The brilliant Taare Zameen Par and Chak De India topped many of the biggest directors in Bollywood’s list for the best movies of 2007. Along with these two, many other diverse and wonderful films made the cut as well. Since directors are the architects of the film we thought it we would be interesting to see what they thought was a great film.
David Dhawan: “Taare Zameen Par is undoubtedly the best film of 2007. The performances were great, emotions were superb; and the movie was backed by a powerful script. Aamir Khan is outstanding both as director and actor.”
Satish Kaushik: “I liked Chak De India for its directorial skills, on-the-dot energetic performance by Shah Rukh and the fresh talented cast and most important of all, the spirit of victory.”
Vipul Shah: “Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par is the best of 2007 without doubt, followed by Shimit Amin’s Chak De India, Anurag Basu’s Life In A Metro and Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday.”
Farhan Akhtar: “After much deliberation, my favourite film of 2007 will have to be Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday. It is a great adaptation of the book. The theme is relevant and poignant. The screenplay is tight and taut with an amazing insight into the day of the Mumbai bomb blasts and what happened thereafter, and a powerful message. The performances were well-etched and the camerawork was absorbing.”
Raj Kumar Santoshi: “I didn’t see too many films in 2007. From the ones I saw I liked Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met. I liked the script and the performances of all the artistes and the direction. The treatment was fresh and the presentation was entertaining. I believe Chak De India is also very good. I plan to see it soon.”
Madhur Bhandarkar: “My favourite films of 2007 are Taare Zameen Par and Chak De India. I wept like a baby in Aamir’s film. Both are very simple, sincere and moving films. The kind that I’d like to make.”
Sriram Raghavan: “My favourite films of 2007 are Chak De India and Taare Zameen Par. Both are superb unconventional subjects with leading stars. We need more stars doing more such films for sure.”
Bhavna Talwar: “My favourite film of 2007 was Navdeep Singh’s Manorama 6 Feet Under.. Finally, film-noire from India! Chak De India…beautiful script and a fabulous take on the Islamic identity in India and not just a sports film. Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met was honest, refreshing and straight from the heart.”
Mira Nair: “My choice would be Julian Schnabel’s Diving Bell & The Butterfly. It was deeply original, visually stunning and a remarkable story on the triumph of the spirit. Among ‘desi’ flicks I’d go with Chak De India. It was a ge fun and a great feel-good tale, brilliantly cast.”
Rakeysh Mehra: “Taare Zameen Par is my favourite film of 2007 for endless reasons, mainly because of the director Aamir and his passion.”
Prakash Jha: “Chak De India would qualify as one of the year’s best film for its theme and treatment. It had the quality to move and entertain.”
Sujoy Ghosh: “Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om was my favourite. It’s just the kind of movie I’d want to make.”
Imtiaz Ali: “Leaving aside my own Jab We Met, it’d have to be Anurag Basu’s Metro. Interesting characters.”
Karan Johar: “Undoubtedly Chak De India and Om Shanti Om. Chak De was entertaining and at the same time deep and moving with a serious subtext. As for OSO, it was Farah and fun all the way. Both the films showed Shah Rukh’s star power.”
Mahesh Bhatt: “Wrong number, dear. I don’t watch movies. Why watch the reflection of life when you can lock eyes with life itself?”
Finally we have Anurag Basu, who just couldn’t decide: “My favourite? I liked Taare Zameen Par, Chak De India Jab We Met and Guru equally for different reasons. Please don’t ask me to choose one.”
