5. Mumbai Meri Jaan
Nishikant Kamat, who gave one of the best Marathi language films in his career – ‘Dombivali Fast’ – made his Hindi language debut directorial ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ and walked away with all the praises. With his film, which was a tribute to those who died in the wake of train bombings of 2006, Kamat depicted the unwavering spirit of Mumbaikars, who are often pulled down by various acts of terrorism but never stop at that. Intertwining five lives in the narrative, ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ was a gritty movie that mirrored real life.
4. Rock On!!
Most Indian movies are song and dance routines but they have all gone the tried and tested path. Abhishek Kapoor’s ‘Rock On!!’, which was targeted at the new crop of Indian youths, became one of the pioneer films to blend a story of band members with rock music as the main premise. It was a smash hit at the international box office and was also instrumental in introducing a new genre of music that was largely associated with youngsters until then. With a simple story following the rise and fall and metaphorical rise again of four music band members, ‘Rock On!!’ swept several Filmfare and National awards in various categories the following year.
3. Dasvidaniya
Starring Vinay Pathak, Gaurav Gera, Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapoor and Neha Dhupia, ‘Dasvidaniya’ was a fun, slice-of-life movie, which was about a lonely man, who while leading an uninteresting life, realizes he has very limited time to live and so sets out to accomplish ten good things he always wanted to in life, while he still has the time. The clean family entertainer, which was dubbed one of the best goodbye movies, surprisingly became a massive hit and the story, which tugged at our heartstrings as we sympathized with the protagonist, remained fresh in our minds for quite a long time.
2. Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!
Loosely based on the real life of one of New Delhi’s most notorious and enigmatic robbers, Dibakar Banerjee’s dark comedy starring Abhay Deol as the protagonist was a surprise hit at the box office, which was very well crafted and executed by the director, who believes in experimental cinema. Winner of the National Award, ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’ narrated how a boy from a humble background robbed the elite classes for fun and rose to prominence as Delhi’s superchor. Abhay Deol’s impressive acting, supported by Paresh Rawal’s triple role brought laurels to the director and the film at a national level.
1. A Wednesday!
Directed by newcomer Neeraj Pandey, ‘A Wednesday!’ was almost written off a few days post its release; but when critics saw its potential, its premise and the acting put up by supremely talented actors that had come together for this movie, they knew what it was capable of! ‘A Wednesday!’, although had a utopian theme in it, became a sleeper hit and audiences could easily relate to the angst and frustration that a common Indian man deals with, which was superbly brought to life by veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah. With Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill and Aamir Bashir supporting the leading man, the film enjoys a cult status among cinephiles today.
Read More: Hindi Movies 2007
