INTRODUCTION
I have done blogging my own version of Filmfare for seven straight years. Since the late 1990s, I have observed and got annoyed on many occasions when I witnessed the prestigious awards show of Filmfare losing its credibility. Therefore, I have been managing to scrutinize and make my own list of honors who, I believe, deserved the most and need to be recognized.
Since 2014, I have been passing my annual report of Bollywood’s best every year. My Bollywood’s best had 21 categories that are segregated into three different sections which are musical (5), technical (10), and major (6) sections. This time, I have added one more category in technical that is ‘Best Makeup & Hairstyling’. I felt that is the need of the hour as things have changed and improved in the Hindi-film industry.
And yes, the industry is changing, in a sense that the new generation of writers and directors, a collective group of veteran actors and new artists, are trying to do new and attract the audience in the industry. Just, for example, Kajol picked a pretty different film last year, Tribhanga. Akshay Kumar, out of the equation, played a supporting role in Atrangi Re which is quite not his thing. Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi, with all the highly talented ensemble cast, got the critical acclaim it deserved. A few years ago, this wasn’t possible due to a large inclination towards mainstream cinema. But now we observe flexibility and the audience is willing to try innovative.
MY BOLLYWOOD’S BEST OF THE PAST YEARS
Those who want to read my previous annual reports of Bollywood’s best, click on any of the following links:
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
SELECTED HINDI FILMS FOR THE 2021 ANNUAL REPORT
For music, I keep my options open and there is no limit to the number of films because quality work in music can happen in any film. But besides music, I chose the following Hindi films released last year under my scrutiny to judge for all the categories:
Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi, Pagglait, Tribhanga, Nail Polish, Kaagaz, 12’o’Clock, Jamun, The Girl on the Train, Bombay Rose, Ahaan, Sandeep aur Pinky Faraar, Silence… Can You Hear It?, Milestone, Sardar Ka Grandson, Skater Girl, Sherni, Haseen Dilruba, Toofan, Mimi, Dial 100, Shershaah, 200 Halla Ho, Chehre, Thalaivii, Ankahi Kahaniya, Rashmi Rocket, Sardar Udham, Hum Do Hamaare Do, 83, Dhamaka, Atrangi Re, and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui.
HOW MY ANNUAL REPORT IS PREPARED?
So how do I work myself as a film critic honoring in the blogs every year?
- I judge and pass my reviews of the selected films.
- After watching each and every selected film, I make notes about the plusses and minuses, and further note down in what categories these films qualify.
- From this year, each of the 22 categories will have a maximum of 5 nominations and for the first time in eight years, I will now rank my nominations. No more ‘Other Notable Works’ or ‘Special Mention’. If I feel I need to write a few lines in any category, I will.
- After I am done with honors, I will write down the total number of nominations and wins submitted in my report as stat fun.
MY BOLLYWOOD’S BEST OF 2021
The wait is over…
Allow me to honor Bollywood’s artistic and technical excellence in 2021 according to Sami Naik.
MUSICAL SECTION
BEST BACKGROUND SCORE
A.R.RAHMAN (ATRANGI RE)
2nd. Shantanu Moitra (Sardar Udham)
3rd. Benedict Taylor & Naren Chandavarkar (Sherni)
4th. Sanjay Wandrekar (Nail Polish)
BEST MALE PLAYBACK SINGER
HARICHARAN SESHADRI (TERE RANG – ATRANGI RE)
2nd. Jubin Nautiyal (Hanjugam – Bhuj: The Pride of India)
3rd. B Praak (Raanjha – Shershaah)
BEST FEMALE PLAYBACK SINGER
SAINDHAVI PRAKASH (NAIN BANDHE NAINO SE – THALAIVII)
2nd. Priya Saraiya (Kalle Kalle – Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui)
3rd. Shreya Ghoshal (Chaka Chak – Atrangi Re)
BEST SONG & LYRICS
RAANJHA (JASLEEN ROYAL, B PRAAK, ROMY, ANVITA DUTT – SHERSHAAH)
2nd. Tere Rang (Haricharan Seshadri, Shreya Ghoshal, Irshad Kamil, A.R.Rahman – Atrangi Re)
3rd. Ananya (Arijit Singh, Javed Akhtar, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy – Toofan)
4th. Nain Bandhe Naino Se (Saindhavi Prakash, Irshad Kamil, G. V. Prakash Kumar – Thalaivii)
5th. Main Teri Ho Gayi (Millind Gaba, Pallavi Gaba, Happy Raikoti, Tanishk Bagchi – Sardar Ka Grandson)
BEST MUSIC
A. R. RAHMAN (ATRANGI RE)
2nd. Tanishk Bagchi, Jasleen Royal, Javed-Mohsin, Vikram Montrose, B Praak (Shershaah)
3rd. Sachin-Jigar & Tanishk Bagchi (Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui)
TECHNICAL SECTION
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
DEEPALI NOOR & NEETA LULLA (THALAIVII)
2nd. Veera Kapur (Sardar Udham)
3rd. Shivank Kapoor (Chehre)
4th. Rohit Chaturvedi (Pagglait)
5th. Darshan Jalan & Manish Tiwari (Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi)
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
PATTANAM RASHEED, RAMESH MOHANTY & SURESH MOHANTY (THALAIVII)
2nd. Vikram Gaekwad & Mariann Coletta (83)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
PRIYA SUHAS (CHEHRE)
2nd. Parijat Poddar (Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi)
3rd. Priya Ahluwaliya (Skater Girl)
4th. Devika Dave (Sherni)
5th. Mansi Dhruv Mehta & Dmitrii Malich (Sardar Udham)
BEST SOUND DESIGN
ANISH JOHN (SHERNI)
2nd. Dipankar Jojo Chaki & Nihar Ranjan Samal (Sardar Udham)
3rd. Manas Choudhary (Dhamaka)
BEST EDITING
SANDEEP SETHY (SILENCE… CAN YOU HEAR IT?)
2nd. Sangeeth Varghese (The Girl on the Train)
3rd. Jabeen Merchant (Tribhanga)
4th. Chandrashekhar Prajapati (Sardar Udham)
5th. Deepika Kalra (Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
ANGELLO FACCINI (MILESTONE)
2nd. Avik Mukhopadhyay (Sardar Udham)
3rd. Tribhuvan Babu Sadineni (The Girl on the Train)
4th. Rakesh Haridas (Sherni)
5th. Rafey Mahmood (Pagglait)
BEST ACTION
STEFAN RITCHER & SUNIL RODRIQUES (SHERSHAAH)
BEST STORY
MANJARI MAKIJANY & VINATI MAKIJANY (SKATER GIRL)
2nd. Aastha Tiku (Sherni)
3rd. Renuka Shahane (Tribhanga)
4th. Umesh Bist (Pagglait)
5th. Laxman Utekar & Rohan Shankar (Mimi)
BEST SCREENPLAY
ABAN BARUCHA DEOHANS (SILENCE… CAN YOU HEAR IT?)
2nd. Ivan Ayr & Neel Manikant (Milestone)
3rd. Manjari Makijany & Vinati Makhijany (Skater Girl)
4th. Seema Pahwa (Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi)
5th. Nadja Damouchel & Gitanjali Rao (Bombay Rose)
BEST DIALOGUES
SEEMA PAHWA (RAMPRASAD KI TEHRVI)
2nd. Bugs Bhargava & Sudeep Naik (Nail Polish)
3rd. Yashaswi Mishra & Amit V. Masurkar (Sherni)
4th. Asad Hussain (Bombay Rose)
5th. Ranjit Kapoor & Rumy Jafry (Chehre)
BEST SCENE
JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE (SARDAR UDHAM)
There can be no better scene than dramatizing this horrifying part of pre-independence history. This scene was kept on wait after two hours well spent on developing the story and Udham’s character in entirety. The intensity and provocation of that bloodshed were extremely detailed. This scene was deliberately shot violent. The graphic detailing of this three-minute scene full of gunshots and painful cries was more savage than what Lord Attenborough showed in Gandhi. It was a scene that boiled the emotions and broke the hearts. Udham’s commentary about his fury for this incident all this time made his case.
2nd. Sardar Revisiting her Lahore House (Sardar Ka Grandson)
3rd. Sandy Loses Her Child (Sandeep aur Pinky Faraar)
4th. Arjun Thakur Recovering from Vomitting (Dhamaka)
5th. The revelation of Maanvi (Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui)
MAJOR SECTION
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
PARESH RAWAL (TOOFAN)
2nd. Manoj Pahwa (Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi)
3rd. Arjun Rampal (Nail Polish)
4th. Raghubir Yadav (Pagglait)
5th. Vijay Raaz (Sherni)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
SAKSHI TANWAR (DIAL 100)
2nd. Sheeba Chaddha (Pagglait)
3rd. Amruta Subhash (Dhamaka)
4th. Tanvi Azmi (Tribhanga)
5th. Kirti Kulhari (The Girl on the Train)
BEST ACTOR
VICKY KAUSHAL (SARDAR UDHAM)
Vicky as Sardar will be remembered as one of the best performances in Hindi cinema for this new decade. You feel pain when his portrayal agonizes. There is much discomfort to watch his rage and hatred for British Imperialism and he has perfected that genuity you want to watch in the films about Indian freedom against the British. His tense courtroom scene of justification and in a lengthy struggle of saving many lives after the massacre are the best examples of Vicky’s notable performance.
2nd. Manav Kaul (Nail Polish)
3rd. Raghubir Yadav (Jamun)
4th. Manoj Bajpayee (Silence… Can You Hear It?)
5th. Pankaj Tripathi (Kaagaz)
BEST ACTRESS
PARINEETI CHOPRA (SANDEEP AUR PINKY FARAAR)
Parineeti has to be the most improved actress of the last year who gave not one but two brilliant performances. But this role, she had the grip. When a role for a woman in desperate help or seeking freedom from her misery requires a solid actress to perfect it, talented actresses like Aliya Bhatt, Taapsee, and Bhumi are coming to your mind. So Dibakar chose Parineeti and gave her the platform. You observe her when she loses her child, when she gets scared on a lot of occasions, or when she tries to escape the rape attempt. A marvelous display of mental and emotional acting.
2nd. Sanya Malhotra (Pagglait)
3rd. Shweta Basu Prasad (Jamun)
4th. Parineeti Chopra (The Girl on the Train)
5th. Kangana Ranaut (Thalaivii)
BEST DIRECTOR
SHOOJIT SIRCAR (SARDAR UDHAM)
Sardar Udham is one of the best directed Hindi films I have watched in recent years. Shoojit’s presentation makes me wonder if Sardar Udham actually is an Indian film. It is some accomplishment. The courtroom scenes, Sardar speaking about freedom alone in the park, Sardar’s quest for O’ Dwyer, and most significantly, the horrifying Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and its extremely lengthy aftermath are the bullet reasons why I feel that Shoojit has set the standards and raised the bar of directional artistry too high.
2nd. Manjari Makijany (Skater Girl)
3rd. Seema Pahwa (Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi)
4th. Bugs Bhargava (Nail Polish)
5th. Gitanjali Rao (Bombay Rose)
BEST FILM
SKATER GIRL
Believe me! Honoring the best film of the year is the most challenging judgment. And being a film critic, it is my responsibility to make a decision that supports the purpose of being the best. Milestone focused on the struggle of a broken man in the wake of tragedy; while Nail Polish highlighted a complicated criminal case. Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi was a family drama but with a real-feel dramatization. Sardar Udham shows the darker side of the freedom fighter. All these films had elements that have been watched before but were extraordinary films.
Skater Girl is a totally different rhythm and beat that sparks attraction to its audience with a fresh direction, and a catchy screenplay. A story about a village girl who finds her heart in skating after two foreigners introduce skateboarding is a genuine love story to filmmaking.
The writers spent one year getting the feel of the village and creating the characters that stamp some quality portrayals. And this is exactly why Skater Girl looks so real and close to life.
2nd. Sardar Udham
3rd. Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi
4th. Nail Polish
5th. Milestone
TABLE OF MULTIPLE WINS & NOMINATIONS
| MULTIPLE WINS & NOMINATIONS | ||
| WINS | NOMS | FILMS |
| 3 | 10 | Sardar Udham |
| 3 | 5 | Atrangi Re |
| 3 | 5 | Thalaivii |
| 2 | 5 | Skater Girl |
| 2 | 4 | Shershaah |
| 2 | 3 | Silence… Can You Hear It? |
| 1 | 8 | Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi |
| 1 | 7 | Sherni |
| 1 | 3 | Chehre |
| 1 | 3 | Milestone |
| 1 | 2 | Toofan |
| 1 | 2 | Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar |
| 1 | 1 | Dial 100 |
| 6 | Nail Polish | |
| 6 | Pagglait | |
| 4 | The Girl on the Train | |
| 3 | Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui | |
| 3 | Dhamaka | |
| 3 | Tribhanga | |
| 3 | Bombay Rose | |
| 2 | Sardar Ka Grandson | |
| 2 | Jamun | |
| 1 | Bhuj: The Pride of India | |
| 1 | 83 | |
| 1 | Mimi | |
| 1 | Kaagaz | |
Thank you for reading my annual Bollywood honors report. I will return with a new report next year. Share your opinion below. Stay safe.
Sami Naik | Film Critic 