Top 10 Hindi Movies
1. DHADAK 2
Beautiful music, heart tugging love story and that feeling of sinking that comes with helplessness that also creates some poetry. Dalit boy and upper caste girl, what can go wrong?
FROM THE FILES -
DHADAK 2 - 4.5 Stars.PG.
Directed by - Shazia Iqbal
Starring - Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Now I am getting into controversial territory by putting this up there with great movies. I for one felt choked up in the movie, Siddhant who gave a few duds come up with an inspired performance. You can tell the kid has put a lot into his role, he doesn't look like your typical Dalit kid but it's Bollywood you can't be casting the right people for the role. He does a great job overall to put the movie on his back. It helps that the movie has some great music especially - ये कैसा इश्क़ है
"दर्द दे सात समुन्दर ; सारे इस दिल दे अंदर
जाऊ किस और कलंदर में
तू मेरी हज नमाज़ा ; तू मौला दी आवज़ा
जाऊ फिर क्यों मंदिर मस्जिद में
Tripti .. this kid is a mystery am I biased because she was in the horror show called Animal? But then she was great in Qala and Bubbul. ahh.. bingo.. the girl is a serious actor with a Bollywood face. As soon as she tries to act like a Bollywood actor trying to prance around trees and look cute she fails at it and when she does a serious take she is awesome. In this Dhadak she is the upper caste interest and fits the part okay, but shines through in some hard hitting scenes when she is given substance.
The love story of invisible people who are a majority but still are invisible is an interesting and daring take and seems like has been inspired by a south Indian movie... dare I say Tamil movie. The same so called south Indian movies I used to slam. Obviously I was wrong, they also make great movies that never get highlighted. Makes sense only stupidity is ostentatious and I fell for it thinking that's all south has to offer in movies. So racist! More of a rant on me a little later.
To complete the Dalit masterpieces, this joins Laal Salaam and Article 15 as one of the great cinemas.
2. LOKAH: CHAPTER 1 CHANDRA
One of the best super hero (female) movies I have ever seen. It is Malayalam movie so should not feature here, but I own the blog so... The girl and her style and her relationship with her boyfriend. love it.
FROM THE FILES -
LOKAH - CHAPTER 1 CHANDRA - (Malayalam) 4.5 Stars. PG.
Lokah - Chapter 1 - Chandra - Trailer
Directed by - Dominic Arun
Starring - Kalyani Priyadarshan, Naslen, Sandy Master, Arun Kurian, Chandu Salim Kumar
Kalyani is a Star, yes she is daughter of Priyadarshan so basically a Nepo baby but SHE IS AWESOME. What a great Superhero ohh her style, her look .. this kid is just my superhero. Her BF is a perfect foil to exhalt her superhero-giri, a young average kid trying to get a girl to like him finding out she is not "A Girl" beautifully done, their relationship is just so cute. Also the great thing about the movie is - these kids are actually kids the BF has pimples on his face they are like really young kids not the polished perfect bodied Bollywood hunks who act kiddish. The movie kind of devolves into the American web series "Heroes" which is disappointing as they try to create sequels, but whatever happens with the sequels this first Lokah and Chandra was special as special as "El" from Stranger Things one of my favorite female superhero character.
Now for the rant on me, I promised before. Like an idiot. like a stupid racist idiot I kept on criticizing over the years "South Indian" movies and my south Indian friends kept getting annoyed at me and because of that I gleefully doubled down on my criticism not realizing just Like North India is not one entity how can South be? Malayalam movies are great! so must be others. I also found out Dhadak 2 was a Tamil movie remake so technically my criticism is only about Telegu and Tamil popular cinema that creates utter non-sensical stuff. So going forward don't expect me to change anything accept me hating on 'Tamil, Telugu popular fan-oholic movies' that they make. thank you.
3. SAIYAARA
Good music, good acting, nicely fitting new comers and a plot that can't go wrong in a love story. all adds up for a nice engaging movie. If you want pure entertainment hindi movie style love story go watch this one.
FROM THE FILES -
SAIYAARA - 4.25 Stars. PG.
Directed by - Mohit Suri
Starring - Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda
Have made a hit podcast and talked enough. Everyone has talked enough. The movie was successful in a different way. When a love story becomes successful people start staying away from it because it's too cringe to associate with it. That's when you know it's worked.
New kids who actually know how to act! A script borrowed from one of my favorite Hollywood movie and that's why I cut 0.25 points from it. But still very fresh new faces with good treatment of a subject which is hard to mess up. But still it was a great attempt and after a long time you had a love story that makes you cry and feel something. Good job.
Can't help but think the society has come to a point where they cry and beat their chest, if a young guy behaves like a decent human being. That's what this movie is about, if our hero was not a Young Indian Male everything he does is like any decent human being would do nothing special. But we all cry tears of joy and pain for him. Is that the bottom? If the same thing is done by a girl friend, a wife, a husband, a grand parent and parents this is not a movie.
Good music good direction and good acting with a heart tugging story what else is needed from a complete masala love story!
4. INSPECTOR ZENDE
I bump it a tad bit just because it was a refreshingly creative. It is hard to come by. The same old charles shobhraj case told through a lens of amusement and wit blew my mind. the side characters were funny but real, our inspector had self belief and one liners but in a comical way. Everyone came right out of a comic book but still created emotions. Beautiful!
FROM THE FILES -
INSPECTOR ZENDE - 4.5 Stars. G.
Directed by - Chinmay Mandlekar
Starring - Manoj Bajpayee, Jim Sarbh, Sachin Khedekar
After thinking about Housefull and getting depressed on the state of hindi movies, thank god I get to write about Inspector Zende. All is well! A subtle creative genius this movie is. It is about the same Charles Sobhraj the 80s criminal who has been made into cult figure for murdering scores of women. I don't know why every ghatiya person has to appeal to masses as something special... umm... well I will take it back the same can be said about almost every political leader world over who is killing the independence of the very people who are cheering them on.
Anyways back to Inspector Zende and the creativity, the movie twists the names of characters to make this into a comic book style comedy on how a real life inspector nabbed a real life criminal but the way they have done it is with subtle comedy and twisting the entire thriller into a comic-thriller. I have never seen this treatment before and deserves an applause. Awesome job.
5. HOMEBOUND
A typical art movie, with characters that are saddled with obvious handicaps. Easy to make you feel for them right? But this one had some emoting that was out of this world, the two friends, one Muslim the other Dalit stuck in a pandemic and the actors take it to a different level. Watch it for these actors.
FROM THE FILES -
HOMEBOUND - 4.5 STARS. PG13.
Directed by - Neeraj Ghaywan
Based on A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway
by Basharat Peer
Starring - Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor
A out and out Art movie and a good one at that. Two friends one is a muslim, the other low caste. Born with a disadvantage but still want to live and dream, if that was not enough pandemic hits. A perfect plot for catastrophe. Neeraj Ghaywan has a knack of making you cry, so if you give him a plot as juicy as this, he will hit you with a tear jerker. The movie is not all sad, it does have it's moments of life and happiness. Ishaan and Vishal show us they are actors and if you give them something to emote for, they are as good as anyone in the business.
6. NISHAANCHI 1 AND 2
You need to get to Nishaanchi 2, for that you need to get through Nishaanchi 1 and stay patient. It is a marathon that take you by scruff of your neck and entertains you Anurag Kashyap style. Along the way enjoy the Uttar Pradesh style music. Again these new comers just knock it out of the park, but the mom takes the cake with the tag of the greatest mom role in history of indian cinema.
FROM THE FILES -
NISHAANCHI - 1 AND 2 - 4.5 STARS. PG13
Directed by - Anurag Kashyap
Starring - Aaishvary Thackeray, Vedika Pinto, Monika Panwar, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Vineet Kumar Singh
Anurag Kashyap is back!! He is back as a director! yay!! I hope that also means end of his embarrassing acting career. Nishaanchi 1 and 2 is a 5 hour saga that should have been made into a web series than a movie with 2 parts. Anurag works best with new comers, and these new comers do an awesome job, he also returns to his comfort zone of north Indian underbelly of underworld politician nexus. This is where it looks all too familiar. Nishanchi 1 starts slow and builds very slowly, but slowly it builds into an engrossing plot.It grows on you, and if you did not give up in the first hour then it will start gripping you. By the end of one you can't stop and the second is mandatory and Nishaanchi 2 take you by scruff of your neck and won't give an inch to breathe. The last hour is engrossing edge of seat drama, you are choked up and exhausted and the ending is a last ball six that is needed after 5 hours of marathon. Good job Anurag. The music is awesome and it is one big fat album to listen to later after the movie ends.
The movie is about Aaishvary kid who plays double role of twin brothers with opposite personalities, it has shades of Deewar with one brother becoming a criminal and the other one trying to stay honest by his mom's side. They both contend for the love angle of Vedika Pinto, the girl is awesome in her role as a tough nut in bad neighborhood. All of them act well but the mom takes the prize with one of the few mom roles that are as strong as this one. This could be the greatest mom role ever in Indian cinema. Good job Anurag sir.
7. DHOOM DHAAM
Out and out fun movie, one night thriller comedy with an unlikely couple stuck in unlikely situations. The characterization is perfect Yami Gautam as the over the top dare devil wife and Pratik Gandhi the introspecting under confident hubby. Nothing to worry about just total time pass.
FROM THE FILES -
DHOOM DHAAM - 4.0 Stars. G
Directed by Rishab Seth
Starring - Yami Gautam Dhar, Pratik Gandhi
Two great actors and reasonably simple and comic script what else you need? A no hassle fun movie this. Somehow these are in short supply, clean fun no tension movies. Pratik Gandhi and Yami meet and get married without knowing much about each other, as they discover each other in a fun ride. They are polar opposites and both are good at comedy. Go watch it.
8. KESARI 2
A reminder that Akshay Kumar does know how to act, even though he doesn't fit the role of a Keralite lawyer but who cares. Another movie about Jallianwala Bagh massacre but this one is a court room drama and it is hard hitting and done well.
FROM THE FILES -
KESARI CHAPTER 2 - 4.0 Stars. R.
Directed by - Karan Singh Tyagi
Starring - Akshay Kumar, R. Madhavan, Ananya Panday
Something changed between Kesari 1 and Kesari 2, maybe Director or producer. Kesari was a zero starrer and Kesari 2 is taut well made historic thriller. Based on Jallianwala Bagh massacre a lawyer has a change of heart and fights the British in British courts to unravel the truth of massacre to the world.
When you think Akshay is a joke he will give you a performance that you will be like, ummm... I guess just like Ritiesh this guy is also an actor! He knocks the ball out of the park and gives a performance of his life. He has been on fire for sometime now churning great performances one after the other. Our favorite Ananya is in a small but important role. You go girl. Ananya is great. Madhavan is over the top but that's nothing new. Go watch this one if you got the appetite to get depressed. The message is - If you feel bad regarding a massacre, please make sure you feel bad for all massacres and genocide don't pick and chose your good and bad genocide.
9. KAALIDHAR LAAPATA
Only known face is Abhishek Bachchan, a nice cozy heart warming story of a lonely aging guy who is losing his memory and with it his utility in the world that comprises of his own family and friends. As he get lost he finds a friend in a kid. Nice cute small town story.
FROM THE FILES -
KAALIDHAR LAAPATA - 4.0 Stars. G
Directed by - Madhumita
Starring - Abhishek Bachchan, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Daivik Bhagela, Nimrat Kaur
Abhishek Bachchan is on a mission to do web releases with substance. It suit him, it is way better than doing a Housefull-5. Kaalidhar is a gaon ka aadmi who thinks he did everything for the family but he realizes he is not needed once Alzheimer's hits. Abhishek does good but Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub takes the cake. The kid who mentors Kaalidhar and teaches him lessons he never learnt in life is cute though unrealistic. Again the stupid old people wanting to fall in love with some childhood sweet heart hits again in this movie. what's up with movie waale old people!
10. GREAT MOVIES OF PREVIOUS YEARS THAT I WATCHED IN 2025.
10A. SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON
A band of boys from Malegaon create spoof films from nothing and create their own Bollywood in their small town. beautiful tale of friendship and camaraderie.
FROM THE FILES -
SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON - 4.5 Stars. G
Superboys of Malegaon - Trailer
Directed by - Reema Kagti
Starring - Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh, Shashank Arora, Anuj Singh Duhan
Another one that I talked about on my Podcast. A great movie / documentary. Bunch of friends in small town Malegaon decide to create movies a La Bollywood and make it happen. A dream come true, Malegaon till date is churning out small budget movies. They started with a parody on sholay, the story has a real feel to it.
Many times real life stories become so polished that they look fake. Not this one. The friends are real, their anger and greed is real. They hate each other and come back to love when things don't work out else where. A very typical human story of friends who banded together to make movies about their own little town for their own town.
One thing we found out Shashank Arora who we have seen in many movies turns out to be a great actor. A welcome surprise. This guy is better than all star kids combined, There I dissed on them. The movie is a must watch.
10B. MRS.
Life is all laid out the way it will happen, but if you don't like the crucible, you will have to have the courage to break it. A beautiful depiction of a simple married life, that is not so simple for the Mrs.
FROM THE FILES -
MRS - 4.5 Stars. G
Directed by - Arati Kadav
Based on The Great Indian Kitchen by Jeo Baby
Starring - Sanya Malhotra, Nishant Dahiya, Kanwaljit Singh
I have talked enough in my Podcast. Did I say it enough? I have a PODCAST. Anyways, Sanya Malhotra gives a great performance and the script apparently based on a book is simple but effective. Beautifully portrays a simple life of a simple wife. It is the dream life that society wants us all to live, but there is a problem, it is not good enough.
Sanya gets married but as soon as she gets the label of wife, there are some obvious things that she should be doing. The obvious things are so obvious to people living the culture that only she and us can see the ridiculousness of it. The movie shows every scene that we have witnessed in our lives, it's just that when you see from vantage point of an alien it looks so much more 'ridiculous' than when we live it.
The problem is not just what patriarchy brings for the 'Mrs' the problem is it also not healthy for the beneficiaries like the father in law and husband, who live their boring mundane lives of 'privilege'. That privilege is not good for them as they too miss out on life. The Movie has so many great dishes being made in the great Indian kitchen, by the end of the movie you will develop a nice appetite.
10C. STOLEN
If you don't watch too many Hindi movies and want to watch one, go for this one. A thriller to the core with a lot of drama and introspection. Actors are great especially the lady whose infant is kidnapped and then two rich brothers are caught in this storm.
FROM THE FILES -
STOLEN - 4.5 Stars. R.
Directed by - Karan Tejpal
Starring - Abhishek Banerjee, Shubham Vardhan, Mia Maelzer, Harish Khanna, Sahidur Rahaman
Now this is my kind of movie! This is quality cinema a thriller, a drama that needs to be watched. A baby is stolen from the trani platform of a homeless girl. Same time these 2 rich brothers are at the station because their flight got cancelled. They are caught in the ongoings, one brother is sympathetic to the cause the other wants to get out of their. No matter what they do, they keep getting pulled into a full scale brawl.
The lady who plays the mom, oh man.. hats off to her, this is called working on a role. Mia Maelzer? Whoever that is, what an actor! Abhishek and Shubham are great actors too and they all lift this taut thriller to it's climax. Sit tight and watch this uncomfortably great cinema.
TOP 3 WEB SERIES OF 2025
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1. DABBA CARTEL
All girls affair and a taut thriller with underworld and everything that a Anurag Kashyap cinema has except for this is right in the middle of Mumbai. Check out the music, all the rap songs from every Indian language is something I still remember.
FROM THE FILES -
DABBA CARTEL - 4.5 Stars. R
2. BLACK WARRANT
Created by the team that gave us awesomely dark Sacred games. This is as dark and awesome too. Again set in the Charles Sobhraj times when capital punishment was the norm.
FROM THE FILES -
BLACK WARRANT - 4.0 Stars. R
Created by - Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh
Based on Black Warrant by Sunetra Choudhury and Sunil Gupta
Directed by - Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh, Arkesh Ajay, Rohin Raveendran Nair, Ambiecka Pandit
Starring - Zahan Kapoor, Rahul Bhat, Paramvir Singh Cheema, Anurag Thakur
When you hear the name Vikramaditya Motwane you know the product will be good. Black Warrant is the warrant taken out when someone gets a death penalty. This is a story from 1980s when Charles Sobhraj was in Tihar Jail and the jailers had a hard time controlling the prison. Three very different people join the Jail after graduating from IPS and have their own trial by fire as they found their own way of controlling the politics and carving their own ways. Zahan Kapoor was good and so were others, fit perfectly, though its always easy to act in a good well directed show.
The series is slow, very dark and disturbing. As is most of the Motwane products. The hangings are shown in slow dark disturbing manner designed to stay with you for a long time. But only good shows can do that.
3. PANCHAYAT 4
Surprisingly the panchayat franchise pulled it back and slowed it down and kept the simplicity going after a not so good 3rd season.
FROM THE FILES -
PANCHAYAT 4 - 4.0 Stars. G
Genre - Comedy, Drama
Directed by - Deepak Kumar Mishra, Akshat Vijaywargiya
Starring - Jitendra Kumar, Raghubir Yadav, Neena Gupta, Faisal Malik, Chandan Roy, Sanvikaa Pooja Singh, Durgesh Kumar, Ashok Pathak, Sunita Rajwar, Bulloo Kumar, Pankaj Jha
If you have been living under a rock, welcome to the web series world. This super hit web series about village and small little dramas of the village has been on for few seasons. Last time it dropped a little when it became too big but this season they reign it back to make it slower paced and stick to their roots. Thanks to the directors for doing that.
The cons are they focus a little too much on the politics, I guess you can't take politics out of a common man in India. My gripe is that there was not a stretch that was not about election and politics, the best scene was daughter vs daughter fight over a kachori. I wanted more scenes like that. This season they push back from Jitendra Kumar to Raghubir Yadav who gives an inspiring performance in this one. Every character is now etched into our memories and each character is unique in their own way. The so called villains are no more worse than the heroes and it's the greatness of the show that it is such a level playing field.
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