2014 Flashback: Best Movies - Critically Acclaimed

A movie that was made from the story of a TV episode that aired several years back, Highway focuses on a rich girl Veera Tripathi (Alia Bhatt), who is kidnapped by Mahabir Bhati (Randeep Hooda). Then begins a road trip and a journey as Mahabir takes Veera through different cities to get away from the police that is chasing after them. Over the trip Veera and Mahabir get closer. What happens next forms the crux. The movie had a high impact story, which pleased both critics and box office viewers. Bhatt, who has often been underrated, proved himself yet again with this movie, while Bhatt excelled herself in just her second movie (after Student of the Year). The odd pairing of Hooda and Bhatt also went well-appreciated.

Haider is the Indian adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The story revolves around a young man Haider (Shahid Kapoor) who returns home to Kashmir when he receives news about his father, Dr. Hilal Meer's (Narendra Jha) disappearance. He learns that not only has his father has been detained by security forces for harboring militants but that his mother Ghazala (Tabu) is in a relationship with his own uncle Khurram (Kay Kay Menon). Later, drama follows as mother-son struggle to come to terms with the news of his father's death. No sooner he also learns that his uncle is responsible for the gruesome murder of his father and then starts his journey to avenge his father's death. The movie not only garnered lots of attention due to its controversial matter but was also appreciated by masses for the uniqueness in it's storyline. Kapoor received equal praise for his strong portrayal of Haider.

This plot is about a female Police officer, Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukherjee) who lives with her husband, Dr. Bikram Roy (Jisshu Sengupta) and her little niece, Meera. Shivani is fearless cop who can take on anyone or anything. Soon, Shivani takes up a case which changes her life. A teenage girl, Pyaari, who is like a daughter to her is kidnapped by a trafficking mafia kingpin (Tahir Bhasin). The movie focuses on a cat-and-mouse game between Walt/Karan Rastogi (Tahir Bhasin) and Shivani as she tracks Pyaari and delves deeper into the world of flesh trade and drugs. The movie was praised for Rani Mukherjee's brilliance as Shivani as well as its take on the flesh trade, drugs, the underworld - a concept that never seizes to catch the attention of any and all viewers.

This movie tells the story of an ex-army man, Deepak Singh (Rajkummar Rao), who comes to Mumbai with his wife and daughter in search of a better life after he loses his shop in Rajasthan. The story depicts their encounter with a big city, the challenges they face and how they rise to meet those challenges. Without giving much of the story, we can say that this was by far one of the best films as stated by critics and will stay with you for a long time. So if you're looking for a movie that has a good story, this is your stop.

This is another movie which was highly appreciated by the critics. The story revolves around Guru (Sidharth Malhotra) who is a quiet, tough and ruthless man working for a gangster. His life changes when he meets a free spirited girl, Aisha (Shraddha Kapoor) who he falls in love with and gets married to. Quitting his work as a gangster, he moves to Mumbai to begin a new life. Just when everything seemed perfect, Aisha falls prey to an attack and gets killed. Thus begins Guru's hunt to find the killer and avenge his wife's death which leads him to blur the line between good and evil. Riteish Deshmukh received a lot of praise for his role of a common man-turned-psychopathic murderer. The storyline was also praised for its thriller aspect and the songs received high ratings, making the overall movie a success in all fields.

Writer(s): Vaishnavi V. and Peehu A.

Editor(s): Shreya S. and Sonia R.

Graphics: Virina R.