And the film of the year is.....

B-Town filmmakers pick their favourite film of 2009. 3 Idiots was the clear winner, followed by Paa

And the film of the year is.....

B-Town filmmakers pick their favourite film of 2009. 3 Idiots was the clear winner, followed by Paa
PS: Avatar and Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year also feature prominently

It was the year of the alien. When an American film Avatar completely took over our Bollywood filmmakers' psyche making them feel small inadequate and incompetent. Then, Paa and 3 Idiots came along at year-end to give back the industry and our filmmakers their self-esteem. Read on to find out the fav film of your fav director....

Ram Gopal Varma Avatar is by far one of the best films I've seen in my life. James Cameron is God. In fact, he has gone a step ahead of God by building a world even God couldn't imagine. After watching Avatar, I felt I belong to a primitive filmmaking world.

David Dhawan 3 Idiots is the best-written and best-directed film of the year. Great entertainment value!

Sriram Raghavan 3 Idiots. Maybe because I'm an idiot myself.

Raj Kumar Santoshi My favourite film of 2009 is 3 Idiots. Good entertainment with a strong message. Fantastic performances, excellent script and direction.

Nishikant Kamat 3 Idiots. Never seen such a rollercoaster of laughs and sobs before. It's simply an amazing work.

Rohit Shetty 3 Idiots for sure. There are very few films that make you feel good and happy. This is one of them.

Kunal Kohli Without a doubt, 3 Idiots. It is one of the best films I've seen in recent times. I love its simplicity, subtlety and impact.

Kunal Deshmukh It would have to be 3 Idiots. I haven't felt so positively about a film in a long time. It taught me how far ahead weu00a0 filmmakers areu00a0 when it comes to putting heart into our themes. I also thought Avatar was awesome.

Mohit Suri 3 Idiots, 3 Idiots, 3 Idiots!

Abhinay Deo Without a doubt, 3 Idiots

Tony D'Souza 3 Idiots and Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Rocket Singh Salesman Ofu00a0u00a0 The Year... Though it had a weak screenplay, it was deftly directed and attempted to comment on our moral values.u00a0 Andu00a0u00a0 Ranbir gave a flawless performance. Wish they had worked a bit more on the script, though.

Rajkumar Gupta Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year. It proves what a brilliant writer, a gifted director and an extremely talented actor can create: a gem of a film!

Rensil D'Silva Dev D. Anurag Kashyap did a fresh take on a story I've always disliked. Dev D made me fall in love with the story!

Tigmanshu Dhulia Dev D. It made Devdas, who is otherwise such a boring character, sou00a0 interesting. It was young and unpredictable. Great acting by all. Great music. Superb production design, and all this at such a low budget.

Imtiaz Ali Avatar isu00a0 my favourite film ofu00a0 2009. It made anu00a0 important point about our civilization in a subtle manner and withu00a0 the most powerful audio-visuals."

Mani Shankar Avatar, for its pantheism, its special-effects and soul. And Love Aaj Kal for its screenplay and performances.

Hansal Mehta Avatar is my favourite film of the year. With this film the awe ofu00a0 the big screenu00a0 returned for me.. I felt like a wonder-stuck kid all over again. It's been au00a0 great year for Hindi cinemau00a0 too. 3u00a0 Idiots, Dev D, Rocket Singh... and Wanted were my favorites.

Sanjay Gupta This question is redundant for anyone who has seen Avatar.

Apoorva Lakhia Avatar. It was just an out-of-the-world experience. Rocket Singh Salesman Ofu00a0 The Year. It was simple, unpretentious and Shimit Amin worked wonders with the characters.

Sujoy Ghosh Paa, because of Bachchansaab's stupendous performance. Also Vidya Balan. It's a brave film which says being different is absolutely normal.

Sanjay Gadhvi Paa.... because I'm probably Amitabh Bachchan's biggest fan. I admire him even more now because he had the courage and conviction to do Paa. Also superlative performances by Abhishek and Vidya. A brilliant film!

Anees Bazmee Paa... For Amitji's ageless and edgeless performance. For Vidya Balan. And for Abhishek. And for the director Balki's craftsmanship.

Sajid Khan Avatar. It wasn't a film. It was an experience. I've seen it five times already. Going back for it.

Vashu Bhagnani Wake Up Sid. It's a simple and beautiful effort by a young and fresh director. The youth identified with the characters.

Milan Luthria Paa for the mighty Amitji. And I love Love Aaj Kal because it had the best music of the year.
Santosh Sivan Paa... Mr Bachchan has set new standards in acting.

Karan Johar I actually have four favourite films this year. Kaminey, Paa, 3 Idiots and Avatar. All four raisedu00a0 the bars for filmmaking. But while the first threeu00a0 were for me aspirational, Avatar was unachievable.

Tarun Mansukhani Wake Up Sid. An actor was discovered, a writer- director was born and a great story was told. What more could we ask for?

Paresh Mokashi (directoru00a0 of Oscar entry Harishchandrachi Factory) The best film I saw in 2009 was Turtles Can Fly, an Iraqi film by Bahman Ghobadi. Impressive performances by children and seamless screenplay.

Govindau00a0Nihalani Ghabricha Paaus in Marathi for itsu00a0 simple and effective style, originality of screenplay, humour steeped in pathos, deep compassion and humanism, it is an ode to the spirit of struggle to survive with dignity in the most hostile circumstances.u00a0 Also Paa, for being a deeply moving experience and Avatar for its game-changing technology and good theme.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels