Joaquin Phoenix in Paul Thomas Anderson’s astounding The Master

Jessica Chaistain in this years top Zero Dark Thirty

# Zero Dark Thirty
# Lincoln
# Moonrise Kingdom
# Argo
# The Master
# Take this Waltz
# Skyfall
# Silver Linings Playbook
# Hemingway and Gellhorn
# Deep Blue Sea

Yet to see

Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Bollywood

Anurag Kashyap’s sprawling epic of generations killing each other in name of revenge is my favorite film of the year. I can’t view it as two separate films. The first is exercise in classic filmmaking while second is sensational ambitious one. A pure blast of pop-culture which gave an actor to treasure- Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Annu Kapoor brought back character acting in our time in comedy Vicky Donor, a true winner of the season which needs special mention how good pure pleasure movies can be. A tight crisp thriller in chaotic Kolkata, an intriguing plot pivoting on a pregnant protagonist in another pivotal role and an addition to pop-icons in form of an LIC agent moonlighting as hitman. Return of a superstar of her era, English Vinglish a film Gauri Shinde is almost Hrishikesh Mukhrajee film, so heartwarming. A porn-filmmaker, an IAS office wage war against power in Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai. Government and Corporate marriage, their shiny facade hiding murky muddled deals put up a show of pragati (progress) and explores a terrifying side, presence of mob masquerading as party members which is nothing but muscle and gun of power. Ranbir continues to prove his spot as a true superstar picking just the right roles and delighting the audiences in Barfi. Ek Main aur Ek tu, a rom com doesn’t need to cliched but can be intelligent and mainstream at same time. Talaash took risky route of character driven narrative than sensational one in a murdey mystery. Luv Shuv is my black sheep of the year. A film less loved than deserved. If you haven’t seen it you should. Here is my list of top 10 films of 2012 home.

# Gangs of Wasseypur I & II
# Vicky Donor
# Shanghai
# Kahaani
# Luv Shuv The Chicken Khurana
# Talaash
# English Vinglish
# Ek Main Aur Ek Tu
# Barfi
# Paan Singh Tomar