Top 10 Movies Watched in 2022

1. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) 

2. First Cow (2019) 

3. Minari (2020) 

4. Decision to Leave (2022) 

5. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) 

6. The Worst Person in the World (2021) 

7. Nope (2022) 

8. Luca (2021) 

9. Babysitter (2022) 

10. Nocturnal Animals (2016) 

Roshni, andhere mein

Seldom do we celebrate ad films, or commercials. But I'd love to give a shoutout to a really special one, since it celebrates movies, rather the movie watching experience in theaters. 

"Iss andhere mein bahut roshni hai (there's light in this darkness)" - the poem by Vineet Panchhi, featured in the PVR ad is something that connects with me - with all of us cinema lovers, I'm sure - on a subliminal level. It has been filmed to celebrate the completion of 25 years of the PVR Cinema chain in India, and stars Aamir Khan, our favorite.

The emotions that the audience in a darkened auditorium traverses, as the magic of movies unfolds on the big screen, the bonding with cinema, escaping to a fantasy world, when the lights go down.... all these have been brilliantly conveyed in this short film, in the voiceover by Aamir Khan. 

After having watched it across social media, I had to watch it on the big screen (at PVR, where else) as I was told by my good friend Sayantan that it was showing before the screening of 'Laal Singh Chaddha', starring Aamir Khan (which I rushed to watch for the second time, essentially for that promotional), and it brought such joy! Kudos to the makers! 

I need to mention here that I was also reminded of the unforgettable Tom Cruise speech at the 2002 Oscars which celebrated the movie watching experience. People's habits have changed, cinema has evolved, watching movies is no longer the same (nor is it expected to remain the same over the years), but the thrill and the joy at the movies can always be cherished, the PVR ad does bring back the memories of all the good times.

Black and White fascination

The fascination with black and white films is real and ever present even in the recent times, long after they have stopped being the norm with the technological progress ushering films in color, as witnessed in our love and appreciation for the following special favorites - all from the 21st century. These are my very own special favorites (note: just three of them have used minimal scenes or sequences in color as special highlights, blends or contrasts), the ones I consider myself lucky to have feasted my eyes on. Here's the list (all of them are worth watching and absolute delights), not in any order of preference though: 

Roma (2018)

The Lighthouse (2019) 

Nebraska (2013)

Frances Ha (2012)

The Artist (2011) 

Blue Jay (2016)

Cold War (2018) 

Polytechnique (2009) 

Mank (2020) 

Passing (2021)

Control (2007)

Grass (2018)

Belfast (2021)

Malcolm & Marie (2021)

Elisa & Marcela (2019)

Mustang Island (2017)

The Good German (2006)

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)

13 Tzameti (2005)

Frankenweenie (2012)

Persepolis (2007)

The Man from London (2007)

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) 

The Forty-Year-Old-Version (2020) 

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009) 

The heart knows what it seeks - in love with Main Ki Karaan

First love, especially the stirrings that happen in our childhood, is mostly the purest and the best, since it's blemishless and platonic. The innocence and the sweetness of it is so beautifully captured in the song "Main ki karaan" from 'Laal Singh Chaddha' (2022). 

Kudos to Amitabh Bhattacharya - who had penned it, Pritam - who has set it to tune, Sonu Nigam (and Romy) - for singing it with such passion and honesty, and Aamir Khan - for the magical voiceover at the beginning of the song! 

Fulminations, reverberations

Memories are bullets embedded in our souls, he said. 

He couldn't have been more right, I reason.

We must have had a common connect via memories that pain us, scar us, betray our fake projections of wellness. He is a doctor after all, isn't he supposed to know all that one needs to know about the painkillers? I wonder. Nothing can remedy the ill-feeling that's harboured deep within then. 

Denials, suppression - aided by the so-called positivity tools - nothing sticks on. Derailment of our goals of moving on and of overcoming of all toxicity from the past is bound to happen. The tormentors keep appearing in many avatars. They morph like shapeshifters into fresher beings that we may choose to put our trust in. 

We are cursed. Neither of us have been able to break the cycle. I am cursed because of getting stuck in the perpetual loop that stems from inertia of rest, plagued by mammoth vulnerability. He possibly finds the cyclical repetition In his offsprings' haplessness. 

Let's take a moment to feel sorry for each other.

Hindi films: More than 50 years of Parallel Cinema; 50 select films

50 years, 50 select films 

1. Bhuvan Shome (1969) 

2. Aashād Ka Ek Din (1971) 

3. Achanak (1973) 

4. Aavishkār (1974) 

5. Rajnigandha (1974) 

6. Tumhara Kalloo (1975) 

7. Nishant (1975) 

8. Manthan (1976) 

9. Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977) 

10. Bhumika (1977) 

11. Gaman (1978) 

12. Sparsh (1980) 

13. Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai (1980) 

14. Aakrosh (1980) 

15. Umrao Jaan (1981) 

16. Chakra (1981) 

17. Arth (1982) 

18. Ardh Satya (1983) 

19. Mandi (1983) 

20. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) 

21. Saaransh (1984) 

22. Andhi Gali (1984) 

23. Khandhar (1984) 

24. Party (1984) 

25. Paar (1984) 

26. Utsav (1985) 

27. Holi (1984) 

28. Mirch Masala (1985) 

29. Khamosh (1985) 

30. Trikāl (1985) 

31. Ek Din Achanak (1989) 

32. Raakh (1989) 

33. Drishti (1990) 

34. Disha (1990) 

35. Nazar (1991) 

36. Kasba (1991) 

37. Dharavi (1991) 

38. Suraj Ka Sātvān Ghoda (1992) 

39. Rudaali (1993) 

40. Maaya Memsaab (1993) 

41. Bandit Queen (1994) 

42. Mammo (1994) 

43. Daayra (1996) 

44. Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003) 

45. Black Friday (2004) 

46. Dhobi Ghāt (2010) 

47. Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010) 

48. Peepli Live (2010) 

49. Delhi Belly (2011) 

50. Mukti Bhawan (2016)