Uttkrishtt | Results | Analysis

The day the silver screen started speaking, cinema achieved a great achievement. Since then every day cinema discovered a new shade and color. Today, cinema is one of the most important components of our blood. Saluting the best ones in the field, Uttkrishtt started its journey… an effort to enlist Top 50 Greatest Hindi Movies Ever Made in India and understand what makes a movie good enough for laurels.

After reading and analyzing the cinematic gems that break into this elite list we drew few conclusions. Have a look:

Motherly Emotions: Mothers command great respect in Indian Cinema. Movies like Mughal-e-Azam, Zakhm, Deewar and most important one, Mother India depicted child-mother relation beautifully. The scene in which Vijay dies in front of his mother (Deewar) or when Nargis as mother showers love one her spoilt kid Birju in Mother India make these movies iconic. For once I can forget how Amitabh did that godown scene or ‘mere paas maa hai’ scene but not his death scene.

Biographical Influences: We love to know about people and lifestyles, don’t we? Be it Kaagaz Ke Phool and Pyaasa telling about darker shades of Guru Dutt’s life or be it Dil Chahta Hai talking about life of youth. Be it about people who sacrificed their lives for others (Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani and Shaheed) or were controversial for some reason like Company, Zakhm and Arth. Movies with some insight into lives of people are hot cakes. People simply love them for their reality quotient and when they are able to strike a right cord; they create histories.

Epics: Lagaan and Mughal-e-Azam are two epic stories based largely on fictional accounts and interestingly broke all the records. The opportunity to see in the crystal ball is a fascination everyone carves for and epic movies give them a concrete chance to convert it into reality.

Comedies: Do you remember the Draupadi-cheer-haran scene from cult Jane Bhi Do Yaron? Ofcourse you do. How can someone forget movies like Jane Bhi Do Yaron, Golmaal and Munnabhai MBBS. They not only tickled the funny bone but were also able to escalate the cinema to another level of experience. If you still think that comedies don’t deserve to be in ‘Best Movies’ list, think of Golmaal when Amol Palekar is running from place to place to strike a balance in his life and dual character Raam-Lakshman Prasad Dashrath Prasad Sharma.

Raj-Dev-Dileep: Though Devanand’s movies didn’t make it into the list, it doesn’t depreciate his importance as an actor. In the golden era of cinema; these three names ruled. While, with Awara and Shree-420 Raj Kapoor shows his impact, Dileep Kumar stands tall with Naya Daur and Ganga Jamuna.  

Dark World: There are some corners no one wants to talk about but the movies revealing darkness gain respect. Parinda, Company, Maqbool tells about people from the crime world while Mandi, Chandni Bar, Pakeezah and Umrao Jaan talks about lives of women who are forced to earn by selling their flesh. Another movie that talks about terrorism in its infant stage- Black Friday, seems to have attained great respect in the eyes of cinema buffs. Ironic but true. These are said to be the dark zones but seems people walk a lot into them…

Society At Large: Society and movies related to patriotism usually gets hype and are loved by people. May be because they show what we want but can’t do. Rang De Basanti, Roja, Mr. India, Lagaan, Sarfarosh and Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani explored the patriotic cell of Indian public while Saaraansh, Do Aankhein Barah Haath, Kala Patthar and Achhut kanya asked us questions we always avoided. Some people liked them while some were reluctant to see the naked truth.

Paper To Projector: Making a movie out of a book/story is a difficult task. Why? Reading a book gives a personal perspective to the story while showing it means making viewer understand one’s perspective. Some movies earned the distinction and also found themselves in the list. They are Maqbool, Devdas, Parineeta, Sahab Bibi Aur Ghulam, Omkara and Umrao Jaan. Some of them were adaptations while some were totally based on the stories but there was one thing common in them. They are masterpieces.

Out Of Box: Some people dare to think and act out of box. When they do so, they churn out some of the greatest works of mankind. Who could have thought that a simple face without eyebrows can mesmerize the entire world? Monalisa did. Do Bigha Zamin, Ardhsatya, Kismet, Astitva, Bandini, Lamhe and Arth dared to enter the zone outside the typical mushy cinema and thought something beyond their time. Result… Monalisa smiled.

Public Delight: Some movies have all the masala for a great recipe and when everything clicks… some sparks flew and magic happens. Sholay, Waqt, Teesri Manzil, Rang De Basanti, Anand and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge had some ingredients that clicked and made history. One such ingredient is hope… Be it capturing Gabbar or reunion of family… Be it hope for a better life or hope against death… Or may be winning heart of a strict to-be father-in-law… Hope created magic.

Cinema of Guru Dutt and V. Shantaram: These two gentlemen always made Hindi Cinema proud on International front. Their cinema can compete with any legendary icon in any corner of this world and I have a firm belief that can beat them in their game as well. Guru Dutt’s masterpieces Sahab Bibi Aur Ghulam, Kagaz Ke Phool and Pyaasa with V. Shantaram’s Do Aankhein Barah Haath and Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani make our list confident of its merit.

Cinema has so many colors and shades that this a thousand words article is not enough. To understand there is no better alternative than watching them again and again… We hope that you liked this story and our effort to understand cinema… 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh