and some, but the film never lags, buoyed by its vibrant songs, dialogues and performances: Manoj Bajpayee is brilliant, with terrific support from Pankaj Tripathi, Jaideep Ahlawat, Piyush Mishra, and of course Tigmanshu Dhulia, with that line — tumse na ho payega — becoming iconic even as it came out of Ramadhir’s mouth.

Ironically, Kashyap now claims he ‘hates’ the film, because everyone expects him to keep making the same thing; his latest ‘Nishanchi’, which can feel like a return to the GOW territory, is actually different, but to get where he’s going with it, you need to see both its parts, back to back.

Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish got Sridevi back into our midst. This story of a middle-aged housewife finding her metier, and a near-romance with a man not her husband, touched a deep chord amongst the audience. We’ve all known women like Shashi Godbole, played beautifully by Sridevi, who is so good at prioritising their spouse and kids that anything they do for themselves comes as a shock and surprise. Adil Hussain, as the husband, is excellent too, and Sridevi wins our hearts.

Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish got Sridevi back into our midst.

After The Dirty Picture came Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani, and Vidya Balan also aced this one, playing a very pregnant woman arriving in Kolkata in search of her missing husband. There may still be people who haven’t seen the film, so I won’t spoil what-happens-next for you. Suffice it to say that Kahaani’s thrills and spills are well done. Balan carries the film, with support by Nawaaz and Parambrata Bhattacharya, and its climax still has the power to surprise.

Hansal Mehta’s Shahid, based on the life of the real-life lawyer of the same name, brought the director back from the dumps, with a career best performance from his regular protege, Rajkummar Rao. It was also a rare Bollywood film with a Muslim protagonist, something which would be impossible to conceive these days.

Hansal Mehta’s Shahid saw a career best performance from his regular protege, Rajkummar Rao

The most unusual film of the year was Anand Gandhi’s Ship Of Theseus, produced by Sohum Shah who was plays a role in it: it was fiercely indie-spirited, but it came from a director who has written for Ekta Kapoor’s serials, and was championed by Kiran Rao with support from then husband Aamir Khan. This mix of independent-and-mainstream cinema has occasionally brought some hidden gems to the forefront; Rao is still a vocal supporter of films that are truly different.