What a historic year the Indian film industry has had. Perhaps for the first time in decades, the world has woken up to the diversity and storytelling ambitions of our cinema. For many years, Indian films were synonymous with song and dance, and this is still true. But 2024 saw a string of smaller films garner positions at top international festivals, alerting audiences around the world that India has more to offer than most. colorful revenge stories featuring bearded menor religious epics plunderers and shameless plunderers alike. Despite their successes, however, some of the year’s most acclaimed Indian films struggled to find domestic distribution, as even Bollywood’s big-ticket potboilers ran to empty houses. There is enough money to go around, but private directors continue to rely on foreign investment for their projects. It’s a bitter situation, but one that will definitely improve as the industry sinks below its weight.
Director Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies set the ball rolling in late 2023, paving the way for films like SantoshGirls Will Be Girls, and perhaps most loudly, All We Imagine As Light; Payal Kapadia’s film not only secured a place in the main competition at Cannes, but ended up winning the second top prize of the festival. These films offered an alternative to most retroactive ideas are still being sold in the mainstream. They tell stories about ordinary people, about their dreams and desires; they held a mirror to society, revealing their bad deeds; they documented changing times, serving as reminders of what was, and what could be. These are the 10 best Indian films of the year, in alphabetical order.
Attam
Stills from Anand Ekarshi’s Aattam.
Read more – Aattam: A masterclass in misdirection, Anand Ekarshi’s anti-whodunnit is a contender for the first film of the year.
Director Anand Ekarshi’s anti-whodunnit provides a self-conscious meta-commentary on not only the film industry’s handling of the #MeToo movement, but also points fingers at everyone who played an accessory to the crime. A chamber piece about a group of men who argue that one of them should be punished for misbehaving with a female member of their theater group, Aattam is a searing portrait of social injustice, and a memorable act of misunderstanding. When was the last time that every scene in a movie was revealed to be a red herring? Aattam is available to stream on Prime Video.
Against the Tide
A still from Against the Tide.
Director Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary about a fishing community in Maharashtra explores topics such as climate change and corporate greed from the perspective of two friends, gradually torn apart by their conflicting views. It shows the absolute proof that time does not stand still for a person, but we are careful to see the resilience and creativity of those who dare to stand in its way. In a year when Indian cinema has transcended boundaries, the film is a necessary reminder that it is the scriptwriters who pave the way. Anti the Tide is available to stream on MUBI.
Everything We Think of as Light
A static song from Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light.
Payal Kapadia’s Cannes-winning epic drama explores the loneliness of the big city through the passion of three working-class women in Mumbai. Beautifully shot and movingly told, All We Imagine As Light features a stellar performance by Divya Prabha, who manages to inject her character with both a sense of loss and hope. It’s a story about Indian ambition, and the heavy costs others have to pay to keep it going. But more than anything else, it’s a story about rediscovery and redemption – two enduring themes in all of cinema. All We Think Like Light doesn’t yet have a streaming home.
Amar Singh Chamkila
Parineeti Chopra and Diljit Dosanjh in Amar Singh Chamkila.
Read more – Amar Singh Chamkila: Imtiaz Ali is set to make a film about the slain singer, but he is making a film about him.
Starring Diljit Dosanjh, director Imtiaz Ali director Imtiaz Ali’s biopic about a slain Punjabi folk singer is a success in both filmmaking and fairy-tale storytelling. Ali made a successful artistic decision to present Chamkila’s story as a piece of musical theatre, combining the basics of mainstream Hindi cinema with the buzz of a Broadway blockbuster. Along the way, he also manages to make shocking statements about censorship, social inequality, and the power of news. Amar Singh Chamkila is available to stream on Netflix.
Bramayugam
Mammootty in a still from Bramayugam.
Read more – Bramayugam: Mammootty’s miraculous run continues with India’s worst horror film in years, a riot of no arrests
With many hat tips to the works of Andrei Tarkovsky, Christopher Nolan, Robert Eggers, and most importantly, the Gothic horror of the 1940s, the Malayalam language horror film Bramayugam is shot in an interesting monochrome reminiscent of the glory days of Monsters of Nosferatu and Universal. But as old-fashioned as director Rahul Sadasivan’s inspiration is, his concerns feel terrifyingly urgent. It is a film about class conflict, about the amoral decay caused by society by people dying in the name of God. Bramayugam is available for streaming on SonyLIV.
Girls Will Be Girls
Preeti Panigrahi and Kesav Binoy Kiron in Girls Will Be Girls.
Read more – Girls Will Be Girls movie review: Shuchi Talati’s fiery psychological drama is one of the best films of the year
Director Shuchi Talati pulls off a dramatic tonal tightrope walk in his feature debut, the unconventional coming-of-age drama Girls Will Be Girls. Starring Preeti Panigrahi, the film changes before our eyes – from an innocent love story to something more sinister. Girls Will Be Girls is a complex portrait of parent-child relationships, growing pains, and like All We Think of as Light, female loneliness. The film will be available to stream on Prime Video.
Jigra
Alia Bhatt in Vasan Bala’s Jigra.
Read more – Jigra: Vasan Bala stars Alia Bhatt in one of the best Hindi films of the year; Karan Johar better have his back
A glossy, stylish spin on classic Hindi cinema roles, director Vasan Bala’s Jigra opened to mixed reviews and negative box office reception. But it has all the makings of a cult crowd pleaser. Led by the stunning Alia Bhatt, Jigra combines a broad Bollywood sensibility with Bala’s brilliant sensibilities. The film tells the thrilling story of a young woman who devises a plan to rescue her wrongfully imprisoned brother after the plan fails. The prison break sequence is finally close, as is Manoj Pahwa’s scene-stealing supporting performance – more these two that he has brought it this year. Jigra is available to stream on Netflix.
Kottukkaali
Stills from PS Vinothraj’s Kottukkaali.
Read more – Kottukkaali: The best Indian film of the year so far proves that PS Vinothraj is an incomparable folk poet
Unlike his common contemporaries, who often contribute to the silencing of women with their so-called progress film, director PS Vinothraj tries to expose the oppression of ancient systems by questioning his position in them. This film tells the story of a young woman who is dragged by her family to an exorcist, for loving a man outside her social class. Played by Anna Ben in the best performance of the year, the protagonist Meena is the moral compass of Vinothraj’s film – a symbol of silent resistance, of civil disobedience, of raging rage. Kottukaali is available to stream on Prime Video.
Manjummel Boys
A still from Manjummel Boys.
Read more – Manjummel’s Boys: An exciting blockbuster about non-religious faith as a way to help
Director Chidambaram’s Malayalam-language blockbuster – the biggest hit the industry has ever seen – is a story about brotherhood, about people helping one another because they can’t wait idly for God to do a miracle. Manjummel Boys is a thrilling stage film, crafted with the kind of attention to detail – acting, writing, cinematography all top notch – that has cemented the Malayalam industry as the leading creative force in our country’s cinema scene. The survival drama is available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar.
Tees
Stills from Dibakar Banerjee’s Tees.
Read more – Tees film review: Dibakar Banerjee’s unreleased saga is ambitious, intimate, and hot
Dibakar Banerjee’s Tees is perhaps his most ambitious film. An intergenerational story about alienation, the subtle nature of research, and the subtle power of art, Tees is a genre fiction that needs all the support it can get to see the light of day. After all, it’s a film that carries almost the same intensity as a cockroach. Features a memorable performance with Manisha Koirala alongside a famous band, Tees is a film found at the intersection of sincerity and anger. It makes all the sense in the world that its architect is a man who represents both views. The film remains unreleased after being rejected by Netflix.
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