1. David: Bejoy Nambiar's second feature film after the warmly received Shaitaan, was eagerly awaited. Tragically David about three protagonists with the same name, just didn't jell with audiences in spite of a brilliant cast and deft direction.Episodic films just don't work. Each of the protagonists -Vikram from the South, Neil Nitin Mukesh and newcomer Vinay Virmani were excellent. This is one film that has a long shelf life.

2. Mai: Director Mahesh Kodiyal's directorial debut was also Asha Bhosle's acting debut about a daughter (excellently played by Padmini Kolhapure) torn between her alzheimers' stricken mother and a demanding husband. This one had heart-wrenching moments. It seems audiences don't want to get a good cry in the darkened theatres anymore.


3. Akash Vani: If only every love story with the names of the lovers in the title were as successful as Ram Leela! Akash Vani directed by Luv Ranjan of Pyar Ka Punchnaama fame was a thoughtful take on the perils of an arranged marriage. The sensitive moments of the storytelling went unnoticed.

4. Inkaar: He said, she said...Seen from both the male and female perspective, Sudhir Mishra intense and enigmatic tale of sexual harassment in a high-profile work-place pre-empted the Tarun Tejpal scandal that shook the nation . Maybe the film's unorthodox format pissed audiences off.

5. Listen...Amaya: What happens when your widowed mother decides to marry her best friend? Seen with endearing gentleness this dekko at a domestic dilemma was a neglected gem.It had a brilliant performance by Swara Bhaskara as the devastated daughter scared of being dispossessed. Debutant director Avinash Kumar Singh's heart was in the right place.Audiencs, it seemed, were in the mood for a grand masti at the cinema.

6. Rangrezz: Priyadarshan's best film in years was the best South Indian remake of 2013 with a brilliant premise to back up its volatile storytelling. What happens after love strikes and the chemical attraction is over? Brilliantly shot by Santosh Sivan in toasted-brown colours of a dusty North Indian city, the film had the potential to become a blockbuster. If only Jackie Bhagnani was Salman Khan.


7. Aurangzeb: Yashraj Film's stand-out film of 2012 , and far superior to their overrated over-sexed Shudh Desi Romance this gripping drama of warring step-brothers set in the gleaming vulgar affluence of Gurgaon was tactile and tense, edgy and exciting.Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Prithvi Raj were life-givers in this cat-and-mouse tale of illegitimacy in the corporate world .Atul Sabharwal's direction paid a back-handed compliment to both Yash Chopra's Trishul and Shyam Benegal's Kalyug.Quite a feat.

8. Ankur Arora Murder Case: A rare medical thriller , gripping and disturbing in its statement on how wrong the doctors can go while dealing with a medical emergency.Suhail Tatari's film could have been a game changer in the way we see the patient-doctor relationship on screen.It got meager footfalls.


9. D Day: Nikhil Advani's ballsy thriller about a bunch of RAW agents assigned to bring Dawood to India from Karachi was a stylish noire-ish outing into the ambit of the actioner. Terrific momentum and a story that was waiting to be told. Sadly dark films do not get the viewership that they often deserve.

10. Club 60: Chalk up another heart-warmer starring Farooq Shaikh after Listen...Amaya at the beginning of the year. Farouq and Sarika played a couple coping with the loss of their only son. Raghuveer Yadav, Sharat Saxena, Tinu Anand and Satish Shah pitched in with sturdy supportive supporting performances. Alas, audience don't flock for films about old people unless it's the Big B.