Mayank Shandilya
The ending scene of a movie is what the audiences carry with them. A strong movie with a ceaseless ending leaves the audience in agony. The feeling of yearn stays with them. This sometimes work for a movie but more than often, it kills the vibe of the whole movie. The ending scene needs to deliver a knock out punch so that it stays with the audience for all the right reasons. And pick any classic, it will surely have awe ending scene that made it the movie it was. A classic. So here is a list of such movies that have an ending that will make you go and watch it one more time.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
15. Yuva (2004)
The movie starts with dispersed dimensions of its three protagonists. Flaring into different direction but there’s a thread that keeps them together. The ending sequence tales back to the scene where it all started. The brilliance is not in the puzzle of the story that fits. It is in the way that the whole torrential flurry of emotions is showcased. It is a fine example of the beauty of the editing room. Crisp and succulent, the ending of the movie makes up for the weary middle.
14. Detective Byomkesh Bakshi (2015)
In the backdrop of the lanes of ancient Kolkata, heavy rains add to the intensity of the scene. The cameras are vying to get inside the brains of Detective Byomkesh aka Sushant Singh Rajput and his inkling. In the midst of the chaos, stands Dr. Anukul Guha / Yang Guang waiting to be unearthed. He is discovered. In the triviality of the world war led bombings, a fight ensues and the house is divided. The fight is very realistic with a hint of foolhardy. The cameras follow every punch like a beat and create music out of it. The ending scene is the shadow of the movie, realistic with drippings of art, smothered by the eye-catching Dr Anukul Guha aka Neeraj Kabi.
13. Ghulam (1998)
A fist fight is an essential part of the Guy Kit. Every guy in his life has been at the helm of a fight, where the odds are stacked against him and all he can see is a bruised future. Some wise men walk away but some don’t have the luxury of walking off. This movie speaks of the guy who wouldn’t walk off. The guy is Aamir Khan. He could not walk off for he was fighting the killer of his brother aka Ashutosh Rana and he would give every inch of himself to avenge his brother. Aamir is brutally assaulted, he bleeds like sweating on a summer afternoon. He is down, covered in ground, waiting to be carried off. But that is not how a story of courage ends. He gets up, not for his strength but for the fanaticism brewing inside and he fights back. The Villain is defeated not by Amir Khan’s strength but by his sheer spirit. A scene like this would have been just a stunt play but the director of the movie, Vikram Bhatt adds the notion of emotion into a well enacted fight which simply livens up the whole act.
12. Ankhon Dekhi (2013)
The ending of the movie starts with the innocence of Sanjay Mishra and Seema Pahwa enjoying a vacation in the hills. They are happy, joyous and are bubbling with energy. In the end, he jumps of a cliff but the movie doesn’t end with a body burst open on a rock. It ends with Sanjay flying through the sky. It ends with a riveting rhetoric of breaking through the manacles of life. Leaving the baggage of the body and simply flowing into the end, an end of shackled life. The movie doesn’t scream about the bearings of poverty and the world, it sings through and hits you when you least expect it. The ending doesn’t celebrate a suicide or promotes taking one’s life, it just lets you through the relief Sanjay sketches in his mind.
11. English Vinglish (2012)
It was so much more than just a Sri Devi’s comeback movie. The issue was so inherent to Indians as a society that it never felt like an issue ever. This movie realised the essence of the issue, the life beyond language and between relationships. The ending in the first instance seems cute and a very sweet one. Then Sri Devi’s character Shashi starts to recite a poem she has written in english, a language she has recently learnt. The poem is very simple and expresses all the emotions she feels in a subtle manner. It is not the poem that would make the audience reach for tissues but the way she recites it gets you. She recites with such emotions and honesty like she actually knows the feeling of embarrassment, embarrassment of not being able to speak english. The director Gauri Shinde perfectly crafts each verse and makes every one realise the emotions of A Housewife whose loved but somewhere in the grants of care is taken for granted.
10. Talvar (2015)
Meghna Gulzar had quite a task in her hand. She had to make a movie about a murder case made popular by the strange circumstances and the media’s obsession. She broke the linearity of the subject and made a strong case of an opinion. In the ending scene, the movie dismisses the notion of the the right or wrong; it focusses on one single argument that the police mismanaged the case and Meghna Gulzar couldn’t have done it any better. By the stroke of Irrfan khan as the police officer, he makes some brilliant arguments which not only makes you think but also makes you really sad. The despicable fact that a father couldn’t even mourn the death of her daughter for he was accused of killing her in all conscience is hard hitting. The ending of the movie is a reflection of the society we have become, ephemeral with our empathy and the ugly truth that the media can blunt a truth to rake viewership. The ending of the movie is really heart rendering, it doesn’t make you cry but wrenches every inch of your soul making you feel way worse.
9. Rang de Basanti (2006)
It is an iconic movie and is bound to make every list that constitutes the greats of Hindi movies. The movie seems to be a youthful drama with its humour and love. But it takes a sombre turn and even before you know it, it stands on the pavement of death and grief. The ending scene, mellifluously brings the ghosts of the past and the pain of the present to a deserting end. It gives you the hard knock of reality. It makes you realise the faltering ways of life and compels you to take notice of things that have been swept under the rug. The ending scene, is poetry. A poetry carved by a knife on the skin of life. A verse brushing the impudent nature of our society. The movie in it’s all brilliance, makes you think and wonder Why?
8. Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006)
The beauty of the movie lies in its simplicity. Every actor is a theatre artist and that makes every scene of the movie really authentic. The ending scene is the revenge of the middle class family from a feudal lord in the frame of Boman Irani and the scene is as convincing as it comes. The cheater gets cheated and the world is restored with its balance. The conversation scene between Anupam Kher and Boman Irani is not only hilarious but is embedded with simplicity. The movie never gets over the top and that is the life of the movie. The ending seems subtle until the actors spread their wings and deliver the end. The movie is a delight for the humour of the sorrows that is the life of a middle class family.
7. Kahaani (2012)
The movie is a revelation in itself for the movie is shouldered by a Woman protagonist for the entire stretch of the movie. For an industry obsessed with its “Men shall save the Day” attitude, this movie is in itself a revolution. The ending scene delves into the suspense of Vidya and the men who killed her husband. In the beautiful chaos of Durga Puja, the Director Sujoy Ghosh creates a ripple that subsequently reveals itself in layers. The ending scene showcases the art of cinematography and builds on the ways of Stanley Kubrick for building a suspense by the music and camera dimensions.
6. Ugly (2013)
The ending of the movie is not something that is unheard of. A child is kidnapped in the starting of the movie and is found dead in the end. It is an emotional situation to think of but it is not something that would take hold of the eyes. So then why does this movie make this list? Well the answer is the way it arrives to the ending. The ending reverbs a single argument that if even one of the characters would have not succumbed to their greed and would have thought about the little child, she could have been alive. But everyone was busy using the facade of the kidnapping to garner their interests. The scene where the girl is rubbished in the dumpster, is reeling. The scene makes every single person watching drenched with guilt. It makes you feel like that watching the girl in that dumpster is somehow your fault. The ending scene is not ugly, it is beautiful. It just makes the audience feel ugly.
5. Udaan (2010)
A movie brushed on a canvas of poetry, is a beautiful rendition of a father-son turbulent relation. Every scene of the movie is original and the music reflects the gorgeousness of the movie. Vikramaditya Motwane, has made this movie with all his heart and it is breathtaking. The ending scene, depicts the son running away from the manacles of his dogmatic father aka Ronit Roy. In the preliminary scene, the son edged in frustration hits his father and runs off. The violence has etched from the brutality of his father. Until this day, when he sets off. It is not a chase, it is a scene where the son finally gathers strength to fly. Fly away from the shackles of his father’s nest and embark on a journey of his life. The ending scene is a release of the pent up frustration brooding inside.
4. Mother India (1957)
A Mehboob Khan classic, it is known for its ending scene. The over confident son Sunil Dutt is sure that his mother wont shoot him even though he is trying to force his way through a woman. The audience is pretty sure that the very woman aka Nargis won’t shoot the man she gave birth to. She warns him to stop the disgusting act and walk away, in his brash attitude he keeps ignoring her warning until she actually shoots him. It is the story of a woman who had to shoot her only son, the very reason why she didd’t die, why she kept fighting the ways of the world and poverty. She kills her very reason of life, for righteousness and justice rakes way higher than love for her dear child. The movie set in the hinges of early India of 1950s, depicts the struggles of Indians and the misguided notions of youth.
3. Anand (1971)
The ending scene of the movie Anand is the reason, Rajesh Khanna’s career was resurrected. It was the reason, writers started taking Amitabh Bachchan seriously. It is the very reason Hrishikesh Mukherjee became the legend he is considered today. Such was the impact of that scene, in all its simplicity it did something that brushed on with words and ended with shattered hearts. The scene depicts the dying Rajesh Khanna, in his frail body trying to console Amitabh that it is okay, for everyone has to die someday. It’s just his time came soon enough. Imagine the depth of a scene where the dying is consoling the bereaving, to make such a moving scene it needed the brilliance of Hrishikesh Mukherjee. And the simple crafty words edged by Hrishikesh Mukherjee it does exactly that.
2. Pyaasa (1957)
‘Pyaasa’ is every poet’s reeling words. It is a movie so beautiful that even the scenes which are overshadowed by the lack of perfect lighting still seem breathtaking for the imagination of Guru Dutt. Guru Dutt could make a scene scream. Even today, Guru Dutt is known for his dramatic entry in a theatre in his quilt, where the lights outline his pain. This is the ending scene which makes it deserving of this position. If you are in love with the Tyrion’s scene of “I wish I was the kind of monster you think I am” in Game Of Thrones, then you have to see this scene where Guru Dutt announces his disgust for the world which is drenched in greed and hate. This scene is for all those Hollywood wannabes that think Indian movies are banal and lack depth. The ending scene makes you realise the sheer genius of Guru Dutt and it makes you literally “Pyaasa” for more.
1. Mera Naam Joker (1970)
Master Piece of Indian cinema, this movie is the reason we have an industry today. For it gave the freedom to people to think beyond the realm of India. It gave them a perspective, a brush to sketch their dreams. A movie about the daredevils and the self less comics or as the movie calls it ‘Joker’ is at the top of the most amazing ending scenes in the history of Indian cinema. The ending scene is purely depicted not in the music, not in the reaction of the audience but in the eyes of Raj Kapoor, watch the scene simply focussed on his eyes and you will realise how amazing are the ways of eyes and the seamless transitions Raj Kapoor does from sadness to laughter in a blink of a second and makes you believe every inch of it. The movie is a guide to Magnum Opus. But always remember making a Magnum Opus always comes at a Price.
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