December 31, 2010 : Vijay Krishna Archarya
Inception: “It cerebrally reinvented the heist film.”
Dabangg: “For its unabashed celebration of desi-ness.”
Do Dooni Chaar: “Authentic middleclass voice and Rishi Kapoor’s pitch-perfect performance.”
Abhishek Choubey
Love Sex Aur Dhokha(LSD): “Uncompromising.”
Udaan: “Intense, great rendition.”
Tere Bin Laden: “Funny yet pertinent.”
Vikramaditya Motwane
LSD, Tere Bin Laden and Harishchandrachi Factory: “They were all original engaging unpredictable.”
Kabir Khan
Do Dooni Chaar: “Brilliant performances, superb writing.”
Dabangg: “Sheer sense of joy and filmy excitement.Above all, the incomparable charm of Salman Khan.”
Udaan: “Real uncompromised, honest.”
Anusha Rizvi
Dabangg: “Made rustic look cool and infused masala back into our films.”
LSD: “An exploration of a new kind of cinema sensibility and telling stories that we know.”
Tere Bin Laden/Phans Gaya Re Obama: “For their audacity and irreverence.”
Rajkumar Gupta
Udaan, Peepli(LIVE): “Debutant director, small budget, big idea.These 2 films touched my heart.”
LSD: “The only film that made me uncomfortable in my seat”
Nishikant Kamat
Udaan: “Great father-son relationship, intricate emotions.”
Tere Bin Laden: “Fresh storytelling, cute humour nice set of fresh faces.”
Phans Gaye Re Obama: “Fantastic black humour, good take on global economic meltdown and its impact on the kidnapping industry.”
Rensil d’Silva
Inception: “Truly groundbreaking concept and execution.It takes a heist concept to an entirely new level.”
Shutter Island: “Martin Scorcese can do no wrong.”
Ishqiya: “Great performances and music.”
Sajid Khan
The A Team: “I’m a fan of the tv show.I wasn’t let down by the film version.”
The American: “It was unpredictable and different.”
The Expendables: “Old is still gold.”
Ken Ghosh
Band Baaja Baaraat: “Excellent direction, writing and acting.”
Dabangg: “For Chulbul and Munni.”
Udaan: “Loved its restrained effective storytelling.”
Sujoy Ghosh
Dabangg: “Salman Khan.It was the most iconic performance in a longtime.A complete entertainer.”
Ishqiya: “The thrill of watching Naseerji, Arshad and Vidya.”
Udaan: “Beautiful story told so well. Hats off to debutant director Vikramaditya Motwane.”
Nagesh Kukunoor
Udaan: Best film of 2010. Great performances, solid direction, heart felt movie!
Peepli Live – Indian audiences can be receptive to “non commercial” fare. Of course it took an Aamir to take it to them. Gutsy film, real actors, docu feel.
Dabangg – Enjoyable commercial Indian cinema that I grew up with in the 70’s. An over the top hero, good music, great lines, and excellent direction! Being true to its genre without any pretence.
Bhavna Talwar
Ishqiya,Do Dooni Chaar, Udaan and Band Baaja Baaraat
Sohail Makhlai(producer)
Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Raajneeti and Dabangg
Balki
Band Baaja Baaraat, Udaan and Robot
Priyadarshan
“None”
Sangeeth Sivan
Dabangg: “It took me back to old-style film entertainment which had got lost in the NRI-multiplex culture. Salman Khan’s involvement with the film made it special.”
Guzaarish: “For the performances and for the passion of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.”
3 Idiots: “Though released in 2009 I saw it late.Hirani narrates the story with such simplicity. High entertainment value.
Tigmanshu Dhulia
Ishqiya: “Fresh moments great music and terrifc mix of Naseerbhai,Arshad and Vidya.
Do Dooni Chaar: “Warm and real portrayal of the middleclass. Interesting casting of Rishi-Neetu.
Tere Bin Laden: “Fresh script superb performance…All three films did reasonably well and were made by first-time directors. Great going. The future looks bright and secure.”
Sheetal Talwar(producer)
Rann: “What it showed is no coming true in the Radia tapes.”
Dabangg: “It showed the entertainment power of traditional Hindi cinema.”
Raajneeti: “Director’s conviction and genius.”
Soham Shah
Robot: “Full paisa vasool”
Dabangg: “Salman, Salman & Salman”
Golmaal3: “Hilarious enterainment.Lived up toexpectations.”
Subhash Kapoor
LSD: “Innovative narrative style”
Peepli(LIVE): “Dealt with a serious theme humorously.”
Udaan: “For its honesty and simplicity.”
Subhash Ghai
Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai: “Retro feel”
Dabangg: “The protagonist and the earthiness made it worth the while”
Udaan: “Refreshing.”
Abhishek Sharma
LSD: “Experiment with content, structure and medium worked.A great commercial model for filmmakers.”
Phans Gaya Re Obama: “Sharp wit and satire.It tackled the dry subject of recession in the most entertaining manner.”
Dabangg: “Salman Khan entertained all by himself.”
Bhooshan Kumar
Dabangg, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and Tees Maar Khan: they had superb music.
Amole Gupte
Udaan: “Astute”
LSD: “Effective content in new form.”
Tere Bin Laden: “Roaring laughter pill.”
Habib Faizal
Udaan, LSD, Peepli(live): “Honesty, novelty and entertainment”. And if I am allowed half a movie more,then I loved the first-half of Dabangg.”
Sanjay Gadhvi
Dabangg: “Salman Khan”
Love Sex Aur Dhokha: “Loved its audacity.”
Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai: “Direction and storytelling”
Siddharth Malhotra
Udaan: “The honesty of the film and the relationships were most effective.”
We Are Family: “It is my debut film.No matter what the reviews it touched people’s hearts.”
My Name Is Khan: “After Kuch Kuch Hota Hai I rate this as Karan Johar’s best work.”
Kunal Kohli
Dabangg: “Loved Salman and everything about Dabangg.”
Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai: “Director Milan Luthria, and the performances by Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi were fab.
Raajneeti: “Everyone’s performance was lovely. Great masala film.Loved the setting.”
Abhishek Kapoor
Udaan: “Filmmaking at its finest.”
Dabangg: “Salman at his entertaining best.”
LSD: “Loved its originality.”
Tarun Mansukhani
My Name Is Khan: “It is a story that needed to be told.”
Udaan: “It saw the emergence of a significant new director Vikramaditya Motwane
Tere Bin Laden: “Small budgeted but big on laughs.Terrific performances and good comedy”
Dabangg: “Salman’s hysterical star power, his lovable characterization,brilliant songs, desi cinema back on the track.”
Golmaal3: “Ajay Devgn again at ease in comedy, a fun-filled joyride”
Tere Bin Laden: “Original.”
David Dhawan
Once Upon A Time In Mumbai: “Loved the recreation of the 1970s and the music and performances.”
Dabangg: “Salman,Zindabad!”
Udaan: “Fresh innovative the voice of tomorrow.”
Sudhir Mishra
Udaan: “An honest and stark father-son story with an outstanding performance by Ronit Roy.”
Peepli(Live): “Proved that a tale of poverty can be told humorously.I loved the way Anusha Rizvi presented the characters.”
Ishqiya: “An irreverent erotic tale told with much passion and humour. It had a memorable female character played by Vidya Balan.Arshad Warsi was outstanding. I rate Arshad in this and film and Ronit in Udaan as the 2 best performances of the year.”
Anees Bazmi
Dabangg, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai , Raajneeti: All three provided great entertainment value.
Madhur Bhandarkar
Guzaarish: “Its sheer beauty left me breathless.”
Dabangg: “Paisa Vasool.”
Golmaal3: “A laugh riot.”
–Subhash K Jha / Sampurn Wire
