Yearender 2020: 6 film moments that warmed our hearts this year

Yearender 2020: Bidding adieu to the year 2020, here's taking a look back at the most momentous film scenes that touched our hearts. From Irrfan Khan's heartbreaking farewell in 'Angrezi Medium' to Amitabh Bachchan's greed in 'Gulabo Sitabo', while the number of Hindi films that released this year was less owing to COVID-19, the love for cinema in our hearts only grows!

This one is a favourite for emotional reasons. The last shot of Homi Adajania's 'Angrezi Medium' is heartbreaking and yet serves as a farewell for late actor Irrfan Khan. The scene has Irrfan's character peeping out of a moving car, reminiscing his journey in London, smiling, and finally closing his eyes as he heads back home with his daughter. The film released in March- was the last film to hit theatres before lockdown. A month later the fabulous actor died after a complicated, prolonged battle with cancer. And the last shot of Irrfan closing his eyes as a smile lingers on his face- serves as a beautiful goodbye to millions of heartbroken fans.

Contributed by Shomini Sen

Bulbbul is one of the finest films to grace the OTT platforms this year. The devastating yet empowering tale of a woman won hearts with its impeccable retelling of folklore in a horror-drama setting. One of the scenes that beautifully captured the essence of the film was in the first half, when Bulbul (Tripti Dimri), now abandoned by his husband is seen taking up the duties of a ‘thakurain’ and sits on a swing while listening to a plea. The sense of authority reflected in Bulbul shows her transformation from a young, naive girl to a mature, authoritarian symbol of power. When Chhote Malik (Avinash Tiwary) enters the house with a pleasant smile and greets his ‘bhabhi’, his eyes speak of his astonishment and somewhat inferior complex to see her in a powerful position, Bulbul recognises that and smirks to herself. The entire chain of emotions is underlying and none of it is expressed in any dialogues, just through glances and body-language. One of the key aspects in the film is the performances by the actors and this particular scene from the film, showcases that perfectly. 

Contributed by Sameeksha Dandriyal

One of the first Hindi films to release in 2020 as the world dealt with coronavirus, Gulabo Sitabo is a classic tale of warring landlord-tenants on the offset but about humans’ inherent lust for material gains. What stands out for me in this Shoojit Sircar film is Amitabh Bachchan aka Mirza who loves Begum’s mansion with a passion that’s hard to find in this day and age for anything/anyone. His dedication to inherit the mansion, his cheating ways and his innocence are captured brilliantly in the film. So while he’s greedy and selfish, you can’t help but feel sorry for the old chap. There are many scenes that stand out but here two I can’t help but mention are one where he pseudo faints after hearing the total amount he’d get if he increases rent of tenants to Rs 500 and the one where he goes back with a balloon in his hand after having lost the mansion. In my view, it is Amitabh Bachchan’s finest act in this decade. 

Contributed by Zeba Khan

Anurag Basu anthology 'Ludo' was visually rich! Shot by Basu himself, the film was vibrant with distinct colours defining different characters in the film. There are several shots in the film that stand out, but the one that stayed with me much after the film was over was the shot that had Rajkummar Rao and Sana Fatima Shaikh walking out after creating mayhem at a seedy hotel with their aides and a baby in tow. Looking glamorous in a red short dress, Shaikh holds a baby in her arms and struts her stuff in red heels. While Rao, channelling his inner Mithun Chakraborty with long hair and swagger has a big baby bag casually slung around his arm with a feeding bottle prominently peeping out of one of the pockets. A scene before this moment, had the duo on a shooting spree, killing two men in the hotel room. Moments later, they are out, nonchalantly walking away from the chaos with a baby, aides and a bag full of cash in hand.

Contributed by Shomini Sen

Chintu Ka Birthday is a beautiful film that breaks your heart in pieces and then tapes it all together with missing parts. The story is about an innocent Indian family stuck in Iraq with a Nepalese passport due to the greed and callousness of a few men. The family is trying their best to leave the post-Saddam Hussain, a war-torn country only to be disappointed again and again. In between all the uncertainty comes the birthday of Chintu. The relationships define this film. The equations within the family, the equations of people outside the family. Throughout the emotional ride, the film never takes off its rose-colored spectacle. It gives you a glimpse of struggle, but it’s always accompanied by a sad smile of hope. One of the many scenes that strikes the most is when two American soldiers, who barge into the house looking for a bomber, turn their house upside down and a rather calm Chintu whispers to his father 'Papa inko cake nahi denge'. The impact of the scene stays with you. The tragedy and impact of violence on a child's brain is conveyed beautifully with innocence. It also affirms that no matter how brutal, children's world resides in their minds and the extreme they can go in the extremist world is denying you entry to their party. The sincere way Chintu declares his thought tugs your heart, bringing forth the whole essence of the film. A warm hug in distressing times.

Contributed by Sameeksha Dandriyal

While the film has a sort-of-a-predictable storyline, what carries it forward is its actors and their portrayal of their respective characters. Rajkummar Rao stands out in the film even though he plays a role we’ve seen him do before. If I had to pick a scene that stays with me from the film then it’s Rajkummar’s character’s consciousness of nurturing people’s talents. Like when he’s training school children for sports competition, he gets a team of nerds who are obviously not good at sports but academics. To train them, he leaves a bunch of wild dogs after them in a private farm, so as to test their strength in athletics and it proves successful when he finds out that one lanky school kid can actually run for his money and win them relay racing because of his scare for dogs. It’s a sweet romantic drama about growing up and taking ownership of one’s life. 

Contributed by Zeba Khan