1. Vaaranam Aayiram – A truly touching tale of a father son relationship told with maximum reality. The mannerisms of Surya as the father, 16 year old, student, drug addict, army man were absolutely fantastic. Gautham Menon’s tribute to his father had me thinking about the relationship I had shared with my dad. A once in a lifetime film with brilliant performances, great music and good direction makes it my pick for top movie of 2008.
2. Dasavatharam – When you thought you have seen it all, well think again. Kamal Hassan in 10 roles promised Dasavatharam would be a spectacle and it was nothing less. Though the movie had a lot of loop holes and fell flat at places, an out of the world performance by Kamal Hassan along with some catchy numbers made up for the mistakes.
3. Subramaniyapuram – A touching but violent tale of friendship, love, betrayal and revenge told in the backdrop of Madurai of the 1980’s. Excellent performance by the lead cast with trend setting music especially the Kangal Irandal song along with a good storyline and a perfectionist director made Subramaniyapuram the biggest dark horse of 2008 despite its shoe string budget.
4. Saroja – The young energetic team of Chennai 600028 came back with an edge of the seat thriller. Good storyline of friendship woven into a thriller thread and nice doses of humour, power packed screenplay, good music and fantastic direction makes Saroja one of Kollywood’s finest thrillers. The near to perfect casting and good performances backs up the good production values.
5. Anjathey – A story of friendship, love, evil and fight to be on the top told in a fresh manner. Good sensible script, good music and able direction backed up by brilliant performances makes Anjathey a delightful watch. It is a refreshing change from cliched hero oriented movies. The movie talks about how friends became foes and what it takes to be brave.
1. Veruthe Oru Bharya – A light hearted everyday tale about male chauvinism with a good dosage of humour, good screenplay and excellent dialogues bound together by excellent performance by the cast. It is the story of an uncompromising egoistic husband who wants to keep his lively wife under check. The wife on the other hand tries to adjust to stipulations set on her but in vain. This movie is fittingly the best movie of 2008.
2. Thirakkatha – This movie can be described in one word as fresh. A truly touching story about stardom, love, separation, secrets and betrayal told with a different narrative style backed up by strong and powerful performances by Prithviraj, Priyamani and Anoop Menon. The movie, said to be based on the love story of Kamal Hassan and Srividya, is a journey through the world of glitz and glamour and the unknown secrets.
3. Calcutta News – A story about a news reporter fighting a large scale prostitution racket told in the backdrop of urban Kolkata. Though the story is far fetched and unreal, Calcutta News makes a good watch because of the skilled direction of Blessy, eye catching cinematography and good performances. The movie didn’t do too well in the box office, but it was a change from the usual no brainers.
4. Thalappavu – A story based on the real life confessions of a constable about the killing of a naxalite leader. It is neither the typical commercial cinema nor is it an art film. With excellent performance from the cast and good direction and eye catching cinematography, the movie makes a good emotional watch.
5. Madambi – The story of a feudal lord revolving around his uncompromising attitude when it comes to dealing with money. Though it is a typical commercial film on a tried formula, it works because the story is simple and uncomplicated. With many light hearted moments, slight doses of emotion and Mohanlal, the movie makes an engaging watch.
5 – The first ever Indian constructors team in F1. The launch of Force India F1 Team owned by Vijay Mallya.
4 – Saina Nehwal breaks into top 10 rankings in badminton and becomes first Indian to do so.
3 – India overpowering world champions Australia and reclaiming the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
2 – India’s dream run in the Olympics powered by Abhinav Bindra, Susheel Kumar and Vijinder Kumar.
1 – Vishwanathan Anand is crowned the World Champion in Chess defeating Vladimir Kramnik.
According to me, these are the top 5 sporting moments in 2008 which brought us glory. Sorry if I have missed any more significant name/event.
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