302 films in 365 days!

Aseem Chhabra tell us how he watched 302 films in 365 days on airplanes, on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google, Hulu, DVDs and even on YouTube.

As a journalist I often write about films.

I see many, many films -- at festivals in different parts of the world, in museums in New York City and sometimes even when I have to buy tickets.

But it is impossible to remember all the films one sees in a year. So for the past two years I have been keeping a log of every film I watch.

My inspiration for this tedious act is Steven Soderbergh who keeps a record of every film and television show he watches, and books he reads. I decided to keep this simple -- just focusing on films.

In 2016 I watched films in so many places. I attended many film festivals around the world -- Berlin, Tribeca (New York), Toronto, Mumbai, Dharamsala, Goa and Dubai.

My two favorite museums in New York City -- the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of the Moving Image show films year round, on big screens. My museum memberships allow me to see all those films for free.

In addition, I am the programming director of two festivals -- the New York Indian Film Festival and the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival in Pittsburgh. In 2016 I had to watch a lot of films for those two festivals.

I watched films on airplanes, on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google, Hulu, DVDs and even on YouTube.

It has been a rich year full of memories and film watching experiences.

At some festivals I have watched four films a day and then fallen asleep for brief moments during a particular screening.

And a few times I watched a particular film again, just to be awake through the entire screening and to appreciate it one more time.

Sometimes I repeated films, for work, while I was doing post-screening conversations with the filmmakers.

There are some films like La La Land, Moh Maya Money and a restored version of the 1978 classic Gaman that I watched three times.

I started the year with Chaitanya Tamhane's 2014 film Court.

It was the third time I was viewing the film, but I wanted to experience it one more time on the big screen at the Museum of Moving Image.

And I ended the year by re-watching Zoya Akhtar's 2015 film Dil Dhadakne Do, a rather perceptive take on the angst and complicated lives of Delhi's rich Punjabi families.

So here is the list of all the films I watched in 2016. The total count is 302 films in 365 days!

 

• The BEST Moments in Hindi Films in 2016

 

2/1 Court (India/Marathi, Hindi), Timbuktu (Mali)

3/1 Office (China), Listen to me Marlon (US)

7/1 In The Shadow of Women (France)

9/1 In Bruges (UK)

10/1 A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden)

12/1 The Revenant (US)

15/1 Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (UK), The Man Who Fell to Earth (UK), Moh Maya Money (India/ Hindi)

16/1 Highway (India/Marathi, Hindi)

19/1 How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town (US)

21/1 Masaan (India/Hindi)

22/1 The Big Short (US)

23/1 Shaheb Bibi Golaam (India/Bengali)

27/1 A War (Denmark)

28/1 Peace Haven (India/Bengali), Fargo (US), Lukka Chuppi (India/Malayalam)

29/1 Mantra (India/Hindi), Barton Fink (US)

30/1 Millers Crossing (US), Raising Arizona (US), The Warrior (India/Hindi), Ka Bodyscapes (India/Malayalam)

31/1 A Far Afternoon (India/English)

 

• Raja Sen's Top 10 Hindi films

 

2/2 Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia)

3/2 G - a Wanton Heart (India/Haryanvi)

4/2 LOVE (India/Hindi)

5/2 Gaman (India/Hindi)

6/2 Waltz With Bashir (Israel)

7/2 Reservoir Dogs (US)

8/2 White Nights (India/Malayalam), Mountains May Depart (China), Tiladaanam (India/Telugu)

9/2 Hail Caesar (US)

12/2 Hedi (Tunisia), Midnight Special (US), Goodfellas (US)

13/2 Fire at Sea (Italy), Things to Come (France), Dog Days (China), Dead Man Walking (US)

14/2 Letters from War (Portugal), 24 Weeks (Germany), War on Everyone (UK), Weekends (Korea)

15/2 Death in Saravejo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Alone in Berlin (UK), Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (US)

16/2 Soy Nero (US), Genius (UK), While the Women Are Sleeping (Japan), Little Men (US)

17/2 Zero Days (US), Commune (Denmark), Ottaal (India/Malayalam)

18/2 Goat (US), Color of Money (US)

19/2 United States of Love (Poland), A Dragon Arrives (Iran)

20/2 Sairat (India/Marathi), Shepherds and Butchers (South Africa), Junction 48 (Israel)

27/2 Lantouri (Iran)

28/2 Crime is Punishment (India/Tamil)

 

• 10 performances 2016 should be proud of!

 

3/3 A Girl in the River (Pakistan), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (US), Parched (India/Hindi)

4/3 Hitchcock/Truffaut (France/US)

5/3 Dial M For Murder (US), Nachom-ia Kumpasar (India/Konkani)

6/3 Wrong Man (US)

6/3 The Silence (Germany)

8/3 Eye in the Sky (UK)

9/3 Weiner (US), Raj Kahini (India/Bengali)

10/3 U-Turn (India/Kannada), Moi Roi (France)

11/3 My Golden Years (France), Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (India/Hindi)

15/3 Life in Metaphors (India/English), Cities of Sleep (India/Hindi)

16/3 Brahman Naman (India/English), A Christmas Tale (France)

17/3 Kings of Queen (France)

20/3 Kapoor and Sons (India/Hindi), Virus (India/Tamil)

21/3 Junction 48 (Israel), Strike a Pose (The Netherlands)

24/3 Kaagaz Ki Kashti (India/Hindi)

25/3 High Rise (UK), Talvar (India/Hindi)

26/3 Court (India/Marathi, Hindi), Boy and the World (Brazil)

 

• 10 performances that took your breath away

4/4 Madly (US)

8/4 A Sinner in Mecca (US)

11/4 The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Germany)

12/4 The Lobster (Greece)

15/4 National Bird (US), The Tenth Man (Argentina), Grandma (US)

16/4 Fan (India/Hindi)

18/4 A Kind of a Murder (US), The Bansky Job (UK), California (Brazil)

19/4 Elvis & Nixon (US)

20/4 The Meddler (US), King Cobra (US)

21/4 Pele: Birth of a Legend (US)

22/4 Do Not Resist (US), Always Shine (US), Clean Shaven (India/Hindi)

24/4 The Fixer (US)

25/4 A Bigger Splash (Italy), The Man Who Knew Infinity (UK)

26/4 Purple Rain (US)

27/4 A Girl At My Door (Korea)

28/4 Dheepan (France)

29/4 Atomic Heart (Iran)

 

• Sukanya Verma lists the WORST films of 2016

 

1/5 The Secret Lives of Thieves (Malaysia)

2/5 Barakh Meet Barakh (Saudi Arabia)

3/5 A Touch of Zen (Taiwan)

5/5 In the Last Days of the City (Egypt)

6/5 Anna (Russia)

7/5 Wednesday May 9 (Iran), Nachom-ia Kumpasar (India/Konkani)

8/5 Gaman (India/Hindi), Sujata (India/Hindi)

9/5 Shaheb Bibi Golaam (India/Bengali)

10/5 Raakh Redux (India/Hindi)

11/5 Island City (India/Hindi)

12/5 White Nights (India/Malayalam), Growing Up Smith (US)

13/5 A Far Afternoon (India/English), Ka Bodyscapes (India/Malayalam)

14/5 Aligarh (India/Hindi)

16/5 Blade Runner (US)

18/5 Aligarh (India/Hindi)

21/5 Song of Lahore (Pakistan)

22/5 The Railway Man (UK)

23/5 El Classico (Iraq)

24/5 Honor Thy Father (Philippines), Apocalypse Child (Philippines)

27/5 Himeanole (Japan), Bicycle Thieves (Italy)

 

• A year at the movies when India thumped Hindi

 

1/6 Jasmine (Hong Kong), Toll Bar (Kazakhstan)

2/6 The Tiger Hunter (US)

3/6 Coastliners (Turkey)

4/6 Radio Dreams (US/Iran)

5/6 Nice Guys (US)

6/6 Shahid (India/Hindi), Moh Maya Money (India/Hindi)

10/6 TE3N (India/Hindi)

16/6 Mountain Cry (China), Psycho Raman (India/Hindi)

19/6 Udta Punjab (India/Punjabi, Hindi)

21/6 Highway (India/Marathi, Hindi)

22/6 Cities of Sleep (India/Hindi)

23/6 Psycho Raman (India/Hindi)

 

• What we learned from Bollywood in 2016

 

1/7 Ek Din Achanak (India/Hindi)

3/7 A Dragon Arrives (Iran)

4/7 Trivisa (Hong Kong)

5/7 Neerja (India/Hindi)

7/7 Ten Years (Hong Kong)

8/7 Spa Night (US/ Korea)

9/7 Front Cover (US/China)

10/7 Landscape in the Mist (Greece)

15/7 Captain Fantastic (US)

16/7 Cache (France), Breathless (France)

21/7 Disorder (France), Spa Night (US/ Korea)

22/7 Ulysess' Gaze (Greece)

23/7 Delta (US), The Wailing (Korea)

24/7 Eternity and a Day (Greece), Anubhav (India/Hindi)

29/7 Toto (Philippines), Tallulah (US)

30/7 Hunt for the Wilderpeople (New Zealand)

31/7 Chauthi Koot (India/Punjabi)

 

• Guess what Sukanya Verma's BEST Hindi films are

 

3/8 People vs Fritz Bauer (German), Little Men (US)

4/8 Run Lola Run (Germany)

6/8 Elevator to the Gallows (France)

10/8 Ixcanul (Guatemala)

11/8 Kubo and the Two Strings (US)

20/8 Imperium (US)

21/8 India in a Day (India/Hindi)

23/8 Abu (Canada/Pakistan)

24/8 The Cinema Travelers (India/Marathi, Hindi)

25/8 American Honey (US)

26/8 Complete Unknown (US)

29/8 Sand Storm (Israel)

30/8 I, Daniel Blake (UK), Toni Erdmann (Germany)

31/8 Forever Pure (Israel)

 

• Bollywood's Top 10 FLOPS of 2016

 

4/9 Mukti Bhawan (India/Hindi)

6/9 Neruda (Chile)

8/9 The Unknown Girl (Belgium), The Salesman (Iran), Ma Rosa (Philippines)

9/9 Age of Shadows (Korea), A Death in the Gunj (India/Hindi), Jesus (Chile), Mostly Sunny (Canada/India)

10/9 An Insignificant Man (India/Hindi), Birth of a Nation (US), White Sun (Nepal)

11/9 Moonlight (US), After the Storm (Japan), The Handmaiden (Korea)

12/9 It is the End of the World (Canada), La La Land (US), Anatomy of Violence (Canada/India)

13/9 Una (UK), The Net (Korea), Manchester By The Sea (US)

14/9 Nocturnal Animals (US), Lion (Australia), Jackie (Chile/US), Foreign Body (France/Tunisia)

16/9 El Classico (Iraq)

17/9 Kaagaz Ki Kashti (India/Hindi), Crime is Punishment (Tamil)

18/9 Bad Rap (US)

19/9 Very Big Shot (Lebanon)

20/9 Song of Lahore (Pakistan)

21/9 Gaman (India/Hindi), Memories of the Wind (Turkey)

23/9 Waiting (India/Hindi)

24/9 Radio Dreams (US/Iran)

25/9 Moh Maya Money (India/Hindi)

30/9 Magnolia (US)

 

• Bollywood's Top 10 HITS of 2016

 

4/10 Graduation (Romania), Swimming to Cambodia (US)

17/10 Aquarius (Brazil)

21/10 Swiss Army Man (US), Neon Demon (US)

22/10 Hermia and Helena (Argentina)

23/10 Personal Shopper (France), Under the Shadow (UK/ Iran)

24/10 Diamond Island (Cambodia), Slack Bay (France)

25/10 Lost in Paris (France)

26/10 A Billion Color Story (India/Hindi), Trapped (India/Hindi)

27/10 Ahmaq (India/Hindi), 4 Days in France (France)

30/10 Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (India/Hindi), Naseem (India/Hindi)

31/10 Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (India/Hindi), Jai Gangajal (India/Hindi)

4/10 Sonita (Iran), Apprentice (Singapore)

 

• Here's how much Aamir, Salman, Akshay have made in 2016

 

21/11 Idgah (India/Hindi), Dark Wind (India/Hindi)

22/11 Limitless (India/English, Hindi), Nimmo (India/Hindi), The Narrow Path (India/Malayalam)

23/11 Rukh (India/Hindi), The Color of Loss and Blue (India/ Hindi), Buddhagram (India/English), A Dream Document (India/Hindi)

24/11 Mehsampur (India/Hindi), Sexy Durga (India/Malayalam, Hindi)

25/11 Clash (Egypt), Daguerrotype (France), Paula (Germany)

26/11 Dear Zindagi (India/Hindi)

 

• Raja Sen's Top 10 Hindi Films

 

1/12 7 Khoon Maaf (India/Hindi)

2/12 Fashion (India/Hindi)

6/12 Kapoor & Sons (India/Hindi), Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (New) (India/Hindi)

7/12 Miss Sloane (US)

8/12 Certain Women (US), Befikre (India/Hindi)

9/12 Frantz (France), The Worthy (UAE)

10/12 La La Land (US), The Preacher (Egypt)

11/12 Loving (US), Free Fire (UK), Inversion (Iran)

12/12 Kiarostami (Iran), Hotel Salvation (India/Hindi)

13/12 The Man Who Too Much (Mexico), Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim (Egypt)

14/12 The Happiest Day in the Life of Olie Maki (Finland), Rogue Nation (US)

16/12 Rain Was Falling (Iran)

18/12 Harmonium (Japan), Neerja (India/Hindi)

19/12 Udta Punjab (India/Punjabi, Hindi)

21/12 PINK (India/Hindi), Dangal (India/Hindi)

22/12 You Are My Sunday (India/Hindi)

26/12 Where The Woods Bloom (India/Malayalam)

29/12 La La Land (US)

31/12 Dil Dadakne Do (India/Hindi)

 

• Fantastic Movies Coming Up in 2017