12 movies you must see in your lifetime.
1. Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others). Germany. Life of a Stasi secret service agent who is engaged in communist terror against artists and free thinkers. For crisp flow, sheer realism and suspense build-up, nothing even comes close. Have watched it countless times.

2. Der Untergang. (Downfall) Germany. The last days of Hitler, cooped up like a rat in his concrete underground bunker, raging against his fate, his generals and his own people. As the Russian Army smashes into Berlin for Nazi Germany's gotterdammerung, the movie shows Hitler as both evil and tragic - sheer filmmaking genius that you only find in European directors.

3. Glengarry Glen Ross. USA. A day in the life of a real estate company. It has some of the greatest actors of Hollywood - Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Jack Lemon, Ed Harris - portraying shady property agents without a single redeeming characteristic. Normally actors work in shifts, but during the making of this movie all the actors used to report for shooting at the same time to watch each other act. Couple of negative references to Shiva and Vishnu and a positive reference to Jesus shows the mindset of American liberals, but still a great movie.

4. Swingers. USA. This is a Vince Vaughan film about a bunch of guys looking at ways to date. Each has their own technique. Some are pick-up artists. But in the end the message is that when it comes to finding your life partner, nice guys do well.

5. Goodfellas. USA. Classic mafia movie. This has some of the coolest lines in Hollywood. The "Funny how" scene in which Joe Pesci tries to scare Ray Liotta is a classic.

6. Casino. USA. Las Vegas provides the perfect setting for a superb voiceover style film about a former bookie who wants to put his past behind and start over in the city of dreams. Just when things are looking perfect, he makes a terrible mistake - he falls for an attractive vixen, Sharon Stone, who does not and cannot love him back.

7. Liberation. Russia. The Russian military machine rolls into Berlin and squashes the German Army. Hundreds of actual WW II tanks were used in the shooting. The casting is amazing as the actors are uncannily similar to the characters they play - Stalin, Roosevelt, Zhukov. Russians know the sacrifices their armed forces made in WWII and therefore they make magnificent war movies.

8. War And Peace. Russia. This is an 8 hour long movie about Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Mosfilm spent $100 million back in the 1970s. The money is well spent. The epic scale of the fighting dwarfs the characters despite their powerful performances. During Soviet times, the film actually ran in theatres with an interval after 4 hours.

9. Oru Vadakan Veeragatha. (A Northern Ballad). Kerala, India. Set in the 12th century CE, it is about a fratricidal feud in a family of Chekavars or kamikaze warriors from the Thiyya community. Mammooty, Suresh Gopi and Madhavi lift the movie despite its historical inaccuracy. If you want to watch authentic kalaripayittu martial arts scenes, this is the movie to watch.

10. Border. Bollywood, India. Saw it first in the iconic Chanakya cinema in Delhi. I remember getting up from my seat, raising my fist and yelling "Porki kutte" when Sunny Deol called the enemy tank commander "Lahore ki gandi naali ke keede". It has a great battle scene, superb songs and an amazing cast.

11. Gangajal. Bollywood. India. There is only one way to treat hardened criminals - without mercy. Gives you a great sense of satisfaction watching criminals cry like girls when the police pour H2SO4 into their eyes. Great catharsis.

12. Silence. Hollywood. USA. Cunning European padres have converted tens of thousands of Japanese to Christianity and these new ricebag "Kirishtans" are now completely anti-Japanese. The film is how the Japanese hit back at the Christians and eradicated the religion completely, reestablishing Dharma in the converted areas. Brilliantly directed by Martin Scorsese, it gives you immense satisfaction to see that there was at least one country in the world where the ruling elites not only understood that Christianity is nothing but a tool of the West to colonise the planet but took active measures to protect their nation from conversion and colonisation.