Shyam Benegal, Filmmaker
Highs
- Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkara: well-made film, well-written script, outstanding performances. Most cinematic of all the films that I saw in 2006.
- Close to it was Rakeysh Mehra’s Rang De Basanti, and RDB eventually had a greater power and impact over the audiences.
- Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dor was charmingly made, in a tight, little budget.
- Rituparno Ghosh’s Dosar was excellent. I liked the film’s narrative style. I liked Konkana Sen’s performance. I think she is the best actress we have at the moment.
- The computer effects in Krrish were marvellous.
- Don was extremely well made, used technology with a great deal of sophistication. SRK was superb. I think Farhan Akhtar is one of our shining stars. It was the film I enjoyed the most.
Lows
- I don’t see the bad films. But I was not terribly impressed with J.P. Dutta’s Umrao Jaan.
Govind Nihalani, Filmmaker
Highs
- Rakeysh Mehra’s Rang De Basanti made a very strong impact. It was the first major voice against the growing feeling of apathy among people. The finale may not have been 100% satisfactory but the dominant sentiment was such that the audience didn’t really care. It was also beautifully shot. Great music too.
- I liked the Marathi film Maati Maay by Chitra Palekar. A good story, treated well by Chitra, with simplicity. I liked its starkness.
- Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dor was beautifully shot and sensitively treated.
- I liked Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara immensely for its aesthetics. The photography was outstanding, the music and performances were very good. It showed Vishal’s absolute control over the subject matter.
- Raj Kumar Hirani’s Lage Raho Munna Bhai had a simple and interesting screenplay. The idea of resurrecting Gandhi worked very well. The film showed what a simple word such as "Gandhigiri" can do. It captured our imagination, and was all about taking the law in your hands while sticking to the spirit of Gandhi.
Lows
- I would not be able to list the disappointing films.
Jerry Pinto, Columnist and Author
Highs
- Omkara: If you don’t think too much about Othello and if you ignore Ajay Devgan, it was a great film with a wonderful score and one of the hottest item numbers I have seen in a long time.
- Lage Raho Munna Bhai: Good cheesy fun. Arshad Warsi is a great actor.
- Khosla ka Ghosla: Not since Gharonda has there been a film about real estate that touched so many raw nerves. Boman Irani acts after a long spell of pretending. Anupam Kher reminds us of the actor he was in Saaransh.
- Rang De Basanti: If you can ignore the idea of Aamir Khan as a college student, this had a great score—as if A.R. Rahman had reclaimed his musical genius—and Atul Kulkarni. Lousy let-down of an ending but you can’t have everything.
- Jaan-e-mann: The first half.
Lows
- Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna: Karan Johar should not try investigating things like the nature of marital infidelity. Completely out of his depth and what a waste of four gorgeous people.
- Maalamaal Weekly: Priyadarshan should just stop making films. He is not funny. Count Chup Chup Ke in this list as well.
