Doctor G
Doctor G, a medical campus comedy-drama backed by Junglee Pictures, is as rare as it gets. Anubhuti Kashyap’s film, headlined by Ayushmann Khurrana, Rakul Preet Singh and Shefali Shah, cleverly addressed prejudice and gender stereotypes through the happenings in the life of a lone male student in the gynaecology department with a dash of humour.
Badhaai DoBadhaai Do, another gem from Junglee Pictures’ stable, was applauded for highlighting an individual’s right to make choices irrespective of their gender or sexual orientation. Harshavardhan Kulkarni’s heartfelt film offered an insight into lavender marriages, a subject never explored in our cinema before. The film starring Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar and Chum Darang, won immense appreciation for presenting the subject with sensitivity, finesse and humour.
Bhediya
Creature comedy Bhediya featuring Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon and Abhishek Banerjee broke new ground in Hindi cinema. Be the special effects, man-to-werewolf transformation or its ambitious scale, director Amar Kaushik delivered a spectacular adventure with a relevant and crucial message at its core.
Monica, O My Darling
Vasan Bala’s neo-noir crime thriller is unabashedly filmy, right from its title and music. The film featuring Huma Qureshi, Rajkummar Rao, Sikandar Kher and Radhika Apte doffs its hat to retro Bollywood. After a murder followed by deception and chaos, the film transcends genres to keep you engaged and offers you a solid, entertaining ride.
Brahmastra
Ayan Mukerji’s passion project, Brahmastra, gave birth to ‘Astraverse’ — Bollywood’s first attempt at creating a superhero universe. With this Ranbir Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Alia Bhatt-starrer, which opened to big numbers, Bollywood made its foray into superhero spectacles with impressive VFX.
Darlings
Alia Bhatt’s debut as a producer, Darlings, is a satirical portrait of domestic violence. Seen through the eyes of a mother-daughter duo (Alia and Shefali Shah), the Jasmeet K Reen directorial tackled tragedy with humour. The film, with stellar performances by Alia, Shefali and Vijay Verma, took a closer look at patriarchy and domestic abuse.
Jalsa
With a hit-and-run case at its core, Suresh Triveni’s Jalsa challenged the audience’s notions of truth, morality and survival. The film made a strong case for changing notions of right and wrong. A gripping portrayal of guilt and self-reflection, this Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah-starrer was a fine psychological drama, which refused to follow a pattern.
Gehraiyaan
Perhaps the most debated and discussed movie of the year, Shakun Batra’s dark, twisty love triangle, or should we say quadrangle, pushed the boundaries of complex relationships. The narrative of the film, starring Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday, which unfolded like a psychological thriller broke away from the usual style of Bollywood storytelling. It explored the domestic noir genre, which is not common in our cinema.
Thar
Consumed by menacing darkness and graphic violence — writer-director Raj Singh Chaudhary’s film is an atmospheric, interesting reimagining of western noir. It used the genre’s tropes with a twist and the gamble worked in establishing tension and paranoia. Thar, starring Anil Kapoor, Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor and Fatima Sana Shaikh, highlights the socio-political status quo and caste discrimination. One of the most technically sound films of the year, its production and sound design also deserve a special mention.
RK/RKAY
A story about a filmmaker whose protagonist escapes his movie within the movie, Rajat Kapoor’s meta dramedy was experimental and one of the most interesting films of the year.
An Action Hero
Debutant writer-director Anirudh Iyer delivered a cleverly crafted action comedy that also made a sharp observation on the current scenario in the entertainment industry.
Stories that weren’t told earlier are coming to the forefront: Rajkummar Rao
Badhaai Do tells an important story in a fun, interesting way. It matters how a story is told. The credit goes to the makers for being so brave and backing these stories. This change was needed. Cinema is a powerful art form. We cannot keep telling the same stories year after year. We need to push the boundaries. Stories that weren’t told earlier are coming to the forefront now. Badhaai Do talks about acceptance — self and otherwise.
2022 was the year when new worlds were explored in cinema: Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor In 2022, we saw a new style of storytelling and narratives, more subtlety in performances, and subjects where heroes and antagonists were no longer predictable. I absolutely think that 2022 was the year when new worlds were explored in cinema. Today, you have the liberty to choose your approach towards a character. OTT has changed the game.
