Top critically acclaimed Bollywood films of 2017

This year was a year for small budget movies as they managed to entertain the audience and even impress the critics. With biggies like 'Raees', 'Tubelight' and few other failing to make it big at the box-office, here is a list of critically acclaimed Bollywood films of 2017.

The Indian comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Amit V. Masurkar was nominated for the Oscars but unfortunately ran out of the race but the film starring Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil and Raghubir Yadav is one of Bollywood's most critically acclaimed film of the year. The plot of the film revolved around Newton Kumar, a rookie government clerk, who is sent on election duty in the conflict-ridden jungles of Chhattisgarh, which is under the control of the Naxalites. Despite the odds stacked against him, Newton tries his best to conduct a fair voting process in the region.

'Shubh Mangal Saavdhan' is a remake of the Tamil film 'Kalyana Samayal Saadham' made in 2013. The story revolves around Mudit Sharma (Ayushmann Khurrana) and Sugandha (Bhumi Pednekar) who fall in love and plan to get married but the twist in the tale comes when the groom discovers that he suffers from erectile dysfunction. The film fared well at the box-office but was well appreciated by the critics. Ayushmann and Bhumi's stellar performances were the highlight of the movie.

'Bareilly Ki Barfi' is considered as 2017's sleeper hit. With an uncanny casting of Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao, the film went on the win the hearts of the audience as well as the critics. The film revolves around the life of Bitti Mishra, who is a bohemian Bareilly girl who falls deeply in love with Pritam Vidrohi, an author, because she admires his progressive way of thinking. Finding him though proves to be as hard as looking for a needle in the haystack. So Bitti seeks the help of the local printing press-owner, Chirag Dubey but the gripping plot keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

Alankrita Shrivastava's film 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' revolves around the lives of four ordinary women, inflicted by silly societal norms, who have to steal, lie, cheat and hide in order to lead the lives that they rightfully deserve. The film was embroiled in a lot of controversies even before its release but eventually made it to the silver screen after a great struggle and bowled the critics. The film depicting the lives of females around in today's world was loved by the audience as well as critically.

Saket Chaudhary's comedy-drama starring Irrfan Khan and Pakistani actress Saba Qamar revolves around the couple Mita and Raj Batra, an affluent couple from Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, are grappling with getting their daughter admission into an English medium school. But there is one big problem. Their 'zubaan' is Hindi, and the elitist snobs won’t let the Hindi speaking hoi-polloi fit in. The critics applauded the stellar performances of the stars and the gripping comedy narrative kept the audience also engaged.

Here's another Rajkummar Rao film which showcased the maverick actors acting skills to the fullest. Helmed by Vikramaditya Motwane the film revolves around Shaurya, who must pluck up the ‘courage’ (pun intended) to stay alive after he accidentally locks himself up in his new rented apartment in a desolate Mumbai high-rise, for almost a week. To make things worse, his phone battery dies and since the building is devoid of residents, electricity and water or food supply, Shaurya must take extreme measures to survive this unexpected nightmare in 'Trapped'.