These five films should have been hits, says Shradha Sukumaran

Critics are paid to have an opinion, but this is the one opinion that they're almost never asked - about a film's fate at the box office. Once they see a movie, their review of it is out and it's up to the public now to decide whether to go by that critique or to ignore it.

But since we're the audience too, we love to see the films that touched us, work its magic on millions. Five films from the past five years that should have been hits - that's a piece of cake for any critic to write about. Hell, we can give you a longer list of films that should have sunk with the Titanic to the bottom of the ocean, but ended up becoming unholy hits.

But that's another story.u00a0
Here then is my take on identifying my top five films in the last five years (2004-2009) that should have fared better at the box office.

Omkara: It was lyrical, it was earthy, it was dark and it was Shakespeare. But it was set in the badlands of Uttar Pradesh and had stunning performances from its cast - right from Deepak Dobriyal, Naseeruddin Shah, Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor, to Ajay Devgan and Konkana Sensharma and the seductively evil Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi. Vishal Bhardwaj rocked this Othello, lacing the story with evocative music. Look at how Langda watches Omi crown Keshu his successor, then as he limps across to announce the news to the cheering crowds. Omkara is a movie filled with shifting emotions.



Swades: Ashutosh Gowariker's follow-up to Lagaan didn't give you a cinematic rush to the head. But Swades was so full of conviction, it quietly mesmerized you. It was the NRI dream turned on its head, it captured little village idiosyncrasies and had the noble thought of giving back. Most of all, Swades beckoned because of Mohan Bhargav - Shah Rukh Khan played him with a strong dignity and personality. Swades was cinema with meaning, which could perhaps have done with a tighter edit, but who can forget that magnetic dhoti-reversal scene?