Amitabh Bachchan
Showing us he’s still got it at 80, Amitabh Bachchan had multiple releases of import in theatres this year — Jhund to Runway 34, Brahmastra to Goodbye, rounding off with Uunchai. He continued hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati with gusto, and with Bachchan at 80: a superhit retrospective of his biggest films like Don and Amar Akbar Anthony, the superstar drew in unprecedented crowds into theatres.
Biopic
Like recent years, the trend of biopics continued in 2022. While some worked — like Gangubai Kathiawadi, featuring Alia Bhatt as the eponymous steel magnolia of Kamathipura, and Austin Butler acing the part of Elvis — there were others like Shabaash Mithu (a boring look at the true grit of cricketer Mithali Raj) and Blonde (that was an alarmingly myopic and misogynistic life story of Marilyn Monroe) that didn’t.
Cameo cool
There are cameos, and then there is Shah Rukh Khan in Brahmastra. Making the first 15 minutes of the much-awaited epic saga worth the entire ticket money, SRK — both mirth and magnetism in place — showed us why he has been missed on the big screen. A cameo to challenge, and hands-down beat, the best cameos out there.
PLUS: Chup. Speaking of challenge, R. Balki cocked a snook at film critics by coming up with a film about a serial killer who targets dishonest critics. Chup — crowned by a stellar Dulquer Salmaan — was irreverent and hatke on paper, not so much in execution. But it did make for an experience with a difference in cinemas.
Drishyam 2
Living up to the hype, the sequel to the superhit Ajay Devgn thriller had audiences queuing up. Though a faithful copy-paste of the original Malayalam film starring Mohanlal, Drishyam 2 was a rare sequel that worked well enough to notch up Rs 200-crore and counting, and inject some much-needed adrenaline into the Bollywood box office.
Everything everywhere all at once
Michelle Yeoh turned in a career-defining act in this epic adventure which is both absurdist and emotive. Overstuffed in parts, the film’s directors, known as the Daniels, nevertheless conjured a wildly entertaining ride that is fast gaining favour in the awards circuit.
Flop
While Bollywood as a whole stared at a dull (to put it mildly) year, the one taking the maximum beating was Akshay Kumar. The Khiladi’s 2022 game plan floundered and failed with all his releases — Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan, Cuttputlli, Ram Setu — biting the dust.
PLUS: Florence Pugh. Hollywood’s new ‘it’ girl has been going from strength to strength, with stunning performances in Don’t Worry Darling and The Wonder this year. Plus, with her ability to call a spade a spade and brook no nonsense, Florence Pugh has found fans for her off-screen persona as well.
Girl power
Women with agency on screen are now more of a norm than an exception. However, not all of them get it right. Making an impact on our screens were Darlings and Jalsa, both films powered by women who were gritty as well as vulnerable. Shefali Shah was the common factor in both, also bringing steely resolve and strong emotions to Season 2 of Delhi Crime.
House of Dragon
Three years after Game of Thrones, its prequel spinoff House of the Dragon — set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen — took over the small screen. Receiving widespread praise, the series premiere was watched by over 10 million viewers, the biggest in HBO’s history.
PLUS: Hrithik Roshan. Any chance to watch Hrithik Roshan on screen is always welcome. This year, the man gave us a deliciously dark turn in the remake of Vikram Vedha, living up to Vijay Sethupathi’s performance in the Tamil original. Thick beard, fiery eyes and those moves in Alcoholia... what’s not to love?
Indie Cinema
Indie projects from India caused a stir in the festival circuit. All That Breathes, Tora’s Husband, Adieu Godard, Zwigato, Dostojee... it’s an eclectic and eminent list of films that we only hope swells in 2023.
Janhvi Kapoor
Coming into her own this year, Janhvi Kapoor threw a curveball at the audience, opting for author-backed protagonist parts in medium-budget films. Both Good Luck Jerry and Mili won Sridevi’s daughter immense praise, proving to us that she’s a chip off the old block after all.
Kartik Aaryan
Also scripting a dream run was another Gen Y heartthrob. Kartik Aaryan waltzed his way — doing the signature Hare Krishna hare Ram step, of course — into the Rs 200-crore club with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. This at a time when most films, frontlined by bigger and far more senior stars, were flopping left, right and centre. He followed it up with a streaming release in Freddy later in the year, which won him praise. Today, Kartik has a bunch of films and a bigger bunch of endorsements.
Lavender Marriage
‘Lavender marriage’ crept into the vocabulary of Bolly buffs with Badhaai Do, a film that effectively, and also entertainingly, took a step towards bringing gay relationships into mainstream Bollywood.
Maverick
Almost four decades after Top Gun, Tom Cruise vroomed back as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick. Quickly becoming the highest grosser of the year, it has remained at the top, with Cruise showing once more why he’s still one of the best. Cruise brought back Maverick’s swag and powered the film to $1 billion, the biggest hit of his career.
Naatu Naatu
Taking over the world, one jaw-dropping move at a time, have been Ram Charan and Jr NTR in Naatu naatu, the epic number from the epic film called RRR. Composed by MM Keeravani and sung with gusto by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, the gravity-defying (actually, anything-defying) choreography by Prem Rakshith, has made Naatu naatu not only a global hit, but also earned a Golden Globe nomination for Original Song.
Oscar Brouhaha
Almost every year, there are a few angry murmurs about India’s pick for the Oscars. But never as much as this year when RRR — largely considered India’s best chance at the Big O in years — was passed over for the Gujarati film Chhello Show aka Last Film Show. The brouhaha has now spurred RRR to file nominations independently for the Academy Awards.
Pritam
No matter what the year looks like, one thing is for certain — there will be a couple of memorable Bolly albums scored by Pritam. In 2022, the music man followed up the pulsating beats of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 with a soulful score in Laal Singh Chaddha. And then, of course, was the blockbuster Kesariya in Brahmastra, for which the man collaborated with favourites Arijit Singh and Amitabh Bhattacharya.
Qala
It may not have been a perfect film or made as much of an impact as Bulbbul, but Qala’s
beauty — literal and lyrical — transported us to a bygone era and made it a standout.
Remakes
Like every year, remakes were a dime a dozen in Bollywood. While most were remakes of South Indian films — Cuttputlli, Bachchhan Paandey, Vikram Vedha — Aamir Khan went the Holly route (rather unsuccessfully) remaking Forrest Gump as Laal Singh Chaddha.
PLUS: RETRO. Qala took us back to the ’30s, Sanjay Leela Bhansali travelled to the ’60s in Gangubai Kathiawadi, but embracing retro coolth in all its glory was Vasan Bala’s Monica, O My Darling, an unabashed homage to ’80s Bollywood.
South storm
RRR wasn’t the only film from India down under to catch the fancy of audiences across the country and beyond. KGF Chapter 2 roared its way to huge box office earlier in the year, capped off by Kantara, a surprise blockbuster. The success of films from the South at a time when big Bolly has fallen by the wayside illustrates that content, irrespective of language, is king.
Tabu
There’s been a lot of Tabu this year, and of course we aren’t complaining! Both her 2022 films — Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Drishyam 2 — have entered the Rs 200-crore club. And there is a flood of Tabu films in 2023 — Kuttey to Khufiya to Bholaa... bring it on!
Urvashi Rautela
Like many in Bollywood, Urvashi Rautela managed to grab headlines without a single film. The starlet’s publicity-hungry campaign to paint cricketer Rishabh Pant as her “obsessed” fan hogged the news off and on for a large part of the year. Uorfi Javed, too, continued to keep the paparazzi busy with her sartorial choices (or the lack of it).
VFX
Bollywood flirted quite a bit with visual effects this year, Bhediya to Brahmastra. Brahmastra, riding largely on the buzz caused by its VFX, worked mostly, though some of its repetitive visual effects were criticised. But then arrived the #facepalm trailer of Adipurush — with VFX that looked straight out of a primary school project.
Will Smith
It could have been the best year of Will Smith’s life, but it turned out to be his worst. The actor may have won the Best Actor Oscar this year, but it came on the same night he slapped Chris Rock on stage for cracking a joke directed at his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. That resulted in Smith not only being handed a 10-year Oscar ban, but also being dropped from some prestigious projects and endorsements.
X-Factor
Bringing a special something to every role was Vijay Varma, whose turn as the abusive husband in Darlings was a role that few others could have played with such a measured mix of creepiness and charm.
Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein
At a time when ‘romantic thriller’ has become a much-abused genre, Netflix’s Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein worked for its correct blend of revenge and romance, grit and vulnerability. It was frontlined by Tahir Raj Bhasin, who emerged as a romantic leading man this year.
Zakir Khan
Comedians are jostling for space in what is a cramped Indian stand-up scene, but making a mark, one special and one set at a time, has been Zakir Khan. His year-end special Tathastu touched all the right chords, with the man talking about his experience of growing up with his grandfather.