Best Hindi Movies of 2016 - MovieCrow Annual Rankings

1. Dangal - Nitesh Tiwari : It’s been just a week the film has released and it’s already this year’s biggest hit. This Aamir Khan starrer over-fictionalised account of Mahavir Phgoghat’s daughters Geeta and Babita’s journey to become world champions in wrestling, by Nitish Tiwai, is packed with superlative performances that makes this solid melodrama sports film even more entertaining.

2. Aligarh - Hansel Mehta

A poet scholar teacher of Urdu asking nothing much from life and the world than permission to live his life in solitude as he chooses to is contrasted with a young man on the cusp of greatness and a long life to look forward to. It is this contrast, between individuals and through then between India and it's many many contradictions is what makes Aligarh a gripping poignant watch.

3. Pink - Aniruddha Roy

Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s courtroom drama takes the debate on feminism in mainstream a step further. It is over-the-top but that leeway could be given for this film that takes down on male entitlement and pushes in the idea of consent, which is alien to many, with a nuance.

 4. Neerja - Ram Madhvani

For a film, set almost entirely in a plane, there’s so much that could have gone against it, but Ram Madhavani’s skilful direction and Sanyukta Shaikh’s top-notch writing packs it enough drama and emotions. Though this film told us that Sonam Kapoor can act, it relied on Shabana Azmi’s understated yet powerful delivery in the final act to move us to tears.

5. Nil Battey Sanatta - Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's directorial debut is a warm and affectionate tale about a mother, working as a maid, who wants her daughter to get educated so that she doesn't end up becoming a maid like her. The drama is slightly facile and little problematic even, but it is the unique portrayal of mother-daughter relationship and the performances that makes it one of the best this year. 

 6. Airlift - Raja Krishna Menon

Yet another real-life story fictionalised to grace silver screen and our sense of entertainment. Barring a clunky action set-piece towards the climax, this film by Raja Krishna Menon, pushes some right patriotic buttons. Also, one of the finest Akshay Kumar films in recent times.

7. Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921) - Shakun Batra

A family melodrama which doesn’t feel like. Shakun Batra subverts the genre and brings us an examined, minutely observed tale of two competitive novelist brothers reuniting with their parents, whose marriage is falling apart, for their granddad’s final wish of a family photo. Release early this year, this film has great moments that one could savour for the whole year. Terrific writing, top notch execution; easily this year’s best.

8. Udta Punjab - Abhishek Chaubey

To put this film on this list is questionable, for all the plagiarism charges against the film. Overlooking that fact for a moment, nothing takes away from this well-made, well-told story of societal breakdown due to drugs. Abhishek Chaubey proves here, yet again, he is the true prodigy of auteur Vishal Bhardwaj. Again, strong performances by Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor.

9. Phobia - Pawan Kripalani

Pawan Kriplani and horror doesn't set the expectations high but this time he has changed the game. This feminist, allegorical psychological-horror about an agoraphobic woman has one of the most complex characters written which is terrificly played by Radhika Apte. Not as OTT and hyped as Pink, this film brought the same discussion with a finer work of art.

10. Fan - Maneesh Sharma

Maneesh Sharma’s Fan comes close as the best film of the year. Unimaginable and ballsy of Shah Rukh to release a film, experimental in its content, with no song and heroine, on a non-holiday. Its poor box-office performance made sure people overlook this film. But one cannot overlook the performance of Shah Rukh Khan as Gaurav, the fan, and Aryan Khanna, the superstar himself, both in one film. Ingenious idea, excellent treatment – the reflective confrontation scene of the fan and the star, pre-interval, is one of the best written and performed scenes of the year.

11. M.S.Dhoni - Neeraj Pandey

One need not have to be a cricket lover to really watch the film; Neeraj Pandey ensures that even the others would probably take to this Biopic of MS Dhoni.

12. Dear Zindagi - Gauri Shinde

Brilliant performance of Alia Bhatt aside, this film by Gauri Shinde, about young millennials who don’t fall in the order of society, should be celebrated for bringing the discussion on mental health into mainstream. Shot mostly in natural light, this patient-shrink drama was one of the most absorbing experiences this year and it turned out therapeutic itself.

13. Waiting - Anu Menon

Anu Menon’s bittersweet slice-of-life drama of two different people bonding over their shared grief of waiting for their loved ones to recover in hospital is a very well-observed film. It takes certain experience of life to write a film like this. And to the top of it, there’s Kalki Koechlin and Naseerudin Shah in their elements for the service of this film.

14. Raman Raghav 2.0 - Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Kashyap strikes back sans scale of Bombay Velvet and he seems to be in his game. Set in a Mumbai what could be called the India of post-2014 (its a conceit -- if you see it, you can't overlook it), Kashyap retells the story of the serial killer Raman who haunted Bombay back in the '50s with Nawazuddin Siddiqui in top form.

15. Sultan - Ali Abbas Zafar

Another wrestling film set in Haryana, starring another Khan, this year. Though not going all method, like Aamir, in his performance, Salman is not half bad here. Ali Abbas Zafar finds a few subversive scenes in this film which is otherwise unimaginable in a Salman Khan film.