bollywood movie reviews 2023

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Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan  resumes his much-anticipated comeback with “Jawan” (Hindi for “Soldier”), a high-toned action-adventure about a well-meaning terrorist and his crack team of hostage-taking girls with guns. 

Khan’s revival began a year ago with a prominent cameo in the otherwise meh mythofantastic superhero pic “ Brahmastra  Part One: Shiva .” Then in, January, he stormed the box office with the lead role in “ Pathaan ,” a manic spy thriller and the most recent installment in the Yash Raj cinematic universe. “Jawan” will probably delight Khan’s established fans, and maybe uninitiated viewers, too, if only because he’s comfortably playing the hits, now with somewhat greater conviction and a little more polish.

“Jawan” was produced by the star and his wife Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment production company, so it’s not surprising to see how well-worn and carefully navigated the movie’s contrived plot and conventional mood swings tend to be. This is a Shah Rukh Khan vehicle, and by now, that conjures certain formulaic expectations. Still, the makers of “Jawan” spend a little too much trying to convince viewers that we don’t  really  know Khan’s mysterious antihero, who, after an overproduced but still rousing flashback action sequence, takes a train-ful of commuters hostage. 

Khan’s character, soon revealed to be Azad, the warden of a women’s prison, seemingly executes a woman in a burqa, all while wearing a goofy bald cap, which he soon rips off. Khan, in character, rasps out his expectations-flouting demands to the generically incensed negotiator Narmada (Nayanthara): get the Agriculture Minister to pay off starving farmers’ extortionate loans, or more people will die.

“Jawan” careens from one twist to the next, fast enough that it almost doesn’t matter how familiar and ultimately staid its story and set pieces often are. A few plot twists are also easy enough to anticipate. Azad romances Narmada and charms her impressionable ten-year-old daughter Suji (Seeza Saroj Mehta). He denounces various government officials and combats their corruption with a handful of bloody, media-amplified demonstrations. Azad speaks for the common people but behaves erratically, performing a little soft-shuffle dance surrounded by terrified commuters. He proudly and laboriously explains that he’s actually a good guy fighting the real enemy: public servants who do not serve the republic.

There’s an involved and agreeably goofy subplot that ties Narmada and Azad’s story with the movie’s opening scene, set 30 years prior in an unnamed village that may or may not be Tibet (somewhere near “India’s border,” terrorized by Asian soldiers in white star-studded green caps). If you’ve seen Shah Rukh Khan movies before, you won’t be especially surprised at how these two subplots tie together, though you may be delighted anyway. It’s a major plot twist that predictably takes over the back half of the plot and re-orients Azad’s plot so that viewers know that this time, unlike all the other times, it’s personal. 

This time, there’s a nefarious weapons dealer, Kalee (Vijay Sethupathi), who is as malicious as he is violent. There’s also a surprise cameo from a big Bollywood star, whose presence isn’t really a spoiler if you pay attention during the opening credits. And be on the lookout for a duet dance number led by Khan and Deepika Padukone, who have great chemistry, possibly because they know that, by now, they don’t have to really compete for viewers’ affection. Oh, and a couple of the fight scenes are maximalist show-stoppers despite being over-edited and under-directed. Loud and rote, sure, but never boring.

The main reason “Jawan” doesn’t deliver more than what Khan has previously delivered is because its creators seemingly included every masala-style subplot they could think of. Still, “Jawan” is unlike Khan’s last two comeback trail stops because its creators are better at navigating its many hairpin twists and turns. Kudos to director Atlee, a former assistant director whose credits include the Rajinikanth vehicle “Enthiran” and its sequel “ 2.0 ,” and his creative team.

Most importantly, in “Jawan,” Khan looks more relaxed than in years past, toggling leisurely through his repertoire of tics and poses. He looks especially comfortable in undemanding musical numbers, and he still gives great Blue Steel looks every time he turns on a slow-mo heel to pout at viewers’ and/or co-stars. Shah Rukh Khan is still a star, baby, and “Jawan” uses him about as well as his fans might hope.

Khan even looks good delivering a corny but impassioned speech later in the movie. As Azad, Khan reminds us that he’s just like you and me, the apathetic public who, despite our best intentions, have not always exercised good judgment when voting for government officials. There’s a general election in India next year, and while the makers of “Jawan” could have otherwise taken bigger risks, their efforts are appreciated.

Now playing in theaters. 

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Vanity Fair ,  The Village Voice,  and elsewhere.

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Jawan (2023)

167 minutes

Shah Rukh Khan

Vijay Sethupathi

Deepika Padukone

Sanya Malhotra

Sunil Grover

Sanjeeta Bhattacharya

Ridhi Dogra

Amritha Aiyer

Ashlesha Thakur

Rutuja Shinde

Astha Agarwal

Jaffer Sadiq

Kenny Basumatary

Priyadarshini Rajkumar

Ganesh Gurung

• Ramana Girivasan

Director of Photography

• G. K. Vishnu

Choreographer

• Shobi Paulraj
• Lalitha Shobi
• Vaibhavi Merchant

Action Director

• Spiro Razatos
• Craig Macrae
• Kaecha Kampakdee
• Yannick Ben
• Sunil Rodrigues
• Raja Kumari
• Irshad Kamil

Original Music Composer

• Anirudh Ravichander

Makeup Designer

• Preetisheel Singh

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10 best bollywood movies of 2023.

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10 Best Hindi Movies For New Viewers

10 best bollywood romance films for first time viewers, new 90% horror movie is the perfect blueprint for how to revitalize friday the 13th.

• 2023 was a standout year for Bollywood films, offering a diverse range of genres and themes to cater to all viewers.
• Bollywood movies are gaining popularity among Western audiences due to their ability to tackle social issues while providing entertainment.
• Each film discussed in the article brings something unique and valuable to the table, leaving a lasting impact on the audience.

2023 was a standout year for Bollywood films with a broad range of genres and themes represented in the field, and many that rose to the top as the best of the year. From movies on grand scales with sweeping set pieces and enormous dance numbers, to smaller family dramas with a quieter tone, each movie brings something unique and valuable to the viewer. As with many successful Bollywood films, popular actors provide familiar faces in these films along with newcomers just making their name in the film scene.

In recent years, Bollywood cinema has been getting more popular with Western audiences, and these viewers are coming to appreciate all the films have to offer. Bollywood movies have long been known to deal with issues of class, race, and politics, all while providing fun visuals and compelling interpersonal plots. No matter the film's story, Bollywood movies always move the audience and leave them with an impactful message by the end of the film.

For those who are just being inducted into the world of Hindi movies, these Bollywood masterpieces are an amazing way to start.

10 Dhak Dhak (2023)

Directed by tarun dudeja.

An uplifting tale that follows four women in the style of a classic road trip adventure, Dhak Dhak is a film that focuses on the bright spots of life and provides much-needed positivity to the world. Based on a true story, these women attempted to scale the tallest mountain in Ladakh via motorcycle, but it's the journey to get there that's the most compelling. It's easy to spend time with these women as they all give insight into different aspects of life.

Each comes from a different generation and background, but they all share the desire to get a new lease on life with this trip. Initially, the roadblocks they face in trying to set off on the journey are frustrating, but it's smooth sailing for the narrative once they've embarked. Although the film doesn't delve much deeper than championing feminism and empowerment, it's still a message that's worth remembering today.

9 Khufiya (2023)

Directed by vishal bhardwaj.

Khufiya is a fun and thrilling take on the espionage genre starring Tabu as Krishna Mehra, a spy on the hunt for a double agent. While on this journey, Mehra becomes obsessed with a married couple she suspects of having a hand in illegal activity, and it begins to push her over the edge. It takes some patience to be fully engrossed in Khufiya as the film is paced slowly for the first third, and is over two hours total in length. The full depth and consequences of each character's actions are not revealed until later in the film, but once everything becomes clear, the payoff and movie are satisfying.

8 Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery (2023)

Directed by yashowardhan mishra & inderjeet singh.

Though satirical, Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery has no trouble providing genuine depth and emotional payoff in the end. When two jackfruit are stolen, Inspector Mahima Basor (Sanya Malhotra) is charged with finding them, but her priorities shift when she discovers that there is also a missing girl who needs to be found. Though a lighthearted premise on paper, Kathal is asking deeper questions about the treatment of women in positions of political power, and the correct use of political power in general. Through the high jinks and sight gags throughout the film, there is a lesson about the importance of fairness within a community.

7 Goldfish (2023)

Directed by pushan kripalani.

Goldfish is an understated film that focuses on the relationship between a daughter and her mother who has dementia. Anamika (Kalki Koechlin) ran from her mother and her life in their small town many years ago, but she must return to take care of her and come to terms with her feelings about her past. Slow, steady, and poignant, the film doesn't place blame on either one of them and merely tries to understand where the other is coming from with empathy and understanding. Both actresses shine in the film and make it equal parts heart-warming and heart-wrenching.

6 Mast Mein Rehne Ka (2023)

Directed by vijay maurya.

In a delightful story about finding a connection later in life, Mast Mein Rehne Ka follows two older people living on their own who are brought together when both of their homes get robbed. Despite the stolen goods, the robberies are the best thing that could happen to them, as both are lonely and seeking companionship. The film stands out because it doesn't center on romance as much as it does friendship and finding strength through independence in the process of growing older. Combining both comedy and realism, Mast Mein Rehne Ka makes for a touching film.

5 Farrey (2023)

Directed by soumendra padhi.

An amazing combination of high school dramatics and high-stakes thrills, Farrey showcases the next generation of up-and-coming Bollywood stars within a compelling story. Niyati (Alizeh Agnihotri) is admitted to an elite school, but coming from a different socio-economic background, she comes into conflict with her rich and popular schoolmates and soon gets embroiled in a scheme of cheating and lies. Although high school antics are at the root of the film, Farrey only uses it as a jumping-off point to explore the rich lives of teenagers and proposes bigger critiques of the unfairness of elite education, and how admissions are rarely a meritocracy.

4 Bheed (2023)

Directed by anubhav sinha.

Set in the present day, Bheed takes on the issues that emerged during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rajkummar Rao plays Inspector Surya Kumar Singh Tikas, an officer working at a border checkpoint who grapples with the moral implications of keeping people from crossing the border. The film has a broad scope, and introduces the stories of many other characters, making significant points about the fate of people who are kept from their homes during global tragedy. Though the tale is fictional, it draws inspiration from real life, and the lessons can easily be applied to the treatment of people around the world today.

3 12th Fail (2023)

Directed by vidhu vinod chopra.

12th Fail is a biographical drama and romance about the life of Manoj Kumar Sharma who is played by Vikrant Massey. After being caught cheating on an exam, Manoj turns his life around and studies hard to become an IPS officer. His path is difficult, but he comes to realize that, through perseverance and strength of character, he can achieve anything. All of this is helped by the fact that he falls in love with Shraddha Joshi (Medha Shankar) who is a guiding force in his life as she is a high achiever as well. The film is a compelling portrait of a man's life and journey to honest success.

Bollywood movies tell some of the most dramatic, beautiful, and heartbreaking love stories - here are some must-watches!

2 Ghoomer (2023)

Directed by r. balki.

Ghoomer is a sports film on paper, with cricket being the driving force behind many of the main character's decisions, but in reality, the film is about the emotional and personal growth of the people in the film. When Anina (Saiyami Kher) loses her arm in an accident, it cuts short her dreams of being a professional cricket player. However, she finds solace in Padam Singh Sodi (Abhishek Bachchan), who sets her on the path to becoming a great bowler.

Though both characters have tough exteriors and claim to only care about the game, it's soon obvious that the film is a love letter to the healing powers of sports and the kindness of a mentor figure. Additionally, centering the story of a character with a difference in physical ability, and showing how it makes her stronger in other aspects of her life is a beautiful part of the narrative. Ghoomer shines not only through this story but also through the stirring performances of the two leads.

1 Jawan (2023)

Directed by atlee.

Jawan broke worldwide box office records for Bollywood and Shah Rukh Khan's performance had a lot to do with that. One of the greatest and most popular actors in Bollywood, Khan plays both father and son in the film, allowing him to be in both parts of the dual narrative. With an enormous cast and even bigger set pieces, the scale of the film reflects the star power of Khan, but this does not overshadow the deeper story of political corruption that the film tells. Overall, Jawan is easily the best and most memorable Bollywood film of the year and will stand the test of time within the canon.

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15 best Bollywood movies of 2023, according to Vogue India

By Vogue Staff

As the year comes to an end, I find myself calculating how many hours I spent watching what I consider to be the best Bollywood movies of 2023. I think of the time I watched Jawan thrice in the cinema, cried to “Khufiya” in my bedroom, and revisited my classic Bollywood song playlist after seeing Rocky aur Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani .

2023 was the year many deemed as the comeback of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan made his long-awaited comeback; Karan Johar brought back the grand sets and colourful saris of the ’90s; Kareena Kapoor ushered in her self-admitted Kate Winslet era with two gritty women-led thrillers. As we welcome 2024, Vogue rounds up the best Bollywood movies of 2023 that made an impression on cinephiles.

After a five-year-long hiatus, Shah Rukh Khan made his much-anticipated return to the silver screen with action thriller Pathaan . Revolving around the 2019 revocation of Article 370, the film sees a cancer-ridden Pakistani general catapulted into a vendetta against India. Enter Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan), the RAW agent extraordinaire, who, along with Major Nandini Grewal (Deepika Padukone), forms the J.O.C.R. unit. This globetrotting thriller unfolds like a spy-themed treasure hunt from Dubai to Spain and Moscow to Siberia. It’s got ex-agents, secret codewords and a mutated smallpox virus named Raktbeej—but that’s not all. Brace yourself for a cameo from another famous Khan. Who said international espionage can’t be a masala entertainer?

Streaming on Prime Video

Rocky aur Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

By Mozart Gonzalves

By Piya Dhiman

In this grand Bollywood rom-com and family drama, the traditional Rocky Randhawa (Ranveer Singh) finds himself falling for career-oriented news anchor Rani Chatterjee (Alia Bhatt). When their belief systems, values and—worst of all—families clash, a unique solution is proposed: in an exchange programme of sorts, the two decide to live in each other’s homes. A delightful clash of cultures ensues as Rocky and Rani try to break free of the patriarchal shackles between the feisty Punjabi clan and the refined Bengalis. Add to it a mix of nostalgia and Bollywood’s greatest hits: an instant Karan Johar classic. We will be seated with our best jhumkas. Streaming on Prime Video

In the serene town of Kalimpong, Maya D’Souza’s (Kareena Kapoor Khan) life takes a dark turn when her abusive ex-husband, Ajit (Saurabh Sachdeva), reappears. When Ajit meets his demise—a death witnessed by D’Souza’s reclusive neighbour, math teacher Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat)—things begin to get complicated. Jaane Jaan , Kapoor Khan’s first OTT venture, sees her in a grittier avatar, exploring crime, love and intellectual pursuits. Streaming on Netflix

Dhak Dhak takes us on a rollicking road adventure, not in search of love but self-discovery. Produced by a powerhouse team including Taapsee Pannu , the film features Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanjana Sanghi as four women from different walks of life on a bike expedition to the highest motorable pass in the world. Spanning 83 locations—from Greater Noida to Leh—the film’s shooting was completed in an impressive period of forty days, and touches upon the shared experience of being women in a patriarchal society.

Streaming on Netflix

In this rollercoaster of chaos and twists, Shah Rukh Khan plays Azad, Mumbai’s plucky jailer turned mastermind, orchestrating crime with a band of women inmates . Their weapon of choice? A hijacked Mumbai Metro train and an ingenious plan to fund farmers’ loan waivers. Balancing intrigue , heists and a dash of dark humour, this surprisingly political film unfolds like a Bollywood thriller. Let’s not forget the PSA at the end, where Khan urges people to vote conscientiously before a ten-minute Marvel-esque action sequence. Cinema.

In the gritty realm of espionage, Khufiya unveils a tale sans flashy gimmicks: just spies navigating a complex maze. KM ( Tabu ), an R&AW operative, unravels the betrayal by her ex-lover, a double agent in the shadows. The mission: unmask the mole in the office as R&AW’s highly classified intel is at risk. Khufiya isn’t just a spy thriller ; it’s about survival dependent on deceit. (And we’ll take all the Tabu queer representation we can get, thank you very much). Streaming on Netflix

As far as dysfunctional family dramas go, Goldfish stands out as director Pushan Kripalani’s fresh take on fractured bonds and poignant losses. Centred around Sadhana Tripathi (Deepti Naval) grappling with dementia, and her daughter Anamika Fields ( Kalki Koechlin), the film delves into the intricacies of their strained relationship as Sadhana’s condition worsens. When Ana reluctantly returns home, the interactions between mother and daughter reveal layers of frustration and unresolved conflicts. The film sensitively explores themes of resentment and childhood trauma, making it clear that these are imperfect characters in imperfect circumstances seeking redemption.

In Ghoomer , R. Balki takes us on a spin through the world of cricket, but this time, it’s not your usual bat-and-ball affair. The film introduces us to Anina “Ani” Dixit (Saiyami Kher), a promising cricketer whose journey unexpectedly turns when a freak accident costs her right hand. Enter Padam “Paddy” Singh Sodhi, a former test cricketer with unorthodox methods and a knack for coaching. Paddy, portrayed by the ever-charismatic Abhishek Bachchan, transforms Ani into a spinner with their innovative style: ghoomer. With less than ten months on the clock as Anina tries to secure a spot as a bowler on the Indian women’s cricket team, Ghoomer is a gripping tale of resilience and reinvention.

Streaming on ZEE5

Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery is a satirical feast served with a side of comedy. Directed by Yashowardhan Mishra and featuring an ensemble cast led by Sanya Malhotra, the film invites you to the garden of an MLA, where two jackfruits mysteriously vanish. Inspector Mahima, played by Sanya, is on the case, but there’s a twist: the gardener’s daughter is missing too (no one seems to care). As Mahima navigates this fruity conundrum, the film becomes a light-hearted comedy, cleverly satirising the quirks of the government system.

In Gulmohar , director Rahul V. Chittella rounds up Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee (amongst other talented actors) for a family drama documenting the Batra family’s final bash at their soon-to-be-demolished Gulmohar villa. As the packers and movers lurk in the shadows of a 34-year-old family home, the family’s not-so-picture-perfect relationships take centre stage, exposing secrets, insecurities and more cracks than a demolition site.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Written and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, 12th Fail follows the life of Manoj Kumar Sharma, played by Vikrant Massey. Born to a father who prides himself on his honesty , the film takes a turn when Manoj decides to cheat on his 12th-grade exams, leading to a comedy of errors shining a light on the absurd world of education. From dusty classrooms to the chaos of Delhi , Manoj’s journey involves false accusations, heartbreak and even a touch of romance. Now playing at a cinema near you

Ghuspaith: Between Borders

In this gripping venture, we follow the odyssey of Manav (Amith Sadh), a photojournalist navigating a war-torn land plagued by militancy and a desperate refugee crisis. Sadh’s portrayal of Manav encapsulates the character’s struggles and anxiety amidst treacherous borders and ruthless Mujahideen bandits. This succinct 30-minute film delves into the harrowing realms of human trafficking, smuggling and illegal cattle trade, providing a vivid depiction of the harsh realities faced by crisis documentarians . Inspired by the life and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, Ghuspaith: Between Borders stands as a moving tribute and a must-watch.

Streaming on JioCinema

Mast Mein Rehne Ka

Our new comfort watch comes in the form of a delightful comedy-drama that takes us on a rollercoaster ride through the bustling streets of Mumbai. Jackie Shroff ’s Kamath—a widower stuck in the monotony of his routine—finds an unexpected spark when his home becomes the target of a robbery. As he seeks connection in the city’s starkness, he crosses paths with the vibrant Mrs Handa, played by Neena Gupta. Together, they embark on mischievous adventures, inadvertently stumbling upon the thief who disrupted their lives.

Bheed unfolds as a poignant social drama weaving a tale around the largest migration in recent Indian history: the 2020 lockdown exodus. Directed, written and produced by Anubhav Sinha, the film features Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Dia Mirza and more. Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 lockdown, the narrative captures the struggles and resilience of migrant workers crossing the borders as a police officer tasked with stopping them finds himself rooting for them instead.

An academic thriller flipping the script on scholarship dreams, Farrey turns high school into a high-stakes game. Alizeh Agnihotri shines as Niyati, the brainy orphan whose life takes a heist-sized turn when she partners with underprivileged classmate Aakash (Sahil Mehta) to crack the Oxford University entrance test. They’re not just acing exams but mastering a worldwide entrance scam. Back in my day, we wrote personal statements, but this works too, I guess (kids these days).

- Inputs by Sihaam Naik

Is Bollywood back?

2023s biggest Indian pop culture moments

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By Prabal Sharma

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• Record at THE STUDIO by Rolling Stone India at Creatorland Mumbai

The 10 Best Bollywood Films of 2023

The stories that spoke to our humanity, challenged prejudices and stoked ambition

As the year draws to a close, the world of Bollywood cinema has mesmerized viewers with a unique blend of spectacle, emotion, and storytelling. Here are our top picks, ranked!

Director Atlee’s Jawan , starring Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara, and Vijay Sethupathi, is an action- wala  thriller that, on the face of it, seems no different from other hyper-macho Tamil films where SUVs go flying in the air and gore is just red residue left behind after the hero does a  tandav  with guns and knives. 

Even the film’s ‘honest cop goes vigilante-rogue’ to fix some political and personal wrongs traces its lineage to Amitabh Bachchan’s 1988  Shahenshah  and beyond.

Yet  Jawan  is a landmark film for at least three reasons: One, it reiterated and consolidated Khan’s box-office power. Two, it showcased what incredible swag SRK has when he plays a no-hold-barred, cigar-puffing senior citizen. Three,  Jawan  gave us a collective moment of sweet revenge with a simple dialogue that was so sharp that even a certain Wankhede’s wife was forced to say, “ Main inke kapde Surf se dhoti hoon ”.

I can watch  Jawan  over and over in anticipation of that  seeti-maro, taali-bajao  dialogue that feels like justice has been served, shaken, and stirred. 

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani

It takes very special skills and a certain  khulla-dulla  joie de vivre to pull off what Karan Johar and Ranveer Singh did in  Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani : Turning cringe into a class act.

The film’s story is simple and about a  shaadi . Rocky (Ranveer Singh), a rich Punjabi boy, gets soft-soft feelings when he meets  gori-chitti  Bengali girl, Rani (Alia Bhatt). They fall in love and the rest of the film is about the Punjabi boy and the Bengali girl trying to convince their prospective in-laws to chill a bit on protecting their  izzat  by doing  doosre ki besti .

In this clash of wine-sipping, poetry-reciting bhadralok, and ladoo-selling millionaires, Johar uses jokes, laughter, tension, and tears to challenge gender prejudices and cultural chauvinism. The film questions patriarchal bade-buzurg who control the lives of their children not out of love but because they love exercising their power, and in a dance sequence reminiscent of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, it shatters a taboo so memorably.  

Only Karan Johar could have made a movie so blingy, so melodramatic, and yet so sublime.  

Plotted as a political thriller, writer-director Sudhir Mishra’s Afwaah (Rumour) begins with an election campaign in Rajasthan where Vikram Singh (Sumeet Vyas) is delivering a hate speech. Things go wrong quickly, videos go viral, and as politicians try to control the damage by offering their own for sacrifice, Rahab (Nawazuddin Siddique) and Nivedita Singh (Bhumi Pednekar) are thrown into this vortex of hate and violence.

Afwaah ‘s take-off point is the pursuit of power with the politics of hate. Still, as it winds its way through mohallas and narrow lanes, where people keep joining in and the film has to make brief detours, it illuminates many realities. It shatters many myths, including any about the Muslim monolith.

The film’s plotting is so taut and fabulous that each new character and tangent adds another, new layer of social and political commentary—fromhow police aren’t just complicit but are often an accomplice to what the trinity of power, patriarchy, and Hindutva means for women and minorities. 

The film’s last sequence is again a searing comment on what we, the people of India, have become. 

Director Nandita Das’  Zwigato , which she has co-written with Samir Patil, trains its lens on people who are all around us, but whom we don’t see at all.

Starring Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami, Zwigato tells the story of rising unemployment and the growing gig economy through Manas, his wife Pratima, their two school-going children, and his bedridden mother. 

Manas used to work as a manager at a watch factory but had to join Zwigato as a food delivery man. In the day he drives around delivering food packets and boxes of pizzas, and at night he dreams of submitting a form at the employment exchange. 

Zwigato is set in a modern, digitized India into which old India is slowly moving in. It’s a dystopia of tall glass buildings with guards and gates, where entries are registered and monitored on CCTV, where old class and caste divides are entrenched in new ways. 

The film has heartfelt performances by Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami who humanize the “delivery guy” and the “ malish-waali ”. But Zwigato really is Das’ film, which makes us see those people who bring us our food and clean the malls and their loos. And how their lives and livelihoods are tied to a few seconds of decency and humanity from us. 

Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai

Usually, societies, cultures, and people begin to fantasize about individual courage and triumph when their faith in institutions and the system is shaken. And cinema, especially Indian commercial films, always reflects what people are feeling.

Director Apoorv Singh Karki’s film, set in that sort of mood, tells the real-life story of PC Solanki, an advocate in Jodhpur who fought a court battle against Asaram Bapu to get justice for a minor that the self-styled guru had raped. 

Witnesses are killed and attacked, including in court premises. Threats are issued routinely, and yet the scooter-riding lawyer stands his ground against some of the highest-paid bigwigs of the legal world — Ram Jethmalani, Salman Khurshid, and Subramanian Swamy —  to get justice for the girl and her family. 

In a country where rape conviction stands at 27.8 percent, that’s a fete worth celebrating. But Bajpayee’s heart-warming performance and his character’s dogged faith in justice do more. He made me believe that in the fight for justice  kabhi-kabhi, sirf ek bandaa hi kaafi hai.

Goldfish  

Set in a predominantly Indian neighborhood in London, director Pushan Kripalani’s  Goldfish , which stars Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin, is about imperfect mothers and struggling daughters, about remembering and loss, about love and resentment. 

Anamika (Kalki Koechlin) returns home only for a few days with a task at hand – she has to put away her mother, Sadhana (Deepti Naval), who is suffering from dementia, in a care home.

They talk, but sometimes even their casual comments to each other fall whiplashes, hinting at a past that has faded in the mother’s memory, but lives in the daughter’s life like a constantly troubling companion. 

Sadhana is getting worse, and Anamika, who remembers it all in excruciating detail, would like some answers, and explanations. They argue, and fight, using their vulnerability sometimes as a weapon till they begin to see the other a little bit.   

Kalki Koechlin is excellent in  Goldfish . But it’s Deepti Naval’s performance that comes as close as a performance can to perfection. There were several moments in the film when I really felt that Naval was not well. Bravo!

One of the most identity-shaping series for my generation was Doordarshan’s  Udaan  (1989). Kavita Chaudhary, better known then as Surf’s Lalitaji, drew inspiration for the series from the real-life story of her sister. She wrote and directed the series, as well as played the main character of Kalyani Singh, an IPS officer, in it. 

Writer-director Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s  12th Fail  reignites that aspiration laced with idealism which, even today, fuels young men and women for whom the only way to transcend their reality, to move from the margins to the mainstream, to acquire a voice and some power is by clearing the civil services exam.

The film, based on Anurag Pathak’s book about Manoj Kumar Sharma, a real-life IPS officer, follows a boy from a poor family in Bihar who flunks his 12th-class exams but is determined to crack the civils. 

Manoj (Vikrant Massey) moves to Gwalior where he struggles to send money back home by working in a library, then an  atte ki chakki , while trying to prepare for the prelims and mains.

12th Fail has two stunning, stand-out performances. One is by Vikrant Massey who humanizes his character with desperation, dreams, and determination. The other is by Vidhu Vinod Chopra whose quietly dazzling storytelling uses the constant cackle of real life to sometimes drown out a young man’s ambition, and sometimes he dials it down to heigten the power of impossible dreams.

Most films whose plots are built around women’s distress proceed in predictable ways. In some, a man arrives to save the day and the damsel in distress, in others the woman rises from ashes to exact revenge. 

Director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s Apurva is a genre film, much like Coralie Fargeat’s 2017 French film, Revenge , but with serious feminist credentials and exceptional performances. 

In Chambal, where a gang of dacoits — Jugnu (Rajpal Yadav), Sukha (Abhishek Banerjee), Balli (Sumit Gulati), and Chhote (Aaditya Gupta) — stalks the highway for cash, jewelry, and a bit of mayhem, Apurva (Tara Sutaria) is traveling in a bus to surprise her boyfriend. 

Before she is dragged out of the bus, we witness scenes of such insane violence that it sends chills down my fairly immune-to-gore spine.  

In between all the shooting and killing that follows, there are flashbacks that establish Bhat’s gender politics and deliver  do thappad  to patriarchy and patriarchal films.

We meet Apurva and her family who go to meet a prospective groom. Questions are asked of the boy, not the girl.

We also meet the gang in a quiet moment when they are watching a film. Sukha looks up longingly at the sad, bruised, humiliated woman on the screen and says, ‘That’s the kind of woman I want’. It’s a scene from Kabir Singh . 

The way Bhat’s film unfolds after that, it seems to say that every Kabir Singh must beget an Apurva.

Writer-director Amit Rai’s OMG 2 is about religion and sex, specifically about Hindus and sanatan dharam being more progressive and open about sex before coy, gora colonizers turned sex into  gandi baat . 

The film’s story is about a young victim of this puritanical attitude, and his two saviors. 

Vivek (Aarush Varma), the son of Kanti Sharan Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi), is bullied in school, and when he seeks some sane counsel about his manhood, he is turned away to do his own thing in the bathroom. But then, a clip of him doing  gandi baat  goes viral and he is thrown out of the school. 

Enter Akshay Kumar, who could be Lord Shiva himself or Mahakaal’s messenger. His intervention and cryptic one-liners propel Kanti, a devout Shiv bhakt, to sue the school. 

What follows is a courtroom drama between the lovely, English-speaking advocate Kamini Maheshwari (Yami Gautam Dhar) and shudh-Hindi spouting Kanti Sharan in front of judge Purushottam Nagar (Pavan Malhotra).

A lot of OMG 2’ s dialogues are about Hindu religious exceptionalism, but it uses this to argue against Victorian puritanical morality, even suggesting that the silence and shame that surrounds sex is damaging our sons, and not allowing girls to talk about sexual abuse. And at one point, when a Shivling is placed in a Dalit house, next to a sketch of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, the film is sharply subversive.  

OMG 2 has some lovely performances, but its superpower is Lord Shiv, played with bohemian abandon by Akshay Kumar. At a time when all Hindu gods are shown as angry, OMG 2 ’s Lord Shiva has yoga-guru dreadlocks, wears cool dhoti pants, and a lovely, warm smile.

There’s something about R. Balki’s films that feels so artificial, so contrived that I have always found it hard to connect with them even when I have wanted to. 

Except Paa , and now Ghoomer (Spinner).

Ghoomer is a story about a very talented, driven, and temperamental young cricketer, Anina (Saiyami Kher), who is selected and is all set to bat for India when she loses her right hand in an accident.

It’s like a death sentence for a woman whose only goal in life was to play cricket.

Enter Paddy (Abhishek Bachchan), a man who bowled for India just once, and holds a grudge against the world for not giving him a second chance.

He arrives to mock and goad Anina to take a second chance. 

There’s really a meanness in Paddy as he trains Anina to bowl. But Paddy’s disdain is met with Anina’s unbelievable grit and talent who learns to live and bowl with her left hand.

Saiyami Kher, who plays cricket in real life, is excellent. Abhishek Bachchan as the drunk, sulking badtameez coach is fantastic. And Balki’s Ghoomer , despite its fanciful story, is believable, and inspiring and makes you feel that whatever you want to achieve, you can.

What better note to begin 2024 than this!

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Best Hindi Movies of 2023 (So Far)

The biggest Bollywood hits of 2023 so far show Hindi filmmakers doing some soul-searching to rediscover their connection with their audience.

After a massively successful year in 2022, Indian cinema as a whole has mostly stayed under the radar throughout much of 2023. Few films released in the first half of the year took over the public consciousness, as they did so frequently in 2022. Meanwhile, worries about a supposed crisis in Bollywood remain relevant as Hindi filmmakers have yet to find a concrete response to the changing tastes of the Indian film audience.

Nevertheless, the biggest Bollywood hits of 2023 so far show Hindi filmmakers taking a look back at older trends and doing some soul-searching to rediscover their connection with their audience. The best Hindi movies we have seen so far in 2023 have showcased some of the magic of older Bollywood trends such as thought-provoking family dramas, comedies in grounded settings, along with a revival of the hearty masala-type romances. And that’s just some of the variety delivered by Hindi filmmakers thus far in 2023.

Pathaan was by far the most hyped Indian movie to release in 2023 so far, not just among the Hindi-language audiences but across the country. It marked the comeback of actor Shah Rukh Khan , one of the biggest star brands in Bollywood, after a hiatus of four years. The movie introduced Khan as a major new character in a spy action cinematic universe, and had all the spectacle and visual splendor befitting his comeback. It became the second highest-grossing Hindi movie of all time, and stakeholders labeled it as the flag-bearer for Bollywood’s comeback as India’s leading film industry.

13 Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai

Besides blockbuster action, one other genre that never goes out of fashion among Hindi film audiences is the social drama, especially one that has been written well. Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai is a powerful new entry into this genre, more so because it is based on a very real case involving a powerful religious leader who was convicted on rape charges. The movie was directed by Deepak Kingrani, and features Manoj Bajpayee as the lawyer who fought the case on behalf of the victim. Despite the typical dramatization, critics pointed out that the movie treated the case with sensitivity and brought out a sense of realism in its scenes. Bajpayee’s heated performance in the movie was also a major hit with audiences.

12 Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar represents a return to his strong suit for Ranbir Kapoor, whose 2022 was marred with high-profile experimentations like the Pan-Indian styled Shamshera . Kapoor has always been at his best in romantic comedies , and his work in the genre is counted frequently among modern Bollywood classics. In Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar , he stars opposite Shraddha Kapoor as an anonymous “break-up consultant,” who is forced to lend his services to his own girlfriend. Popular comedian Anubhav Singh Bassi also appears in his debut film role as the best friend to Ranbir’s character.

11 Satyaprem Ki Katha

All the rosy-eyed melodrama of classic Bollywood romances come alive in Satyaprem Ki Katha , a movie that surprised its viewers with its sincerity and its sensitive approach to complex human issues. The movie stars Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani as the leading couple, Sattu and Katha, with Aaryan as a jobless young man who years to get married, and falls in love with Advani’s character.

As they develop and acquaintance, however, Sattu learns that Katha is already in a relationship with another man. Circumstances change, and the two soon get married with blessings from their families. But the movie’s real plot unfolds only after this point, as the two newly-married couple navigates a painful trauma that Katha has been keeping secret.

Related: 11 Bollywood Action Films Unlike Anything You've Seen in Hollywood

Indian comedy movies are second to none when they are grounded in the country’s everyday realities, and that is where Kathal really shines. Although the genre hasn’t been a chart-leading trend since the 2000s, Kathal deserves a mention in this list because of its peculiar premise and the top-notch performances by its cast, filled with revered character actors like Vijay Raaz and Rajpal Yadav.

Sanya Malhotra appears in the leading role as a police inspector working in a small village, whose days are spent navigating the various mundanities of village life. But when two prized jackfruits are stolen from the property of the local political leader, he is pressured to put all her powers to use in order to retrieve them. The entire rest of the movie is as hilarious as the premise suggests, and presents as a hilarious satire on India’s governance.

It wouldn’t be a far cry to consider Gulmohar a movie that will be remembered over the years. Directed and co-written by Rahul V. Chittella, this family drama does a masterful job of unraveling the unspoken conflicts within a family as they gather together for a few days. Gulmohar brings its story to life through a prestigious cast including multiple National Film Award winners, including the veteran Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee, and others.

8 Mission Majnu

Bollywood filmmakers’ fascination with perfecting the spy thriller formula continues with Mission Majnu , a movie that comes with all the classic elements of a spy film from nuclear weapons to undercover agents. Actor Sidharth Malhotra scored another winner with his performance in the movie. Despite faltering in some aspects of his performance, his performance was well-liked by audiences and the movie packed a good punch.

Mission Majnu takes place in the years following the India-Pakistan War of 1971, where Pakistan is secretly working to develop its own nuclear capabilities. Malhotra’s character, Aman Singh, is a deep-undercover agent of RAW, India’s spy agency, who is tasked with discovering the location of the nuclear weapon in Pakistan.

7 Bloody Daddy

Actor Shahid Kapoor has been quietly celebrating a successful year in 2023 beginning with Farzi , which became the most-watched Indian streaming series of all time, and Bloody Daddy , which was the most successful Indian streaming film this year. Throughout his career, Kapoor has displayed a remarkable propensity for playing intense, unhinged characters, and Bloody Daddy puts these instincts to good use.

An action thriller with lots of edge and many twists, the movie features Kapoor as an officer in the Indian Narcotics Control Bureau who is coerced by a local drug lord to return a large stash of confiscated drugs, with his son’s life hanging in balance. Unwilling to go down without a fight, he sets out for a night of intense firefights and makes a play to come out on top.

Spy thriller IB71 comes with a unique and engaging plot that entertained audiences with its high stakes and relatable context. The movie is set around the political conflict of the 1971 India-Pakistan War. When the Indian Intelligence Bureau receives information about an impending attack on the country, agent Dev, played by Vidyut Jammwal, suggests implementing an air blockade. In order to come up with a satisfactory cover story for the air blockade, he comes up with the unusual plan of orchestrating a hijacking of a commercial Indian plan.

Related: The 10 Best Action Movies of 2023 (So Far)

5 The Kerala Story

The Kerala Story released amidst a lot of political controversy because of its religious subject but nevertheless managed to impress audiences when it released in May. The movie is loosely based on the real-life story of three women who traveled with their husbands to Afganistan to join the ISIS. Adah Sharma’s character, Shalini, becomes the main focal point for the story’s narration and portrays her as an innocent victim who is brainwashed by religious extremism.

Although based on real-life figures, the movie was also lambasted for its use of baseless statistics about religious conversion in India. Nevertheless, it proved a popular watch for Hindi audiences, and is the third-highest grossing Hindi movie of 2023 so far.

4 Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga

Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga is a riveting heist thriller with two intermingling crime plots at its heart. Yami Gautam and Sunny Kaushal star as the film’s leading couple, the first a flight attendant and the latter a business owner in debt. What begins as a conventional romance eventually turns into a criminal partnership when the two plan an ambitious diamond heist on a flight to pay back the debt. However, the plan turns awry when the very same flight is hijacked by another group of criminals.

3 Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

Filmmaker Karan Johar’s comeback after a seven-year hiatus, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani features all the classic Johar elements that defined such a big part of Bollywood cinema in the 2000s. The movie features an unusual cast including the return of some Bollywood veterans like Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi.

Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt appear as the titular couple, Rocky and Rani, who come from very different family backgrounds but fall in love all the same. In order to test whether the two can fit into each other’s respective families, they decide to live separately with each other’s families for a period of time. What follows is an examination of patriarchal norms conducted against a grand, melodramatic canvas featuring all the elaborate family dynamics as is common in a Karan Johar film.

An outlandish, self-aware action thriller with black comedy dressings, Kuttey failed to draw an audience despite the project being associated with the revered filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who co-wrote and produced the movie. Arjun Kapoor takes the lead role in this movie as a corrupt police officer answering directly to a local crime lord.

After a major scandal in which he gets caught with money and drugs, Kapoor’s character is suspended from the force, and has to shell out a massive sum to the corrupt powers that be in order to be reinstated. He plans to rob a security truck that transports hard cash for various ATMs around the city in order to come up with the payment. Unbeknownst to him, various other forces are after the same money on the very same night.

The latest movie by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Lost is a thriller starring Yami Gautam as a crime reporter who begins investigating the case of disappearance of a 16-year-old boy who used to be a theater activist. A simple case of disappearance begins to open up ties to various shady elements of politics and corrupt governance with Gautam’s character as the only individual willing to risk their life to unravel the mystery.

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The Best Films of 2023: Shah Rukh’s Jawan and Pathaan, OMG 2 and 12th Fail feature in Shubhra Gupta’s list

Shah rukh's double whammy, and a film that uses religion to broach a taboo subject find place in shubhra gupta's top films of 2023 list. check out if your favourites found a place here..

So. 2023 is nearly done and dusted. And I have to say that not a single big budget multi-starry Bollywood extravaganza this year was good enough for an admission into the straight-up excellent category. The films that have managed to scrape through to my Top 5 list, with some difficulty I have to say, are those that shifted a register, did something new, or new-ish, or brought a near-defeated star back into the light. But they all come with caveats.

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It’s not just about the money, honey: Bollywood made more of it this year than it has in the past few years put together, especially during 2021-22 when it was groaning under the triple whammy of closed theatres during Covid, a holdover of terrible films which were roundly rejected by the audience, and the onslaught of the Southern films (Pushpa, KGF2, RRR) which were unstoppable at the box office.

Finally, it is about freshness and creativity. The zing thing that gets us into the theatres, surrendering to the dark, waiting for the screen to light up with story-and-character. In most of the films that made the cut, there were several enjoyable moments, but as soon as they were over, we went back to going tch-tch, this could have been so much better.

As we hover on the cusp of 2024, I’m left wondering if studio-backed, star-led Bollywood has lost its ability to create pure, untrammelled cinema. Are we now going to only get corporate calculations of ‘what works’ which will leave us with constructed well-produced ‘content’ with zero feelings?

I leave you, meanwhile, with the films which gave me something to smile about.

An adolescent boy is shamed for doing something nature has equipped him for at his age and stage. His school throws him out, his family is made fun of, and his father, who should have known better, hangs his own head, too.

Amit Rai’s OMG 2 doesn’t mince words. It smartly uses religion (sanatan dharm, no less) to broach, and breach, a taboo subject. Its humour is underlined; it has a superfluous song or two. But what it does is something no Hindi film has done, not just this year, but in all these years: it normalises young people’s sexual urges, to explore their own bodies and those of others, and offers up sex education up an urgent topic of conversation. Masturbation. Gasp. Hasth maithun. Double gasp.

Pankaj Tripathi is earnest and effective as the father, and Akshay Kumar plays second fiddle: the former is a devout Shiva ka das, the latter is Shiva incarnate, with his faithful Nandi plodding along. I’ve always maintained that when Akshay is not taking himself seriously, he can be fun. And props to his designer: a harlequin jacket sporting all the primary colours is uber cool.

SRK had rizz before rizz was a word. There he is, face bloodied, hair hanging down wildly, as his torturer lands yet another blow. The camera swoops low, the background music goes crazy, and we know that this is the moment. Pathaan breaks free. And the star who plays the character does too. About time.

Pathaan works because SRK’s raffish charm offensive makes it work, along with the eye-catching trio of Deepika-John-Dimple. It is a film which takes on the persona of its kinetic lead character– jumping off cliffs, swooning on beaches swarming with beauties in stringy bikinis, chivvying a bad guy who once used to be a good guy, and exchanging world-weary banter with another superstar who just happens along, just to, you know, hang.

Taking a day off to get a hair-cut? Even Bond doesn’t play it as cool.

Jawan isn’t as much a film as it is a declaration of intent. SRK’s second blockbuster of the year, after Pathaan, sets him up as our person. He understands what it is to be powerless, and he is the saviour who will set everything right.

Atlee’s hero is the classic Everyman who stands like a shield against oppressors of all hues: greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, venal cops. These enemies have always been around in mainstream cinema in all languages: we recognise them even before they open their mouths.

SRK plays the double-role of father-and-son, another masala trope we would know in our sleep. Jawan is the old-school hero made new, and SRK takes the character and runs with it. And he, clap, clap, gets a posse of women to help him reach his target. Not all of it works, but what does, is right up there.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra got his mojo back with 12th Fail, a heart-warmer of a film about an underdog who battles, with admirable grit and courage, the odds stacked against him, in order to crack the all-important UPSC examination.

Manoj Kumar Sharma’s father, a low-level officer, wears his honesty like a badge, but never has any spare cash. He has made it clear that if his son wants to make something of himself, the latter will have to do it all by himself. Manoj, played with absolute conviction by Vikrant Massey (watch him take away several Best Actor awards in 2024) doesn’t let anything deter him, not even his several rounds of failures in the ‘prelims’ and the ‘mains’, winning his fair lady on the way. There are a few contrivances that the plot throws up, but on the whole, this is a film which makes you want to celebrate the never-say-die human spirit. Yes, this is a tunnel, and look, there’s light at the end of it.

Rocky and Rani Ki Prem Kahani

By rights, Rocky and Rani shouldn’t have been here : I just couldn’t like it enough because of its overwritten dialogues, and ideas which look as if they’ve been left-over from his earlier hits. What’s with this obsession with ‘mithai ki dukaans’ from Chandni Chowk? Wasn’t all juice leached out of it in K3G? So last decade ya.

Karan Johar has never used so much tell in his colourful romances: he does well enough with show. But there’s your Rocky-Ranveer, top-to-toe in emerald Gucci, and Rani-Alia as a TV reporter with a jaw-dropping wardrobe — just look at those sari blouses — not heating it up as much they could have. Whatever happened to smoulder? There’s Jaya Bachchan who doesn’t get a break from being a sourpuss, though her gorgeous scarlet lip-colourful is a show-stopper in its own right. And there’s Shabana Azmi and Dharamendra in a late-stage love story, which makes you smile, but also wince.

But one song in the film has Ranveer Singh and Tota Roy Chowdhury swirling and twirling on a stage, their blood-red lehengas making a statement as dextrous as their dance moves, against the world of heavy-handed men. It’s because of that one song, and what it represents, that the film leaps into this bunch.

What a sequence. In one fell swoop, it imparts a genteel kick up generations of patriarchal backsides, and slides neatly into the sweet spot gender fluid persons hide in, hoping no one will out them, and makes it beautifully seen.

Do we love patriarchy being smashed? But obvio.

Apart from these, I have some honourable mentions.

Three Of Us .

Right on top is Avinash Arun’s Three Of Us. It isn’t a big-budget, big-star film. It comes from the director who made Killa, one of the loveliest coming-of-age films in Indian cinema. That this one, starring Shefali Shah, Jaideep Ahlawat and Swanand Kirkire, made it to the multiplexes, feels like a miracle. The film is a winner, spinning a heartbreaking story of love, loss and remembrance.

Arun’s intimate knowledge of his stunning Konkan terrain douses the film with beauty, as these characters walk down dusty paths of the tiny town, dotted with houses that have old wells in the backyard, and waterbodies that hold terrible secrets.

Three Of Us is also an unlikely romance, the kind that doesn’t involve grand gestures and loud songs and dance. There’s music enough in the way scenes unfold fluidly, and tell us that when memories die, what is left is compassion.

A thorny relationship between a mother and daughter is the vehicle through another story of memory-and-forgetfulness is told in Pushan Kripalani’s Goldfish. What this-two hander starring Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin also does is to question age-old assumptions about maternal love, and comes up with some uncomfortable answers. All women do not yearn to be mothers; and nurturing is not an automatic quality. At the end of the day compassion is enough.

Stories of little people are disappearing from the big screen. Nandita Das’s Zwigato has Kapil Sharma in an unexpectedly fine turn as a courier guy, called ‘delivery partners’ by their heartless employers who make them work around the clock with little pay and no extras. The most-excellent Shahana Goswami gives Sharma fine company: Das really should direct more.

Bheed, Afwaah

Both Anubhav Sinha’s Bheed and Sudhir Mishra’s Afwaah needed wider play in theatres. The films can be seen as companion pieces. The former, starring Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Ashutosh Rana, Dia Mirza and Pankaj Kapur in central roles, focusses on the lakhs of migrants who were forced to flee the cities to go back to their villages when the world’s most stringent lockdown kicked into place. The characters may have been fictional, but the film is a reminder of the stark reality of the Covid-19 pandemic, when all we could see around us was death and despair.

Afwaah brings Mishra back into the Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi zone, in the way it melds satire and realism: we live in not just two India’s, as an Emmy-winning comic has famously declared; we live in multiple Indias. What do you do when you accidentally land up in a place where modernity and civility is just skin-deep? How do you save yourself from murderous trolls? Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the confused ‘desi’ who’s a stranger in his own land, ably aided by Bhumi Pednekar, Sharib Hashmi, Sumeet Vyas and T J Bhanu. It is an unsettling glimpse of New India: will you stay or run away?

Thank You For Coming

If ‘masturbation’ was a word that the Hindi movies spoke out loud in 2023, ‘orgasm’ wasn’t far behind. It’s not as if the Big O hasn’t made an appearance in Bollywood up until now. But in Thank You For Coming, directed by Karan Boolani and produced by Rhea Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor, it is out loud and proud. Female desire is still not a ‘topic’ that’s tackled in Hindi movies as much as it should be: this female first romp, starring Bhumi Pednekar (who’s really had a busy year, doing all kinds of different roles) and a bunch of her besties, does exactly that. Let’s talk about sex, baby.

Overall, Dhak Dhak comes off patchy, but what it does was to give a bunch of women centre-stage, via an unusual mode of transport. Taking off to the high mountains on a motorbike is such a guy thing, right? Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanjana Sanghi are an unlikely bunch — a feisty grandma, a put-upon wife, a You Tuber-cum-biker, and a bride-to-be — who go vrooming off, helping each other out of bad patches, and getting to the highest point of their lives. Women doing their own thing? More, more.

Will Dunki, Rajkumar Hirani’s outing with SRK, the star who’s been on top in 2023, be able to sneak into this list? We’ll let you know.

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Dedh Bigha Zameen REVIEW: Pratik Gandhi and Khushalii Kumar shine but the story is disappointing and irrelevant

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Chhota Bheem and The Curse of Damyaan REVIEW: Kids are in for a treat, a perfect end to summer vacations

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Best Movies of 2023: Every Certified Fresh Movie of the Year

Welcome to the best new movies of 2023, where you can discover the latest films championed by the critics community! Every movie on the list is Certified Fresh, meaning they held on to a Tomatometer score of at least 75% after a minimum number of critics review — 40 for limited or streaming releases, 80 for wide theatrical releases, with five of those reviews coming from Top Critics. — Alex Vo

The First Slam Dunk (2022) 100%

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023) 99%

BlackBerry (2023) 98%

Godzilla Minus One (2023) 98%

Rye Lane (2023) 98%

Fallen Leaves (2023) 98%

Joyland (2022) 98%

The Beasts (2022) 98%

Full Time (2021) 98%

The Taste of Things (2023) 97%

Shayda (2023) 96%

The Teachers' Lounge (2023) 96%

Aloners (2021) 98%

The Innocent (2022) 98%

The Three Musketeers: Part I - D'Artagnan (2023) 98%

Klondike (2022) 98%

Return to Seoul (2022) 97%

A Thousand and One (2023) 97%

Monster (2023) 97%

Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022) 97%

Fremont (2023) 98%

Past Lives (2023) 95%

The Holdovers (2023) 97%

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) 95%

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) 96%

The Boy and the Heron (2023) 97%

Suzume (2022) 96%

birth/rebirth (2023) 96%

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) 95%

R.M.N. (2022) 97%

Earth Mama (2023) 97%

The Blue Caftan (2022) 96%

Four Daughters (2023) 96%

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) 95%

They Cloned Tyrone (2023) 95%

Blue Jean (2022) 96%

Nimona (2023) 92%

How to Have Sex (2023) 96%

Attachment (2022) 95%

Amanda (2022) 95%

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) 94%

Talk to Me (2023) 95%

You Hurt My Feelings (2023) 94%

Sisu (2022) 94%

Passages (2023) 95%

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022) 95%

Saint Omer (2022) 94%

Scrapper (2023) 94%

Smoking Causes Coughing (2022) 94%

The Night of the 12th (2022) 94%

Radical (2023) 94%

Falcon Lake (2022) 94%

After Love (2020) 92%

Oppenheimer (2023) 93%

Air (2023) 93%

M3GAN (2022) 93%

Poor Things (2023) 92%

American Fiction (2023) 93%

Flora and Son (2023) 93%

All of Us Strangers (2023) 97%

Reality (2023) 94%

Revoir Paris (2022) 94%

Alcarràs (2022) 93%

American Symphony (2023) 94%

The Zone of Interest (2023) 93%

The Starling Girl (2023) 92%

Perfect Days (2023) 96%

Juniper (2021) 92%

Influencer (2023) 92%

War Pony (2022) 92%

Jethica (2022) 92%

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) 91%

May December (2023) 91%

Joy Ride (2023) 90%

Dream Scenario (2023) 91%

Afire (2023) 92%

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023) 91%

Godland (2022) 91%

Other People's Children (2022) 91%

Society of the Snow (2023) 90%

Chile '76 (2022) 91%

The Artifice Girl (2022) 91%

The Unknown Country (2022) 92%

Leonor Will Never Die (2022) 91%

The Origin of Evil (2022) 92%

Bottoms (2023) 90%

Polite Society (2023) 90%

Brooklyn 45 (2023) 90%

Dreamin' Wild (2022) 90%

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (2023) 89%

The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future (2022) 90%

You Can Live Forever (2022) 90%

Sanctuary (2022) 88%

A Million Miles Away (2023) 89%

Aporia (2023) 89%

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2022) 88%

Mutt (2023) 89%

Barbie (2023) 88%

Creed III (2023) 88%

The Iron Claw (2023) 89%

Showing Up (2022) 88%

Missing (2023) 88%

The Royal Hotel (2023) 89%

Emily (2022) 88%

Tori and Lokita (2022) 88%

Sick of Myself (2022) 88%

Il buco (2021) 88%

Infinity Pool (2023) 87%

The Blackening (2022) 87%

The Color Purple (2023) 81%

Totally Killer (2023) 87%

Pacifiction (2022) 87%

Sick (2022) 85%

Brother (2022) 87%

Theater Camp (2023) 86%

Of an Age (2022) 86%

The Five Devils (2022) 86%

The Wrath of Becky (2023) 86%

The Killer (2023) 85%

Fair Play (2023) 85%

Eileen (2023) 82%

Nyad (2023) 85%

Suitable Flesh (2023) 85%

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023) 85%

Cairo Conspiracy (2022) 85%

Wonka (2023) 82%

Evil Dead Rise (2023) 84%

Dumb Money (2023) 84%

Rustin (2023) 83%

Thanksgiving (2023) 84%

Shortcomings (2023) 85%

Jules (2023) 85%

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) 82%

Priscilla (2023) 84%

Tetris (2023) 81%

El Conde (2023) 82%

No One Will Save You (2023) 82%

Linoleum (2022) 82%

The Persian Version (2023) 84%

Rotting in the Sun (2023) 83%

Monica (2022) 84%

Maestro (2023) 78%

Leo (2023) 82%

Perpetrator (2023) 82%

Saw X (2023) 80%

Biosphere (2022) 80%

Quiz Lady (2023) 81%

Extraction 2 (2023) 79%

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023) 81%

Enys Men (2022) 80%

Origin (2023) 82%

Between Two Worlds (2021) 79%

Scarlet (2022) 79%

Blue Beetle (2023) 78%

Plane (2023) 78%

Chevalier (2022) 77%

The Lost King (2022) 77%

Scream VI (2023) 76%

A Haunting in Venice (2023) 75%

Red, White & Royal Blue (2023) 76%

The Lesson (2023) 76%

Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023) 75%

Asteroid City (2023) 75%

Leave the World Behind (2023) 73%

Strange Way of Life (2023) 76%

Moving On (2022) 75%

The Offering (2022) 74%

The Inventor (2023) 75%

Elemental (2023) 73%

Medusa Deluxe (2022) 72%

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Hindi Movie Reviews

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Dedh Bigha Zameen

Pratik Gandhi , Khushali Kumar , Durgesh Kumar , Prasanna Bisht

31 May 2024 | 1 hr 45 mins

Divya Khossla , Anil Kapoor , Harshvardhan Rane

31 May 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

Chhota Bheem And The Curse Of Damyaan

Anupam Kher , Makarand Deshpande , Sanjay Bishnoi , Yagya Bhasin

Rajkummar Rao , Janhvi Kapoor , Rajesh Sharma , Kumud Mishra , Zarina Wahab , Yamini Das

31 May 2024 | 2 hrs 19 mins

House Of Lies

Sanjay Kapoor , Rituraj Singh , Ssmilly Suri , Hiten Paintal

Manoj Bajpayee , Suvinder Vicky , Jatin Goswami , Vipin Sharma , Zoya Hussain

24 May 2024 | 2 hrs 30 mins

Featured in hindi.

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Trailers music.

Venom: The Last Dance - Official Trailer

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Luv Ki Arrange Marriage | Song - Ishq Ki Chhav Tale

Dedh Bigha Zameen | Song - Musafir

Munjya | Song - Tainu Khabar Nahi

Duh By Aditya Bhardwaj

Kho Jana By Sachet Tandon And Parampara Tandon

Savi | Song - Khol Pinjra

Pushpa 2: The Rule | Song - Angaaron (The Couple Song) (Lyri...

Same By Lekhak And Rishi Roy

Dedh Bigha Zameen | Song - Zidd Na Karo

Trisha On The Rocks | Song - Thehre Ye Lamha

Mr. & Mrs. Mahi | Song - Roya Jab Tu

Aadat Lagi Hai Teri By Harry Mallya

Crew | Song - Khwabida

Munjya | Song - Taras

Ishq Vishk Rebound | Song - Soni Soni

Blackout | Song - Chitralekha

Pushpa 2: The Rule | Song - Angaaron (The Couple Song) (Anno...

Raat Abhi By Keshav Anand

Ishq Vishk Rebound | Song - Ishq Vishk Pyaar Vyaar

Devara Part - 1 | Song - Fear

Gyanendra Tripathi , Geetika Vidya Ohlyan , Bhumika Dube. , Harish Khanna , Aakash Sinha , Prithvi Singh

24 May 2024 | 2 hrs 1 mins

Kartam Bhugtam

Shreyas Talpade , Vijay Raaz , Aksha Pardasany , Madhoo Shah

17 May 2024 | 2 hrs 11 mins

Rajkummar Rao , Jyotika , Alaya F , Sharad Kelkar , Jameel_Khan

10 May 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

Pyar Ke Do Naam

Bhavya Sachdeva , Ankita Sahu , Achal Tankwal , Kanika Gautham

03 May 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

WOMB: Women Of My Billion

Srishti Bakshi , Neha Rai , Pragya Prasun Singh , Sangeeta Tiwari.

03 May 2024 | 1 hr 42 mins

Abhishek Duhan , Srishty Rode. , Avtar Gill , Arti Puri , Abhilash Kumar , Mukesh Bhatt

26 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 3 mins

Main Ladega

Akash Pratap Singh , Gandharv Dewan , Vallari Viraj , Ashwath Bhatt

26 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 28 mins

Aayush Sharma , Sushrii Shreya Mishraa , Jagapati Babu , Vidya Malvade

26 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 0 mins

Luv You Shankar

Shreyas Talpade , Sanjay Mishra , Tanishaa Mukerji , Elakshi A Gupta , Abhimanyu Singh , Hemant Pandey , Kurush Deboo

19 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 0 mins

Do Aur Do Pyaar

Vidya Balan , Pratik Gandhi , Ileana D Cruz , Sendhil Ramamurthy

19 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

Vandana Kashyap , Rupa Bhimani , Rajesh Kava , Snigdha Sharma

19 Apr 2024 | 1 hr 32 mins

Kaam Chalu Hai

Rajpal Yadav , Gia Manek , Kurangi Nagraj

19 Apr 2024 | 1 hr 21 mins

LSD 2: Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2

Bonita Rajpurohit , Nimrit Ahluwalia , Swastika Mukherjee. , Anu Malik , Sophie Choudry , Mouni Roy , Tusshar Kapoor

19 Apr 2024 | 1 hr 56 mins

Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout

Manoj Bajpayee , Prachi Desai , Sahil Vaid , Parul Gulati , Vaqar Shaikh

16 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

Rekha Rana , Anant Mahadevan , Kumar Raj , Utkarsh Kohli , Sharad Sharma

12 Apr 2024 | 1 hr 18 mins

Amar Singh Chamkila

Diljit Dosanjh , Parineeti Chopra , Anurag Arora , Anjum Batra , Samuel John , Nisha Bano

12 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 26 mins

30 Hours Survival: Gauraiya Live

Pankaj Jha , Omkar Das Manikpuri , Seema Saini , Narendra Khatri , Shagufta Ali

12 Apr 2024 | 1 hr 51 mins

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan

Akshay Kumar , Tiger Shroff , Prithviraj Sukumaran , Sonakshi Sinha , Manushi Chhillar , Alaya F , Ronit Roy

11 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 44 mins

Ajay Devgn , Priyamani , Gajraj Rao , Rudranil Ghosh , Keerthy Suresh

10 Apr 2024 | 3 hrs 1 mins

Rohit Roy , Karishma Kotak , Rajesh Sharma , Hiten Patel

05 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 13 mins

The Defective Detectives

Siddharth Jadhav , Johnny Lever , Shweta Gulati , Vijay Patkar , Bharat Dabholkar , Tejaswini Lonari

Ek Kori Prem Katha

Akshay Oberoi , Poonam Dhillon , Raj Babbar , Khanak Budhiraja , Darshan Jariwala

05 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 9 mins

Monika Panwar , Sikandar Kher , Monali Thakur , Soham Majumdar , Himani Shivpuri , Geetika Tyagi , Vrajesh Hirjee

05 Apr 2024 | 2 hrs 12 mins

Brijendra Kala , Tulika Banerjee , Malti Mathur , Azad Jain , Manisha Chitrode , Ashutosh Upadhyay , Ayushi Shukla

05 Apr 2024 | 1 hr 38 mins

Bengal 1947

Devoleena Bhattacharjee , Aditya Lakhia , Ankur Armam , Omkar Das Manikpuri , Anil Rastogi , Pramod Pawar

29 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 9 mins

Woh Bhi Din The

Rohit Saraf , Adarsh Gourav , Sanjana Sanghi , Charu Bedi

29 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 6 mins

Tabu , Kareena Kapoor , Kriti Sanon , Diljit Dosanjh , Kapil Sharma

29 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 4 mins

Patna Shuklla

Raveena Tandon , Anushka Kaushik , Satish Kaushik , Jatin Goswami , Manav Vij , Chandan Roy Sanyal

29 Mar 2024

Geetika Tyagi , Anant Mahadevan , Hasan Zaidi , Tejaswini Kolhapure , Nandita Puri , Sanjeev Tyagi

29 Mar 2024 | 1 hr 25 mins

What A Kismat

Yudhvir Dahiya , Pankaj Kalra , Vaishnavi Patwardhan , Tiku Talsania , Bharat Dabholkar , Bhavana Balsawar

22 Mar 2024 | 1 hr 45 mins

Swatantrya Veer Savarkar

Randeep Hooda , Amit Sial , Ankita Lokhande , R Bhakti Klein

22 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

Madgaon Express

Divyenndu. , Pratik Gandhi , Avinash Tiwary , Nora Fatehi , Upendra Limaye , Chhaya Kadam , Remo D'Souza

22 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 25 mins

Ae Watan Mere Watan

Sara Ali Khan , Emraan Hashmi , Abhay Verma , Sachin Khedekar , Alexx O'Nell , Anand Tiwari , Sparsh Shrivastava

21 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 13 mins

Sidharth Malhotra , Disha Patani , Raashi Khanna , Tanuj Virwani

15 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 13 mins

Bastar: The Naxal Story

Adah Sharma , Indira Tiwari , Yashpal Sharma , Raima Sen , Shilpa Shukla , Anangsha Biswas , Vijay Krishna

15 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 4 mins

Murder Mubarak

Pankaj Tripathi , Sara Ali Khan , Vijay Varma , Dimple Kapadia , Karisma Kapoor , Sanjay Kapoor , Tisca Chopra , Aashim Gulati , Deven Bhojani , Brijendra Kala

15 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 21 mins

Sanjana Deshmukh , Zahid Khan , Anika Arya , Himanshu Shekhar , Trishana Goswami , Avinash Gupta

15 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

Tera Kya Hoga Lovely

Randeep Hooda , Ileana D Cruz , Pavan Malhotra , Sushil Dahiya , Karan Kundrra

08 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

Ajay Devgn , R. Madhavan , Jyothika , Janki Bodiwala

08 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 12 mins

Alpha Beta Gamma

Amit Kumar Vashisth , Nishan

2 hrs 4 mins

Harshvardhan Rane , Nikita Dutta , Ehan Bhat , TJ Bhanu

01 Mar 2024 | 2 hrs 2 mins

Kusum Ka Biyaah

Sujana Darjee , Raja Sarkar , Lovekansh Garg , Suhani Biswas , Pradip Chopra

01 Mar 2024 | 1 hr 30 mins

Anupam Kher , Satish Kaushik , Neena Gupta , Darshan Kumaar , Smriti Karla , Anang Desai

Laapataa Ladies

Nitanshi Goel , Chhaya Kadam , Ravi Kishan

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Movie Review: Country of Blind (2023)

It’s fair to calibrate expectations for an independent film with a smaller budget, but Country of Blind ‘s problems are not really an issue of limited finances — with one glaring exception.

Writer-director Rahhat Shah Kazmi’s update of H. G. Wells’s 1904 short story “The Country of the Blind” relocates the action from the mountains of Ecuador to the Himalayas. In ancient India, a narrated voice-over explains, a tribe of people fled a war to the safety of a hidden valley. Soon after they arrived, a mysterious illness caused the people to lose their sight and for babies to be born blind. An avalanche cut the valley off from access to the outside world, and the tribe was forgotten to history.

In the 18th century, Indian mountaineer Abhimanyu (Shoib Nikash Shah) leads his European friends up an unexplored peak. He slips and falls, tumbling all the way down to the hidden valley. With no equipment to climb back up the mountain, he heads into the valley to find a way out. There, he meets the descendants of that ancient tribe, who have been totally blind for generations.

Abhimanyu is quickly disabused of the notion that his ability to see will afford him special privileges among the tribe. He can’t even explain the concept of sight to them, since none of them have ever experienced it. Further, he’s so bad at adapting to their sightless ways of living that he’s treated like a clumsy child.

The tribe’s adaptations should be a highlight of the film, but the few that are shown are rudimentary or counterintuitive. They developed a system of paths made from different materials to convey meaning to the walker based on the texture (cool!), but the main path is made of round, grapefruit-sized cobbles that must be traversed slowly so as not to slip (huh?). Also, people in the valley work over open flames without tying back their long hair.

The only reason these dubiously safe scenarios can be used in the movie is because none of the actors in the main cast is blind (as far as I know). In long shots featuring lots of extras, it’s possible to spot some extras looking down at the uneven cobblestone path so as not to lose their footing.

While Abhimanyu is initially eager to return to civilization, he hesitates when he meets a beautiful woman named Gosha (Hina Khan). Of course, he really only likes her because of her looks, which are only important to him because he can see. Country of Blind explores this in an interesting way that ultimately turns the film into more of a parable than the original short story.

While the acting is generally pretty good, the actors aren’t responsible for relaying large portions of the story, which is instead delegated to the voice-over narrator. The compact plot is padded out with flashbacks to stuff that happened earlier in the film and shots of Abhimanyu just looking around. These aren’t problems of limited finances but of editing and screenplay organization.

The one place where the producers clearly cut corners is with the film’s English subtitles, which are riddled with misspellings and grammatical errors. Besides being distracting, they’re bad enough to be confusing at points. Any non-Hindi speakers interested in watching Country of Blind may want to wait to see the film is picked up by one of the major streaming services, who typically re-subtitle movies before putting them on their platforms.

• Country of Blind at IMDb
• H. G. Wells’s “The Country of the Blind” at Wikipedia

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Indian series and films get over 1 billion views in 2023 as per the second edition of What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report

Jaane Jaan and Jawan top the list of most watched Indian films on the streaming platform from the period of July to December 2023.

Streaming giant Netflix has just come up with its second edition of ‘What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report’. This report captures Netflix’s global viewership from July to December 2023. The first such report, which came out last year, focused from January to June 2023.

As per the report, Indian series and films got over 1 billion views in 2023. As far as films are concerned, the list is topped by Sujoy Ghosh’s Jaane Jaan , which starred Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma. It has a rank of 83 in top 400 worldwide with 20.2 million views. Shah Rukh Khan starrer blockbuster Jawan , which was directed by Atlee, is in the second position with a rank of 120 and 16.2 million views. The third number is secured by Vishal Bhardwaj’a Khufiya with 12.1 million views.

Here is the India titles in the list which are in the top 400: (# = rank; V = views):

Jaane Jaan (# 83; V: 20.2M)

Jawan (#120; V: 16.2M)

Khufiya (#194; VH: 12.1M)

OMG 2 (# 218; V: 11.5M)

Lust Stories 2 (#312: V: 9.2M)

Dream Girl 2 (#361; V: 8.2M)

Curry & Cyanide (#361; V: 8.2M)

Coming to the web shows, Yash Raj Films’ debut web series The Railway Men tops the Indian web shows list at number 129 with 10.6 million views. Kohraa secures the second spot with a rank of 267 and 6.4 million views. The other two Indian shows falling in the list are Guns & Gulaabs and Kaala Paani.

List of Indian web shows that are a part of the top 400:

The Railway Men (#139; V: 10.6M)

Kohraa S 1 (#267; V: 6.4M)

Guns & Gulaabs S1 (# 267; V: 6.4M)

Kaala Paani S1 (# 307; V: 5.8M)

The report also mentions the performance of the foreign shows in the said period. The first three parts of Lupin generated nearly 100 million views in the second half of 2023 and nearly 200 million views across Cocomelon’s eight seasons. The Witcher (76 million), Virgin River (69 million), The Crown (50 million), Sweet Magnolias (35 million), Top Boy (26 million), Heartstopper (24 million), Sintonia (20 million), and Sweet Home (17 million) were lapped up by the fans too.

Also Read: Crew, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu and Kriti Sanon, lands on Netflix on May 24

More Pages: Jaane Jaan Box Office Collection , Jaane Jaan Movie Review

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Best movies of 2023, according to critics

Looking back on 2023, it's fair to say the year was one for the film history books. From the box office-breaking Barbenheimer weekend to the writers' and actors' strikes that lasted a large part of the year, countless defining events majorly impacted the industry. Alongside these headline-making moments were 12 months of incredible film releases.

"Maestro" audiences bore witness to a "career-best performance" by Carey Mulligan, with Jeffrey Wright's jaw-dropping turn in "American Fiction" following suit. There was the buzzy "Saltburn" and "May December," Greta Gerwig's flawlessly directed "Barbie," and the gorgeously shot "Poor Things." In fact, there were so many good films this year it would be almost impossible to name them all, let alone compile a comprehensive list of the very best—so we've left that job up to the critics.

Using Metacritic data, Stacker appraised all the new films released in 2023 and ranked the top 25 by Metascore, with ties broken by the number of reviews and further ties remaining intact. (Data was collected on Dec. 13.) There are sure to be several films you'll recognize as blockbuster hits, like "Oppenheimer" and "Killers of the Flower Moon." There are also several lesser-known titles—from "Beyond Utopia" and "The Disappearance of Shere Hite." Along with some likely Oscar contenders like "The Zone of Interest," there are also films you may be surprised didn't make the list.

Read on to see whether your favorite blockbuster is #1 and discover a few hidden gems along the way.

#25. Beyond Utopia

- Director: Madeleine Gavin - Metascore: 84 - Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes

In this unique documentary, viewers follow several North Koreans as they risk everything to escape their homeland. All the footage in the film is original —none of the harrowing scenes are recreations, and it was all shot by the filmmakers or the film's subjects themselves. The more tense moments are interspersed with talking-head scenes from other defectors that expound on life under the totalitarian regime. Ben Pearson, writing for /Film, called the movie " intense, thrilling, heartbreaking, and vital ."

#23. 20 Days in Mariupol (tie)

- Director: Mstyslav Chernov - Metascore: 84 - Runtime: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Another hard-hitting documentary, "20 Days in Mariupol" follows director Mstyslav Chernov as he navigates the nearly abandoned Ukrainian port city after the invasion of the Russian military. His footage captures fleeing civilians, destroyed hospitals, and people attempting to survive in the hollowed-out city. While the film is far from an easy watch, New York Times Critic-at-Large Jason Farago wrote that the film is a " truly important documentary ," serving as "a model of how we discover the larger truth of war."

#23. The Eternal Memory (tie)

- Director: Maite Alberdi - Metascore: 84 - Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Shot primarily during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this documentary follows the relationship between famed Chilean journalist Augusto Góngora and his wife, actor and politician Paulina Urrutia, as she cares for him after his devastating Alzheimer's diagnosis. Writing for The Guardian, Wendy Ide described "The Eternal Memory" as " wrenchingly sad, but also a testament to the love that endures ."

#22. Earth Mama

- Director: Savanah Leaf - Metascore: 84 - Runtime: 1 hour, 41 minutes

"Earth Mama" is an A24 drama following a young woman who finds herself leaning heavily on her Bay Area community as she navigates her pregnancy and attempts to reunite with her two older children in foster care. Both subtle and intimate, the film explores the complexities of motherhood, love, and grief. New York Times Chief Film Critic Manohla Dargis called Savanah Leaf's feature film directorial debut " very moving and adamantly political ."

#21. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

- Director: Kelly Fremon Craig - Metascore: 84 - Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

Based on the classic 1970 coming-of-age novel by Judy Blume, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." follows a middle school-aged girl as she navigates a major move, her interfaith religious identity, and the various trials and tribulations of puberty. In her review, Lauren Mechling, senior editor at The Guardian, called the movie " a stunning evocation of the fear and yearning that come with standing on the precipice of adulthood," and though it was originally intended for preteens, its subject matter is sure to resonate with viewers of all ages and genders.

- Director: Lila Avilés - Metascore: 85 - Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes

In "Tótem," a 7-year-old spends the day with her extended family as they gather to celebrate what will probably be her father's last birthday. The film, told from the point of view of a child who cannot quite decipher the adults around her, is an honest, heartfelt look at the realities of an extended goodbye. Never veering into sentimentality, Variety's chief film critic, Peter Debruge, called the film " intimate [and] emotionally rich ."

#19. The Disappearance of Shere Hite

- Director: Nicole Newnham - Metascore: 85 - Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Narrated by Dakota Johnson, "The Disappearance of Shere Hite" is a documentary chronicling the life and legacy of feminist and women's sexuality researcher Shere Hite. Despite Hite's "The Hite Report" being the 31st bestselling book of all time as of 2021, most would be hard-pressed to give even a basic summary of its contents. The film has, as Monica Castillo writes in her review for Roger Ebert, brought Hite's important work back into the light . Castillo called the movie especially "poignant at a time when people are losing reproductive rights, and LGBTQ communities are losing their hard-won protections."

#18. May December

- Director: Todd Haynes - Metascore: 85 - Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes

Loosely based on the real-life story of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau , "May December" follows a woman whose 23-year relationship began when her partner was just 13, blurring the lines between abuse and romance. Starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton, the movie's thematic content is challenging, to say the least. Still, most critics, like Manohla Dargis in her New York Times rave , agree its disturbing subject matter is delicately dealt with. Its ambiguous ending encourages viewers to even further complicate their perspectives on the family at the heart of the film.

#17. Orlando, My Political Biography

- Director: Paul B. Preciado - Metascore: 86 - Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes

This uniquely formatted, experimental documentary tells the transition stories of 26 trans and nonbinary individuals, using Virginia Woolf's novel "Orlando" as a unifying framework. For Variety, Manuel Betancourt wrote that director Paul B. Preciado created a " towering manifesto " of a film that blurred genre boundaries and blended the political and the personal with humor and self-consciousness.

#16. The Delinquents

- Director: Rodrigo Moreno - Metascore: 86 - Runtime: 3 hours, 3 minutes

In "The Delinquents," an overlooked, overworked bank employee plots to steal enough money to live modestly for the rest of his life—and he'll cut his co-worker in if the other man agrees to hide the cash while he serves his inevitable jail time. However, there's more to this Argentine film than an action-packed plot; it ruminates on late capitalism and the odd connections between people with quirky humor. Writing for Roger Ebert, Jourdain Searles said the film " plays like a philosophical experiment ."

#15. All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

- Director: Raven Jackson - Metascore: 86 - Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Spanning the course of several decades, "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt" follows a Black woman in Mississippi from childhood into her adult years. Raven Jackson's first film has been highly praised for its composition and, as Richard Brody described in his New Yorker review, the way it " looks at ordinary life with such loving care ." In addition to Brody's assertion that the film is "the directorial debut of the year," fellow critics, including Monica Castillo for Roger Ebert, have lauded the film's subtlety and slow, deliberate pacing .

#14. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé

- Director: Beyoncé - Metascore: 86 - Runtime: 2 hours, 50 minutes

A concert documentary film written, directed, and produced by Beyoncé herself, "Renaissance" takes viewers behind the scenes of the titular worldwide tour, giving them a rare look at the development of the epic scale of what can only be called an experience. Writing for Slate, Nadira Goffe, an associate writer of culture, praised how the movie embraced the singer's imperfections , dispelling the idea that all celebrities are—and should be—perfect. "Renaissance" also offers up a visual feast that NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour called " maximalist excellence ."

#13. Anatomy of a Fall

- Director: Justine Triet - Metascore: 86 - Runtime: 2 hours, 32 minutes

In this French courtroom drama, a young visually impaired boy struggles with his decision to testify after his mother is accused of murdering his father. "Anatomy of a Fall," winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, wrestles with the idea of truth and whether it is ever really knowable. Writing for The Guardian, Wendy Ide called the film " electric, restlessly dynamic and compulsively watchable ," neatly stepping around the common pitfalls of legal dramas to create something fresh and complex.

#12. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

- Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson - Metascore: 86 - Runtime: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Following up on the critically acclaimed "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" sees Spideys from the far reaches of the multiverse team up to stop a new threat. Bursting with creative energy and multiple visually arresting animation styles, the film explores what it means to grow up and how much power we have over our own storylines. In his review for The Ringer , Daniel Chin wrote that "Across the Spider-Verse" is "even more ambitious, adventurous, and visually spellbinding than its predecessor—and just as filled with heart."

#11. Mami Wata

- Director: C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi - Metascore: 87 - Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes

A black-and-white thriller based on Nigerian folklore, "Mami Wata" deals with the water spirit Mami Wata and one village's growing discontent with her earthly representative, Mama Efe, who serves as the village's faith healer. Peter Bradshaw raved about the movie's striking visuals , urgent storytelling, and stripped-down minimalism in his Guardian review, while RogerEbert.com Editor-at-Large Matt Zoller Seitz wrote, "The film casts a spell, and the spell persists to the end ."

#10. Fallen Leaves

- Director: Aki Kaurismäki - Metascore: 87 - Runtime: 1 hour, 21 minutes

The only rom-com to make the list, "Fallen Leaves" follows two Finnish people as they attempt to start a relationship despite numerous obstacles that range from lost phone numbers to alcoholism. In her New York Times review, Esther Zuckerman called the film a " brilliant new gem of a comedy " that balances despair and levity to ultimately "life-affirming" effect.

#9. Poor Things

- Director: Yorgos Lanthimos - Metascore: 87 - Runtime: 2 hours, 21 minutes

Based on a 1992 novel of the same name, "Poor Things" tells the story of a resurrected Victorian woman who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and sexual liberation. Besides calling the film Yorgos Lanthimos' best, film critic Christy Lemire praised Emma Stone's " performance of a lifetime " as Bella in her Roger Ebert review. Constance Grady, a senior correspondent of culture at Vox, called the film " joyous in its weirdness , joyous in its exploration and celebration of its strange, strange world."

#8. Killers of the Flower Moon

- Director: Martin Scorsese - Metascore: 89 - Runtime: 3 hours, 26 minutes

An adaptation of the bestselling 2017 book of the same name by David Grann, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is about the murders of Osage Nation members after oil was discovered on their tribal land. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, the movie has been held up as a perfect example of how drastically American history changes when the narrator of that history changes. Scorsese's handling of the heavy subject matter was praised by RogerEbert.com Managing Editor Brian Tallerico, who called it " a masterful historical drama about evil operating in plain sight" in his review.

#7. Oppenheimer

- Director: Christopher Nolan - Metascore: 89 - Runtime: 3 hours

One of the summer's biggest hits, "Oppenheimer" is an epic biographical thriller that covers the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in developing the atomic bomb. In addition to its compelling direction and nuanced performances from its leads, Associated Press film writer Jake Coyle praised the movie for how it wrestled with the question of the responsibility of power : whether it be in major things, like the development of the bomb, or more everyday things, like our interactions with our loved ones.

#6. All of Us Strangers

- Director: Andrew Haigh - Metascore: 91 - Runtime: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Best described as a romantic drama with a magical realism twist, Andrew Haigh's "All of Us Strangers" follows a Londoner named Adam as he begins a relationship with his mysterious neighbor and simultaneously discovers that his parents appear to still be alive, despite dying in a car crash 30 years prior. The gut-wrenching film at once inspires feelings of loneliness and connection, which is partly what makes it so remarkable.

"Haigh's study of loneliness does, in its own strange way, make us feel less alone," Benjamin Lee, East Coast arts editor at The Guardian, wrote in his review . "It may never get better in the ways we were told it would but if we can stop it from getting worse, then maybe that'll be enough."

#5. Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros

- Director: Frederick Wiseman - Metascore: 92 - Runtime: 4 hours

Directed by 93-year-old veteran Frederick Wiseman, this documentary takes viewers inside the titular French restaurant that's held three Michelin stars for more than half a century. Earning a rare 100% score  from critics and audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes, "Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros" meticulously showcases what it takes to reach culinary perfection. Writing for Roger Ebert, Matt Zoller Seitz noted the project helps audiences " see through fresh eyes and understand things [they] never thought about or took for granted."

#4. The Boy and the Heron

- Director: Hayao Miyazaki - Metascore: 92 - Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes

A Studio Ghibli project, "The Boy and the Heron" is an animated fantasy film that follows a young boy, Mahito, who, after his mother dies, enters a timeless world via an abandoned tower and befriends a talking gray heron. As with many Studio Ghibli releases, critics have lauded Hayao Miyazaki's incredible animation and the movie's poignant themes of coping with grief and loss and eventually, coming to a place of acceptance.

#3. The Zone of Interest

- Director: Jonathan Glazer - Metascore: 93 - Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

Jonathan Glazer's difficult-to-watch film "The Zone of Interest" follows a Nazi commander as he and his family work to build an idyllic home for themselves next door to Auschwitz. Critics have praised the drama for how it unemotionally examines how easily apathy can make us complicit in the horrors of history. Critic Raphael Abraham wrote for the Financial Times : "Glazer has achieved something much greater than just making the monstrous mundane — by rendering such extreme inhumanity ordinary he reawakens us to its true horror"

#2. Past Lives

- Director: Celine Song - Metascore: 94 - Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

The drama "Past Lives" follows two people as they go from childhood loves in South Korea to veritable strangers in New York City to something in between. At once incredibly romantic and heartbreakingly sad, the movie is both " delicate, sophisticated and yet also somehow simple, direct, even verging on the cheesy ," as Peter Bradshaw described for The Guardian; it's a fitting way to encapsulate this singular entry into the cannon that sits in the runner-up spot for 2023 movies.

#1. Our Body

- Director: Claire Simon - Metascore: 95 - Runtime: 2 hours, 48 minutes

And the best movie of 2023, according to critics? That honor goes to "Our Body," a documentary about the doctors and patients of a gynecological ward at a public Parisian hospital. The film from acclaimed documentarian Claire Simon has a rare 100% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Variety's International Critic Jessica Kiang praised "Our Body," particularly for " demystifying and de-objectifying the female body " and for its "nonjudgmental, empathetic" approach to the choices pregnant people from all walks of life make regarding their health care.

Story editing by Eliza Siegel. Copy editing by Paris Close.

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Bollywood Box Office Collection 2024 Report & Verdict India

Bollywood box office collection 2023-2024 with verdicts india.

Bollywood  Box Office collection in India so far of all Hindi movies in 2024 This list is updated on June 2, 2024. Movie Costs are estimates containing both Production and Prints and Advertising costs. This contains only Net Collections it doesn’t include overseas collections. We have added the big Tamil and Telugu movies with their updated collections for 2023 and 2024 also Here is the complete list.

Latest Bollywood Box Office Report 

Disclaimer to know: 

• This list is complied from various sources and our research. 
• This list is not inflation adjusted
• This list includes India and worldwide box office data
• The figures can be approximate and we do not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the film(s).

Top 10 Best Indian Movies 2022  by Box Office

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