10. Ghajini
Loosely inspired by Christopher Nolan’s ‘Memento’, ‘Ghajini’ had become a talk of the town when the film was under production. Aamir Khan had undergone a huge body transformation for the film to play a business baron, who suffers from anterograde amnesia out to avenge the death of the woman he loved dearly. The movie was southern actress Asin Thottumkal’s Bollywood launchpad and she impressed as the chatty wannabe model, looking for better professional opportunities.
9. Shaurya
Samar Khan’s directorial ‘Shaurya’, starring Kay Kay Menon, Rahul Bose, Javed Jaffery and Deepak Dobriyal, along with Minissha Lamba, was a courtroom drama that was based on a Hindi play. The film narrates the story of an army soldier, who has killed one of his higher-ups and is court-martialed for the same. Despite his lawyer trying to defend him for his crime, he wishes to plead guilty and it is all for a reason, which the army lawyer understands later. The film borrowed heavily from Tom Cruise-starrer ‘A Few Good Men’, but it still worked at the box office because of the power-packed performances form all the actors.
8. Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na
A film that successfully launched Aamir Khan’s nephew in the Hindi film industry (but sadly the lad couldn’t stay longer), ‘Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na’ was a breezy rom-com starring Genelia D’Souza and Imran Khan in lead roles. The movie was the story of a group of college friends, two of which are the best of buddies, but do not realize that they are in love with each other. The coming of age film with a fresh story was Abbas Tyrewala’s first foray as a director in Bollywood and he was successful in proving his mettle.
7. Jodhaa Akbar
A period drama, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ was a historical tale of the great Mughal ruler Jalaluddin Muhammed Akbar, who after winning against the Rajput ruler, agrees to marry the princess Jodhaa Bai to forge a strong political bond with the Rajputs. The story then focusses on the love story of the king and his new bride as the latter dismisses his every move. Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s chemistry was widely appreciated and they truly painted pretty pictures in the magnum opus.
6. Aamir
A psychological crime thriller, which was the big screen debut of successful television star Rajeev Khandelwal, ‘Aamir’ was a take on radical religious extremists, who try to rope in an innocent NRI, returning home for a vacation, to execute their bombing plans. With fine acting talent in the form of Khandelwal, along with a tightly woven script that culminated into a nail-biting finish, Raj Kumar Gupta’s movie with a different approach to it was critically praised and commercially accepted. It also managed to mint money owing to word of mouth publicity, which finally worked in its favour.
Read More: Hindi Movies 2011
