Top 10 Best Movies Of 2017

This was a year when the top actors among the current lot, barring Prabhas, didn't do the greatest stuff. In fact, the ones from the previous generation - namely, Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna - delivered the first bonanzas.

Tollywood has seen everything from the most cliched entertainers like 'Shatamanam Bhavati' to the most unconventional ones like 'Arjun Reddy'. And, of course, everything in between.

IndiaGlitz assesses the year's top 10 best movies.

Khaidi No. 150

'Boss Is Back', the box office announced. Not only was it a commercial colossus but also a genuine mass entertainer that stole the show. Although it's a remake, we are considering it as one of the best films of the year owing to the engaging adaptation.

.. (W)ith Megastar on board, he makes the Gandhian struggle episode look satisfying by going for 'Ammadu Let's Kummudu' out of blue! The masala-song-amid-tragedy template of our cinema, for once, never looked so thumping, banging us out of ennui! And he makes do for the lack of creative villainy with a couple of Sai Madhav Burra-powered dialogues," IndiaGlitz said in its review.

Shatamanam Bhavati

To be sure, writer-director Satish Vegesna sat down with a checklist of do's and made this film full of cliched ideas. Yes, cliched. But what made it one of the best movies? The soul of its theme, its performers and the aesthetics, some of which were borrowed.

If the juniors (Sharwanand and Anupama Parameswaran) as the typical 'bava' and 'maradalu' took care of entertainment in the context of village tourism et al, the elders (played by Jayasudha and Prakash Raj) delivered the anticipated doses of melodrama.

Besides winning a National Award, it won its share of Nandis.

Gautamiputra Satakarni

This must be one of the most underrated movies of the year. Be it Krish's narration, Nandamuri Balakrishna's majestic performance or Sai Madhav Burra's creatively liberal dialogues, 'GPSK' was proud of all these.

As our review would say, "Krish once again follows the 'Kanche' template of conversations taking place between different sets of characters in parallel. This screenplay technique is substantial, though not always in the same degree."

Burra's dialogues were the film's soul. 'Thala vanchaku.. adi nenu gelichina thala'. Satakarni doesn't like even his defeated enemy to bow head in defeat. Another example: 'Naa kalalni kooda kanna thallivi, neeku teliyanida amma..!' The Balayya-Burra magic is on and on. 'Meeru athanni yuddham lo choosaru.. Nenu athani lo yuddhanni choosanu', says the venomous Greek honey before the anti-climax moment arrives. 'Adi gatham, nenu bhavishyatthu'.

Ghazi

This is one of the least cliched movies in a long time. Debutante director Sankalp Reddy refused to caricature the enemy side, there were no overstated emotions, the officers were not seen discussing elementary stuff while facing the offender.

Rana Daggubati, Kay Kay Menon and Atul Kulkarni gave splendid performances. "The engaging drama involving Kay Kay and Rana throws up a range of interesting scenes. Watch Kay Kay say with controlled frustration 'Bleeding heart' when Rana risks his life by diving into the ocean to save the lives of civilians. Watch Rana explain briefly but forcefully what differentiates a rogue force from a commanded force. Watch how the team shows reverence to their martyred leader as 'Jo bole so nihal' plays in the background," our review said, dissecting a few scenes.

Guru

Director Sudha Kongana wrote author-backed characters for Venkatesh and Rithika Singh, the boxing coach and a rookie form a poor family, respectively.

Our review gave it the credit it deserved. "We have seen several rags-to-riches stories in Telugu, but what makes 'Guru' a new-age story is that it doesn't fall back on such elements as sentimental flashbacks, cinematic romantic tracks, run-of-the-mill humour or even done-to-death songs to entertain the audience."

Baahubali-The Conclusion

SS Rajamouli left us speechless with his hero-centric as well as story-centric imagination. His team left us spell-bound with the depth of their craft. 'Baahubali-2' became the biggest Indian film ever before 'Dangal' did miracles in China.

Prabhas, Sathyaraj, Rana Daggubati, Anushka and Ramya Krishna - these actors and their author-backed characters will be remembered for long.

The question - Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali - had baffled many. Some could guess the answer right. But then, none could imagine how the scenes would be executed. Unprecedented war episodes, utterly Indian emotions, breathtaking visuals and more.

One debate around the movie, however, hasn't been settled. To what extent was the K Vijayendra Prasad story inspired by Amar Chitra Katha?

Ami Thumi

Mohankrishna Indraganti delivered the year's biggest laugh riot with 'Ami Thumi'. The director with rare sensibilities proved once again that he is one of the very few directors with a taste for literature rooted in the local culture.

For all its paper-thin plot, its imaginative dialogues and Vennela Kishore's comic timing worked for many.

"The oddball humour will have its takers among those classes of audiences who fell in love with the kind of comedy seen in 'Ashta Chamma'. Only that, unlike 'Ashta Chamma', 'Ami Thumi' doesn't have largely relatable emotions to buffer the screwball characters," we said in our review.

Fidaa

What we missed in 'Life Is Beautiful' and 'Anamika' were there in this movie: The Great Kammula Ecosystem. Just what is it? Mild conversations, healthy humour, the Emotional Lite, charming dialogues between good-natured individuals, and, of course, jaunty (if not always soulful) music.

Sai Pallavi was destined to be the film's show-stealer. Her dialect, lip sync and the body language mesmerized the audience. Varun Tej had a super hit and he couldn't have asked for more. Sekhar Kammula, the boss of feel-good movies, was back.

Arjun Reddy

Each scene thew up at least 2-3 takeaways. Sandeep Vanga said to himself what Vijay Devarakonda's character says in the climax: Screw the conventions. And the film can be described by an adjective used by Priyadarshi's character for Arjun Reddy: Free-spirited.

"Your first tryst with the film's riveting intensity comes when Arjun Reddy, mad with anger and mental agony, beats his girlfriend's molester, lights a cigarette for him, and extracts a promise that he won't ever touch her. Has Telugu cinema ever treated us to such a tight scene that is both disturbingly real and naturally impassioned?" we said in our review, dissecting one of the film's first scenes.

The most organic, moving and heart-wrenching biographic story of a character in Telugu cinema in a long, long time. Vijay rocked as a performer. The BGM stunned.

PSV Garuda Vega

Praveen Sattaru, the force behind 'Garuda Vega', dished out one of the most gripping screenplays of the year. Rajasekhar was back in the reckoning. A range of neatly-sketched, unconventional and key characters added to the magic.

Sricharan Pakala's background music, the sound engineering department, Anji & Co's cinematography, CV Kumar and team's Vfx and DI work, Dharmendra's impeccable editing - they all made 'GV' all the more critically-acclaimed.

This was a year when the top actors among the current lot, barring Prabhas, didn't do the greatest stuff. In fact, the ones from the previous generation - namely, Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna - delivered the first bonanzas.