If there was ever an year dominated by regional language films, it would be 2017. The top three films in IMDB’s list of Top 10 Indian Movies of 2017 are from the south, with a total of five southern language films in the list.
The gritty, neo noir Vikram Vedha beat several Bollywood biggies and one of India’s biggest blockbusters of the year - Baahubali: The Conclusion , to top IMDB’s list. The second place was taken by Baahubali 2 (of course), but the surprise that took the cake is the Telugu film industry’s Arjun Reddy in third place.
The Aamir Khan-Zaira Wasim starrer Secret Superstar took fourth place, while Irrfan Khan’s Hindi Medium came fifth. Actors Akshay Kumar and Rana Daggubati both have two films apiece in the list; the former with Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Jolly LLB 2 , and the latter with Baahubali 2 and Ghazi Attack .
The lone Malayalam film in featured in the list is the Mammootty starrer The Great Father at tenth place.
Here is the entire list.
1. Vikram Vedha
Loosely based on the tale of King Vikramaditya and the Vetaal, Vikram Vedha stars Madhavan as the protagonist Vikram and Vijay Sethupathi as the antagonist and the eternal thorn in Vikram’s side, Vedhaa.
2. Baahubali: The Conclusion
The larger-than-life film gave us all the answers to the questions posed by its prequel, Baahubali: The Beginning - including the answer to why Kattapa killed Baahubali. This film was also one of the most talked about topics on Twitter in 2017, figuring in the micro-blogging site’s Most Influential Moments of the Year list.
3. Arjun Reddy
Arjun Reddy is a non-conformist and so is the film that presents his story like a biopic. It’s a boy-meets-girl story. The boy is brilliant in academics and later, a sure-footed surgeon. But he’s deeply problematic and has anger management issues.
4. Secret Superstar
The film, about teenager Insia’s (Zaira Wasim) dream of becoming a singer, hits the right notes when it comes to its emotional pitch, tone and tenor. Director Advait Chandan bats straight and simple, with all the conventions of Hindi cinema in tact, yet manages to hit it to the boundary line. The film shows how the Bollywood formulae can be harnessed to rustle up a genuine winner.
5. Hindi Medium
Hindi Medium is about one family’s attempts to get their daughter enrolled in a private English medium school. Staying in Delhi’s famous and infamous Chandni Chowk, the family is happy in their ecosystem until they realise they have to leave the familiarity of old Delhi.
6. The Ghazi Attack
Inspired by the mysterious sinking of Pakistan’s flagship submarine PNS Ghazi in the 1971 war, the film spins a fictional tale about a classified Indian Navy operation. Not the stuff of history books but a determinant one for the future of India, as one of the characters, Lieutenant Commander Arjun Varma (Rana Daggubati), puts it.
7. Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
Starring Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Phednekar, the movie is about a newly-wed bride who realises her husband’s family defecates in the open. The bride’s quest for a toilet in the house and the groom’s attempts at overcoming society’s rigid opposition to it makes for the rest of the story.
8. Jolly LLB
Jolly LLB 2 is a winning combination of a big star who spearheads a grassroots world. The movie essentially shows how the marriage of opposites—the mainstream dramatic tropes and a realistic tapestry—can be the formula to go for, for Bollywood.
9. Mersal
The other half of the top most talked about topics on Twitter in 2017, Vijay’s Mersal is about one man’s effort to cure the ills in the medical profession. Starring Vijay in a triple role, Mersal had its share of controversies.
10. The Great Father
The Great Father, starring Mammootty and Sneha, tackles the thorny issues of rape and paedophilia. Directed by Haneef Adeni, film banks a little too heavily on Mammootty’s star power and style quotient, making this strictly for diehard fans of the actor.
