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Other websites will do boring “Top 5 movies of 2007″ lists at the end of the year. At BasKya, we are much more creative, and we are doing the list 5 months early^[1]. Go to the other websites if you want 24×7 coverage of The Sanjay Show; come to BasKya for the in-depth analysis that we are famous for.

Dr. Shilpa Shetty (Pic source, full-size)

#5. I, Proud to be Indian:

The story of a down-on-her-luck movie starlet, Shilpa Shetty^[2], who gets a last chance to hit stardom via the Celebrity Big Brother show in UK. The inspiring tale of how she overcomes insurmountable obstacles and converts her main weakness (her brown skin) into her main strength definitely make this the number 1 feel good movie of the year. It has easily managed to whip up more nationalistic spirit amongst the Indian viewers than Swades and Rang De Basanti put together.

#4. Apna Sapna Money Money:

This laugh-a-minute slapstick comedy follows the antics of a bunch of incompetent idiots who become BCCI officials by mistake. Hilarity ensues. The firing-Greg-Chappell-and-hiring-Graham-Ford extended sequence is destined to become a modern comedy classic - reminiscent of classic pie-throwing sequences^[3] with bystanders (like Harbhajan, Sehwag) also joining into the fray.

#3. Documentary: The Agricultural crisis in Maharashtra

While the rest of Bollywood was busy churning out escapist fare with fake fights, item numbers and puppy love, this documentary dared to move the viewer with the plight of the farmers in Maharashtra^[4]. It follows three farmers, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, and Jitendra through the trials and tribulations they suffer at the hands of greedy money-grubbing politicians, mediapersons more interested in viewership than the truth, and most unkindly, the hurt caused to them by their own fellow farmers. A must-see for anybody who wants to see great acting performances.

Mrs. Abhishek Bachchan (nee Aishwarya Rai) (Pic source)

#2. Vivaah:

This multi-starrer with a star-cast consisting of Amitabh, Abhishek, Aishwarya, (and Jaya Bachchan in a special role) was guaranteed box office success and it did not disappoint. Instead of having a single scary villain, the idea of having the entire press corps playing a negative role was inspired, and paid rich dividends. The only low point of the movie was newcomer Jahnavi Kapoor in the role of the ‘other woman’. She was unconvincing, and the lack of screen presence hurt her. There are rumors that her screen time was reduced at the behest of Aishwarya. BasKya is of the opinion that having an established star in that role, like Karisma Kapoor, would have been much better received by the audience.

And the number 1 movie of 2007…

#1. Ek Ruka Hua Faisla:

This court-room drama about the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts was lifted out of mediocrity with a powerful role by Sanjay Dutt. The plot is rather ghisa-pita - the troubled youth who gets into drugs and then gets sucked into the Mumbai underworld has been done much better earlier. But this one had the advantage of a much better publicity blitz, with the help of media partners Aaj Tak and Times of India. And while there are some negative reviews, response from the audiences has been mostly positive. While some trade analysts claim that its popularity was hurt by not having a female lead, BasKya firmly believes that it enhanced the realism and grittiness of the drama; the final scene where Sanjay Dutt’s character is sentenced had the whole nation on tenterhooks. It is rare that a serious movie like this has captured the imagination of the nation.

Actually, this article has nothing to do with Priyanka Chopra, but lets face it - all Bollywood magazines and websites (not to mention the last page of the Times of India) put gratuitous photos of scantily clad actresses that have very little to do with the article. Who am I to buck the trend started by such fine and successful publications? (Pic source, full-size)

[1] Turns out that I am not as creative as I thought. Akshay Shah has already done a “Top-5 movies of the middle of 2007″ type of post.

[2]Shilpa Shetty is now a PhD and has her own perfume

[3] While researching when and how pie-throwing became a staple of slapstick comedy I came across the factoid that the Laurel and Hardy short film Battle of the Century required 4000 pies.

[4] For a more serious look at the real plight of the farmers in Maharashtra, take a look at this blog post and this associated report. The report is a fact-filled analysis of the agricultural crisis facing Maharashtra. And this is another report of the woes of rural Andhra Pradesh; I like this report a little less, but it is still very intriguing and worth reading.