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The End
On most cases a film will have a happy ending rather than a sad ending. That is a fact. I do not have the stats to back that up, though. People say, a happy film ending means a happy audience, and that means, kerching! Or Shah Rukh Khan of Om Shanti Om would say, a film is incomplete if it does not have a happy ending. So would it be fair to say that writers/makers think of the happy ending before they even start to write a film? A sad or open ending is not likely to work? I am not a writer, so I do not know what process goes behind deciding an ending of the film.
In my filmi opinion, if a film does not have a good ending (Note: A good ending does not imply happy ending), then the film has a very good chance of failing at the box office. It is not how you start but how you end. If you want your film to stamp a solid mark on people’s mind, then the film needs a good strong end. No? Well, I have not liked many films because of its ending – it was either lame – or – they played it safe. I don’t posses a filmi knowledge to come up with a list of Best Endings, so I will just write about a limited films I have seen. You know like, Why I liked the ending or why I did not….
Bluffmaster - A decent film. I have not seen the Argentine film, which was copied, if I had seen that film, and then perhaps I would not have liked Bluffmaster. But anyway, it is the ending of the film that I did not like. The ending was very obvious – you could tell from very beginning. I would have preferred a different ending - a surprise ending. How would you have liked to end the film? I actually would have liked a bold ending – Abhiskek getting conned in a serious way – not in a ‘making him a better person’ way. After watching the film, it felt like, erm, like you are waiting for a firecracker/fountain to go off but it does not… it all goes… “feeeetoooosh”.
Mixed Doubles - another decent film but has a crap ending. It is a usual shite urban film – and has a few good moments. Again you know what’s the ending going to be like before you even start watching. I do not like that. Sometimes I do not mind that, but in this case… I did not like, albeit the ending had a different treatment. I would have preferred Ranveer actually getting what he wanted and then Konkon Sen divorcing him. That would have left a strong mark on the audience and maybe would have done better at the box office.
Munnabhai. I just about like the film but would have liked it a lot if the film did not have a lame – melodramatic ending. It just makes me cringe – hide behind the sofa. I did not like the Gracy Singi giving Boman Irani a lecture after Munna Bhai gets fed up with all lying and then, the drunk scene that was a bit funny due to the jokes, and from no where Munnabhai’s parents come from the village. I was lost. I stopped the film their – I did not wanted to watch the ending cos it was a waste of time. I do not even remember the ending of Lage Raho Munnabhai, which had a stupid ending than Munnabhai MBBS. This is one of the reasons why I do not own a DVD of Munnabhai. Please don’t shoot me for this! Or my taporis will be after you!
It is not that a Goonda would not like a soppy happy ending. I do like it. To name a few, I liked the ending of these following movies: Swades, Lagaan, Socha Na Tha, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Khatta Meetha, Rangeela, Waisa Bhit Hota Hain, etc, etc. (I have not seen that many (good) films, so you will see me repeating these films on frequent basis!)
Khakee – a brilliant cop movie – a complete masala cop film. The film was brilliant from the start to the end. It had a right dosage of humor, fiction, songs, and realism. It also had a few surprising features and one of them was the ending. The film worked because of the ending – it played a pivotal part in getting appreciation from the audience and critics. The ending made the film a slightly different from other cop films. The film would not have worked if it ended at Ajay Devgan getting a life sentence, in my filmi opinion.
Rang De Basanti – it has a typical hindi film format – first half all flirting – a shock before interval - and then all seriousness. The film would have flopped if it also had a typical ending – they getting caught and then getting a lenient from the government. Fortunately, the film had a brilliant ending – which you possibly could not have predict it. If you did predict the ending, then you are lying. They all dying, Roobaroo song playing in the background, they planting a tree, a young Bhagat Singh. The ending could not have been any better.
Sadma – Some of the credit of this film being a classic should go the ending scene – the best scene of the film. Kamal Hasaan chasing the train leaving in a hope – keeps falling down and then going into his own world……. This is the only scene from the film I remember vividly and it does not want to leave my mind.
Satya - In my filmi opinion, the ending of this film is the best I have seen. It touched me heart. I was speechless after watching the movie. I still am; I do not know how to describe the ending other than repeating, “It was brilliant”. It was brutal. It made me have sympathy from Vidya to Kalu Mama. That is you call a good ending. That is life!
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Perhaps one of the most talked about endings that shocked audiences big time was “Dil Se…” I remember I just could not figure out what to make of the movie. But again, its the kind of movie…the less you analyze it, the more you like it.
Vipul Shah’s “Aankhen” was film I really enjoyed for its originality, but was fucked at the end by a horrible ending that sees Amitabh finding his way out of prison, leaving room for a sequel. Too forced and ruined the film.
I love the ending of “Iruvar” which is bittersweet. It ends with one friend reconciling with the other, but only after his death. But the beauty is the way Prakash Raj’s character reconciles by reminiscing through poetry intercut with Mohanlal’s funeral procession. Genius.
Many more out there. Will write about them when they come to mind.
i think nothing can be compared to Satya’s ending…it simply cannot be described in wrds…somehow it was more painful to see Kallu mama getting shot than Satya and ofcos when finally the flashback gets over when Bhau throws away the newspaper and shoots the pic of Khandwilkar..now was that an open ending??
[...] wonderful piece from PFC… Link On most cases a film will have a happy ending rather than a sad ending. That is a fact. I do not [...]
Awesome write up Googloonda, this could be a series!
I am a sucker for happy endings too.
One of the best endings I have seen till date is where an elite, orthodox, totalitarian father (Poornam Vishwanathan) makes peace with his mutinous son’s (Kamal Haasan) unconventional and unusual way of going about with his life, in a tamil movie named “varumayin niram sigappu” directed by K.Balachandar.
Another movie that comes to mind is Hotel Rwaanda, for its stark no-nonsense depiction of what has been and what could have been.
And yes, there are more - The Godfather, Golmaal, Drohkaal, Nine Queens, Spy Game, Motorcycle Diaries, Usual Suspects, The Italian, Children of Men, Kshana kshanam, Money (RGV), Pallavi Anu-pallavi (Mani).
I thought Bluffmaster is a straight rip from Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men…..and yes, the ending (con job) there has far serious implications.
Talking about the ENDS,
Any opinion abt this guys!!
GFNA Factor
Boy loves the Girl. Girl loves the boy, but her father is an obstacle.
Though many films have been made with this kind of storyline I chose to pick three for my lecture.
Maine Pyaar kiya.
Saathiya.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
First things first, the entire story of the above mentioned films wasn
and not “The Game”?.. I somehow have a strong feeling for “NO Smoking” too to have some element of “The Game”. Hope I am proven wrong..
@wb
>orthodox, totalitarian father (Poornam >Vishwanathan) makes peace with his mutinous son
I did not like Dil Se because of its ending. I just could not digest the idea of Shah Rukh Khan becoming a terrorist just for the love. And that is why I did not like Dil Se very much.
Yep, I also enjoyed Aankhen and yep, it did not have a good ending. Apparently, they had two endings - one for indian audience and one for overseas audience. In Indian version’s ending the end was at Amitabh Bachchan in the prision. Paresh Rawal is hilarious in this movie!
Omkara was another film which had an uneven ending. I expected a twisted ending like Maqbool, but… okay, both movies were different ……… but still…..
Both Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile had a good ending as well.
Honhaar Goonda,
Its a good article. I am not against happy ending, a movie should have good ending( demanded by script/story) rather than deliberately making it happy-ending for marketability. My favorites are below.
1. CHANDINI BAR
Tabbu plays a character rather than heroin in the film. At the end when her son becomes gonda and her daughter becomes bar dancer, i felt it so real. she fights a lot to protect her childrens for all odds, but cant help them taking the same path as their parents. Very good one.
2.AKS
At the end the inspector gives a evil smile ( in a train station) this marks the fact that the evil now entered from Amitab Bachan to the inspector. This is not a opening for sequel movie, this ending epitomized the whole move that “change is inevitable” and “evil will persist forever in society, it just reformers from one form to other”. Very good message.
3.PAGE3
the good part of thhis ending is “there is no ending” in the last few seconds ( with song “Do pal milthe hai” playing in the back ground ) epitomized the movie. And movie concludes with two dialogues,
MANAGER: Madvi, kaha jaarahi ho ? party to abhi shuru hu yi hai.
MADAVI: No sir, mereli ya party kaham hogayi.
There is lot of symbolism in that last dialogues.
4.MANDI ( sham benagal’s)
When ShabanaAmi leaves the home , i thought ok what next. Then there she makes a WISH, and in next seen the girl previously escaped from her brothel returns; which marks that ShabanaAzmi is in business again.
5.ASTISVA
This movie would have been flop if they had a happy ending :) . Tabbu was asked to leave the home due to her infidelity, and she does.
6.BLACK-FRIDAY
I guess i need not to say much on this one. The real footage of Bombay-blast shown at the end of movie revives the whole movie.
I count many more, but enough for now. :)
Taking generally about endings, i feel south indian’s are more open for tragic ending than Bollywood movies. I can count lots of movie from KANNADA, TAMIL, MALAYAM with tragic ending and became huge hit. May be because its also true that south Indians movie has lots of melodrama ( more than bollywood) movies are specially targeted for villagers, who like to cry :((. the latest all time blockbuster Kannada movie MUNGARU-MALE is a huge tragic movie.
And you can get countless movie from Hollywood with brilliant endings. My all time favorite is SIXTH-SENSE :d/. The whole movie banks on that last sean. Though its suspense movies ( suspense movies has this kind of ends, ) SIXTH-SENSE is special.
Pavan Jha // Yes sir, spot on! It’s remade as Zara si Zindagi in Hindi. And your observation about Anita Raj and LP is bang on target!! Thankfully the Telugu version Aakali Raajyam was made at the same time as Tamil, and had MSV tunes. This movie deserves a post for itself - anyone?
I love the way kieslowski’s Red ends. Its so amazing that it takes you to another level and gives an entirely different understanding of the term fraternity, on which the film is based. and its not just the climax of the film but its the climax of the trilogy and I loved the way it wraps it up all the three films.
another climax which comes to my mind if of Mili. It has an open ending. we dont know whether mili will survive or not. aeroplane going towards the sky can mean anything, going closer to god (as in may be shes going to die) or a hope going high (as in may be shes going to live). I loved this amuguity for a mainstream film that too in 70s.
and the disappointing climax that comes to my mind is of lord of the rings: return of the king. and its not only the climax, the film didnt work for me. it was so predictable, tooo happy for no reason, as if they went out of their way to make it happy. i know its based on a book and the makers chose not to take too many liberties with it but whatso ever is the case, i still was disappointed by the film and its climax bigtime. i just found it too disney or may be kiddish is the expression I should use.
honhaar goonda: I dont know how you read the climax of Dil se but what i felt that there was no signs given to make you believe that shahrukh became a terrorist for the sake of love.
Rather, its shown that manisha is supposed to blast at india gate but its shahrukh who stops her and takes her somewhere else. and knowing that she has a bomb attached to her body which can blast anytime and which will kill her, he choses to hug her and die with her in that blast.
On a symbolical level, the bomb signifies politics and terrorism. The act of hugging each other signifies the love they share and the final blast signifies that how the former kills the latter. And thats what makes it tragic and intelligent, according to me.
My issues with Dil se were that the love and passion which shahrukh has for manisha is never justified properly or may be i should say I found it ver improbable, unbelievable. I just couldnt feel his passion and pain the way I’d have liked to.
wb
will surely write on zara si zindagi, some day.. its been one of my fav college time pics.. “ghar se school.. school se college, college se kahaan, kahaan.. awaara sadko.n pe phire.. he yahaan se wahaan..” but the beautiful song “ta na na na na” was mercilessly murdered by LP-AB team..
@goonda…badhiya post. but i think lot mnay times the ending is based on the pov that u endorse. like bhiku/satya will never be the mumbai ka king in the end…
the worst ending in recent times is of nishabd. after declaring his love n all that…amitabh decides ki main uski yaadon ke sahare ji loonga…why ? bcz audinece would not accept it. yes as if with that ending audinece accpetd the film.
two films that comes to mind…are drohkaal n HKA. drohkal had sexy ending…open but not forced at all. HKA was bittersweet…u keep on thinking about teh film after its over.
I remembered watching a film twenty years back on TV called “Sutradhaar” (Nana-Smita).. had a great final shot.. do you remember the film?
Ijaazat too had a great ending.. The film stays with you even after you leave the theater..
as far as Aankhein is concerned, the two endings are justified as in plays (it was based on a gujarati play) showing Anti-climax is a regular feature.. and the other ending was a good platform for the sequel to be..
adesh, i did not read the ending like that. if manisha only died and then SRK was left thinking… then perhaps….
milli is a classic. she was meant to go to america for a treatment - was not she?
i have not see many films that you have commented on, so i won’t be able to give my views on that. sorry.
Hazaron Khwaisi Aisi.. that was a bittersweet ending. The audience must have been confused (in a good way) of what to make of the film….. or the characters.
And how can we forget the ending of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron? Or the climax!
yes Mili was supposed to go for a treatment to america but its never stated in the film whether they’ll be able to cure it there too or not. It all hangs on ‘may be’ factor. so she goes there but its never revealed whether she got cured or not. and on this ambiguous note the film ends. And thats why i like it much more than Anand (which is said to be a parellel view of Mili), as i find its characters and treatment much more refined, believable and progressive.
And as for Dil se I think its just a partial clash of point of view.
Partial because I like its climax for the same reason for which you hate the film.
But then I also think that your suggetion is also not bad at all. infact had she died alone and he would have continued with his life, as in went ahead and got married to priety, it would have made a lot more sense to me. because in any case, as i said earlier, i found his passion and love too contrived which lacked required reason and charm.
So basically right now it seems that they are trying to show that his passion and love is for real but as an audience I am not able to believe the same.
But if your suggested ending would have been used, then it would have meant that they are actually trying to show that his love and passion was more impulsive and for the moment kinds than more real and passionate, conforming it further by showing that he continues with his normal life while re evaluating his relationship with manisha. and this is how it would have had different political and social connotations too.
Endings..I have a few of my weird choices…
Dhuan - adapted from Hitchcock’s “Chase the crooked Shadow”…but Rakhee in the court had a wonderful soliloquay..with Mithun accusing/forcing her all the way…was brilliant!!
Suraj ka Saatvan Ghoda - An extra special climax..with that silent street and Rajat Kapoor’s sutradhar work coming up trumps for the entwined stories in the movie..brilliant piece of story telling by Shyam Benegal!!!
Nayakan - Destiny catches up with Kamalhasan outside court amidst blind adulation!! This was seminal in my movie watching history..
Junoon (Shashi Kapoor) - An epic story told with great finesse..watch Shashi’s and Naseer’s clash at the end!!!
Naam - Sanjay Dutt’s end reflects his life after that..amazing in hindsight!!!
Some of my favorties:
Main Azaad Hoon: I watched it for the first time as a 8 year old kid, and I still remember that I lost my sleep for days. Azaad’s speech in the end after his death was too good for me
Sehar: Its ending had everything which other movies of the same genre lacked. Esp the scene where Pakaj Kapur says “Yeh kahani sirf unki nahi thi, hum sabon ki thi, solanki, yadav, baidhnath, sayeed aur meri”
Dil Se was a complete crap when you consider Terrorism/Terrorist as a root of the plot.. but if you consider Dil Se as a journey/stages of Love (Hub, Uns, Ishq, Aqidat, Ibadat, Junoon, and Maut) with a sub plot of Terrorism, it was an interesting experiment.. Consider “Satrangi re” as the theme song or the rooh of the film.. beautifully written to convey the theme and seven shades of the love from hub, uns to maut.. Unfortunately Terrorism factor over shadowed the theme and Chhaiyya Chhaiyya over shadowed Satarangi Re.. and Dil Se couldn’t remain Dil Se.. and Sharukh dies to convey Junoon and Maut.. somehow I feel both SRK and Manish couldn’t live up the passion of the protagonists.. Director’s fault ofc..
H.G,
Thats very good take on difference between “Happy Ending” and “Good Ending”. Hindi films dont necessarily always have happy ending, for example, in majority of his 1970s films, Amitabh Bachchan died so from that POV its not happy ending but films got success or praise.(Sholay,MQS,Shakti etc). Many art films of 1970s and 1980s had open ending and people normally did not like such obscure ending where neither director was knowing what he was showing nor audience got to know.
On an average Indian story tellers (writers and directors both) do not have full command on the ending. A book may be going so good but it ends up in very abrupt manner and same happens with films also. Otherwise going smooth films end up in strange order.
Somewhere Indian psyche of last 2-3 centuries is responsible behind this lack of proper ending else old literature has a proper and defined ending.
Moreover, HAPPY or SAD, a JUSTIFIED ending thats always needed. Whatever looks justified will work!
true, true, amitabh died in many films, but the film did not end their - it was not the final say. there were more 30-40 seconds after that scene, to make the audience forget about that instance.
i have not seen those art films of 1970/80s era. so…. but over last decade or so majority of the film had a typical happy ending when it could have done with a different ending..
and yes, agree, you gotta have a justified ending.
Onir is present on PFC and perhaps he may throw a very good light on this topic. I believe he might have got sleepless nights over the eending of his his film Bas Ek Pal. Thats kind of film where one has to spend lot of energy in deciding what kind of end should be kept in the film as lives of charaacters are so intermingled with each other and whom to kill and whom to keep alive is a million dollar question and often a better ending (which looks lucky also in the end as far as success of film is concerned) may turn the fortune of such film.
If you go back you will find difficulty of director/writer of the film in films like Andaj, Sangam or later Silsila also.
Earlier two were commercial success and last one was not.
Because directors of earlier two films presented end in a justifed manner which was absent in last one. hence sometimes audience is in disagreement with Director’s POV regarding the ending.
Just watch Nanhe Jaisalmer and see how a film which could be somewhere close to The Sixth Sense in the ending has got a bad ending.
Hey HG. dont waste time and energy in searching meaning in meaningless films. Only some sensible films should be matter of your concern.:)
You will be lost if you will take care of ending of regular hindi film as they are meant to have any kind of ending whatever suit Director’s that days mentality:d
and the seven shades of love as the theme of dil se conveyed (or failed to convey properly on screen)
Hub : Attracted (Ai ajnabi tu bhi kahin awwaz de)
Uns : Infatuated
Ishq : Fallen in Love (dil to akhir dil hai na )
Aqidat : Prayer (Mera kalma wohi mera naghm wohi)
Ibadat : Worship (Taaviz banaake pahanu use, aayat ki tarah mil jaaye kahin)
Junoon : Passion (Cant think of any thing, even country.. satarangi re)
Maut : The Destination.. “Mujhe maut ki god me sone de, Teri rooh me jism dubone de”
lol, i never do. but still… i meant, those seconds were just unnecessary - waste of footage - money - etc.
for me “haasil” fells at the end due to it’s climax…”shool” to has problems..(smells an issue betwn ramu and anrag over that)…..kora kaghaz has nice end..”bawarchi” has a terrific end and in the same way..”annad” and “mukkadar ka sikandar” ends on sad note but still remains with us..taxi driver(travis bickle) ends at beautiful note. “schindler’s list” end is brilliant..even i liked the end of “father and the bride” and “swept away”…”aakrosh” has great end…”ijaazat of course is nice end.
ya mixed doubles missed the bus.
H:G,
Ending of a comedy film is a bit easy task and almost every kind of funny end will look justified. Problems come when subject is dark or sensitive then a justified ending is costly affair to decide.
For Example, see Guide here ending is very important factor. When whole film is going on a higher level then a good justfied and same higher level end is needed and hence Vijay Anand could deviate from the book of RK Narayana and could show a different ending which looks justified on screen. It appeals to audience.
When one is making Do Bigha Jameen and treatment of film is like as shown in the film then director needs a good justified ending which does not look filmy. See Apu’s world, last of Rays triology and it has an ending which does not cover immediate practical problems but its just good to see father owning a small son and emotional quoteint bring a good ending before us and we are satisfied.
If Director has not seen the ending before and wish to change it as per performance of actors or importance of characters or when for sake of being different Director wishes to keep different ending which may not look justified but which may send shocking messasges to audience then sometimes we remain unsatisfied with the ending. (we are discussing films with some substance and not completely chalu masala films).
It can be a matter of research that why Naya Daur’s ending look good but ending of Guru looks odd.
@HonHaar
I beg to differ with you on three endings - Dil Se, Mixed Doubles and Munnabhai.
1. Munnabhai -
Who else other than Gracie Singh can convince Boman that Munnabhai’s heart is in the right place and with his love, he “has” achieved a medical miracle. She needs to also convey to him that she has fallen in love with the golden hearted gangster. Both of these objectives are achieved through that lecture - its the most logical part of the ending. Even the part where they are drunk and Munnabhai’s parents arrive is very well-done. The “end of the ending” where Munnabhai and Circuit’s families are shown, “Chhota Circuit” is introduced, and MBBS is explained as “Munna, Biwi, Bacchon Ke Saath” - can it get more innovative than that ? Its a feel-good movie and that quality has to shine through even in the ending and it does.
The only part which comes out as corny is where Gracie Singh gives that ‘jadoo ki jhappi’ to Munnabhai. For some reason, it seems more “motherly/sisterly” than “girlfriendly”.
2. Dil Se -
Its so clear that SRK ultimately hugs Manisha even after knowing she is a bomb, with a dual objective - to prevent the terrorist act (which was always an obstacle to their love) and confirm to the adage - “Jeena Marna Tere Sang” .. this ending is very Fanaa-ish and again, to my mind, completely logical.
3. Mixed Doubles -
Ranveer does not do it with Koel (she falls asleep !! ) and just before the ending scene starts, Konkona is shown in the arms of Rajat Kapoor. In the ending, Ranveer is frustrated that he did not get what he wanted and he asks her whether she did it with Rajat or not. She does not clarify and that is left open to audience interpretation. Ranveer is the bunny.
Both of them then arrive home and pick up the pieces of their lives like it was all a bad dream (which was what needed to be conveyed).
I rewound and watched the earlier scene many times, trying to find out whether the director has left any hint, if she slept with Rajat or not. In my opinion, absolutely fking brilliant ending.
And then there are some movies, whose endings elevate the movie to a new level - Droh Kaal, The Sixth Sense, Chandni Bar, Page 3.
And then there are some movies, whose endings are dramatized, but attain iconic status - DDLJ. SRK first meets Kajol when he is on the train and she is running and then in the end, she is again running towards his outstretched fingers, only this time, the train is in India. Dramatized but iconic. Am just waiting that somebody would spoof it/pay homage to it.
Turrtle: I’m totally with you on Mixed Doubles. I thought the ending was great, v witty, like a huge wink, a kinda wry revenge on Ranvir’s character, so that the joke ends up being on him. It was a bit sudden, but the ‘moral’ hits you slowly later. Short, sharp and sweetly sour.
Santosh Sivan’s “Terrorist” has an absolutely brilliant ending. The entire movie is so focused and builds and builds to culminate in that one moment when Malli is at the crux of her mission and has to push that button to blow herself up. But just before the mission, she learns she is pregnant. At that moment when she has to blow herself up, something she has been trained and longed to do, she realizes the additional life of her child that she would take with her. She drops the detonator instead of triggering it, and the credits roll, showing the power of humanity over ideology. One of the greatest endings I have seen.
Some of the best endings i have ever seens are:
Sorry for HW endings, most of mt fav BW are already taken. :(
. Bridge on the River Kwai — nothing beats it (sheer madness ;) )
. American Beauty — Your entire life flashes …
. The Italian Job — the bus hanging over the cliff with all the gold in the center :)
. Von Ryans Express — Frank Sinatra almost makes it :(
. Nishant — the climax and ending
. Shiva — finally Bhavani’s finished, loved the way Illayarajas music takes a u-turn as Shiva settles down
. Agantuk — unexpected turn of events
. Jana Aranya — the protagonist finally surrenders his values
Brilliant topic, post and discussion.
I am late, Goonda Bhai. I am a sucker for deconstruction so any film that opts for that route enters my list.
Loved Dil Se for all the very reasons discussed here. I love it when an end is thrown open for a wtf reaction. It is so cool, its like a film maker’s sadistic joke on the audience, “ya baby, I made the whole fucking film. now eat this!i dont wannna do it your way, fuck off”
Vijay Bhai, I still gotta see Terrorist, bought it some time back in Chennai. didn’t read your comments, might lose the fun.
IMO, film ends can’t be classified, but still its a nice platform to share our favorites and not-so-favorites and hate-thems.
some ends are made to shock you, like dil se, reservoir dogs, qsqt, maachis, bhoot, amorres perros, fear eats the soul.
some come a full circle, are grandesque and fill you with memories and that weird intangible thing called cinematic bliss. cinema paradiso, back to the future, iruvar, lagaan, swades,RDB…
while some are plain predictable yet acceptable, ddlj, chak de india(though i havent seen it), sarkar,guru,dch..
i wouldnt talk about the rest as it constitutes the chunk(90%) of our films.
while we are at it, we might also consider ruling out literary adaptations like black friday, devdas, munich, apocalypse now, godfather series…
One ending that really made an impression on me was the ending of “Sadma”. I was young at that time, and felt absolutely miserable watching the plight of Kamal Hassan.
Later…one thought remained in my mind forever was, did Kamal Hassan go to Sridevi’s city to convince her or remind her?
Then came a story…If Kamal Hassan is a loser, you will find him as a mad man in the platform…If he is not, then Sadma part 2, will Kamal Hassan go to the city, and instead of trying to remind Sridevi about the past, will he make her fall in love with him? All over again?
Life is Beautiful, too had a brilliant Climax.. It took the film from no where to the peek of mount everest..
Another good ones include Shawshank Redemption and The Usual Suspects (one of the finest mystery movie)
@HG : Indeed JBDY was excellent (another Anti-Climax used to perfection)
Another ending I loved watching in recent times was Ramji LondonWaley.. BigB’s appearance was a pleasant surprise
Khamoshi (1969) too had a brilliant climax..
@Rk you bet I had many a sleepless night and restless days trying to decide the end of BEP. I knew I was going for a dark end… but there were many possiblilties and I was very conflicted about the end right up to the day before the shoot.
Opinions were divided. I discussed with my assistants, with Shyam Kaushal- my action director and presented all the three options for the end I had to my five leading actors.
Finally three out of five of my actors, my Action director, and I opted for this.
I still do not know if it would have made a difference if the end was different. I know my execution was BAD, but I think there are so many other factors that go towards a film being accepted or rejected. But the climax was something that from the beginning till the end gave me sleepless nights…. and even now i think… “what if?”
wasnt khakee a rip off of LA confidential?
khakee was loosely inspired by WAGES OF FEAR
wages of fear? the old oil tanker wallah french movie? sorry but i fail to see the connection anurag.
never seen wages of fear..but i found a lot of similarities between la confidential n khakee..everything was same ..apartt from certain sub plot which was filmy ofcourse
“Khamoshi (1969) too had a brilliant climax..”
You think so PavanJha? Personally I wanted to slap Waheeda back to her senses. There’s also a Bengali version starring Suchitra Sen which is quite famous.
Re ‘Sadma’: One of my fave endings. I also saw it when I was v young and never forgot the climax. KH’s desperate attepmts at making Sridevi remember him is truly heartbreaking to watch. The subject of memories reminds me of ‘Eternal Sunshine…’(another great film/ending)…and if there was a ‘Sadma’ sequel, maybe KH could also have his memories of her wiped and then see if destiny brings them together again like ‘Eternal Sunshine’…or just stay as he is and try to make her fall for him again…maybe somewhere inside she might feel like she’s always known him…?
And I absolutely love the ending to ‘Mr & Mrs Iyer’. It’s a film which could so easily have/demands a sequel, but as badly as you want to see them together, you know that the beauty of it lies in the ‘What If…’, which could be ruined if they hooked up again. I guess there’s pain both ways…
Sadma part 2 .. now that IS an interesting thought.
Yeah why not…I even have a script ready…but don’t want to take it out now…Need some brilliant actors as good as Kamal Hassan and Sridevi…
I wouldn’t wanna watch it without KH and Sridevi. Just won’t be the same.
Well, they kinda look old now…but then, there might be another story here if we want Kamal and Sri to come together on screen again for Sadma 2….
Kamal, now a 40 year old man comes to the city, almost mad. By a twist of fate, he lands up in the care of Sridevi…divine justice! HAHA!!
Yeah maybe they’re older (tho she’s looking pretty good these days), but you could play on that track and the 20(or whatever) years later might actually make it more poignant/apt (time-gap/memories/remembering, etc) than if he’d chased after her the next day. There’s huge potential - a comeback for Sri (and in a way for KH too), a revisit to a well-loved oldie which pulls on the ‘memories’ of both the characters and audience….and I like the idea of Kamal ending up in Sridevi’s care! *-:)
*shoulda read: “but you could BASE it around that track…”.
Well…It can be pretty heart tugging! It looks like a great idea! Anurag ji, Mangat ji produce karenge? ;)
@ Adesh
I agree with you about Dil Se that the ending doesn’t signify that Shahrukh ‘became’ a terrorist. But unlike you, I think it was a perfect ending. And it was actually one of his better performances; it required eccentricity and I thought it came through in the performances.
@turtle
Agree with you on those 3 movies. Especially Mixed Doubles. I was left wondering she did sleep with Rajat or not too; I think she didn’t. But I love how it ends, back to the routine life. The ending comes as a surprise. You’re left wanting more but ….. you don’t …. (What do you guys think? Do you think she slept with him?)
@ Vijay
Terrorist is an awesome. The end is beautifully set up.
@ Tushar