THE YEAR 2025 WAS IN THE WORLD OF CINEMA

2025 was a special year for cinema — a year that truly belonged to meaningful storytelling and films made with intent. In the absence of towering blockbusters, it was the quieter, smaller films that left the deepest impact, winning hearts at home and making the country proud at Cannes and across major international film festivals.

It was also a landmark year for OTT, with standout shows like Adolescence, The Studio, Pluribus, and Black Warrant redefining the scope and ambition of long-form storytelling. At the same time, much-awaited sequels such as Paatal Lok 2, Delhi Crime 3, and The Family Man 3 proved that strong narratives can evolve and grow without losing their soul.

Overall, 2025 will be remembered as a year when stories mattered more than scale.

JANUARY

January kicked off with two of the best Hindi streaming shows of 2025: Patal Lok 2 and Black Warrant. The ever-dependable Jaideep Ahlawat gave his career-best performance as Hathiram Chaudhary once again. The duo of Sudeep Sharma and Avinash Arun proved that the sequels can be as good as the first season.

With Black Warrant, Vikramaditya demonstrated his versatility in filmmaking and storytelling. Zahaan Kapoor made his way to the Best Actors Year-End Roundtables with his breakout performance. Black Warrant also gave a new talent to the industry in Anurag Thakur, with an authentic and well-rooted performance.

FEBRUARY 2025

February gave one of the most beautiful and heartwarming stories of a small-town group of filmmakers- Superboys of Malegaon. Reema Kagti and Varun Grover’s film boasts a stellar star-cast and introduces an equally capable bunch of fresh talents.

Arati Kadav remakes, 2021’s highly acclaimed The Great Indian Kitchen as Mrs, which gets a direct OTT release on Zee5. Mrs gets received well as one of the better, respectable remakes.

Chhava becomes the first superhit of 2025. Vicky Kaushal rides the high horses of success as Sambaji Maharaj. Vineet Singh once again shines in his portrayal. Akshay Khanna begins the year by stealing the thunder under everyone’s nose; he also ended the year the same way.

February also gave us the dialogue of the year, “Writer Baap Hota Hai, Baap” by Vineet Singh and Varun Grover.

MARCH

On International Women’s Day, a small Marathi film, Sthal, produced by Sachin Pilgaonkar, was released. The film travelled to TIFF, the Pune Film Festival, the London Film Festival, and the Jaffna Film Festival and also won accolades.

Adolescence, the British series, streamed in March and became an instant talk of the town for its unique approach of filming entire episodes in a single take and for its political themes. The teenage protagonist, Owen Cooper, became the youngest male actor to win a Primetime Emmy Award.

Another Apple TV+ show, The Studio, created a strong buzz and went on to win 13 Emmy Awards—the highest ever for a comedy series.

March also saw the release of Mickey 17, a sci-fi drama directed by Bong Joon-ho.

APRIL

It was all about Sinners. Those who watched the film couldn’t stop raving about it, and the buzz wasn’t limited to audiences alone. The Hollywood Reporter has already included Sinners in its list of the 25 Best Horror Movies of the Century, cementing its place as a modern horror classic.

On the home front, one Hindi horror series that grabbed widespread attention was Khauff. The show stood out for its atmosphere and storytelling, while Monika Panwar’s performance received unanimous appreciation. Khauff went on to feature in several Best of 2025 lists, marking it as one of the year’s most talked-about genre offerings.

From Tamil cinema, The Tourist Family, directed by Abhishan Jeevinth, struck an emotional chord. The film follows a Sri Lankan family fleeing their country amid an economic crisis and seeking refuge in India. With its sensitive treatment of displacement and survival, the film earned highly positive critical reviews, resonating deeply with both critics and audiences.

MAY

Cannes Film Festival took center stage in May, bringing together contemporary global cinema, restored classics, and history-making moments. India found a moment of pride as Neeraj Gheywan’s Homebound was selected in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival, earning significant global recognition.

One of the festival’s most cherished moments was the screening of Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) in a 4K restored version, showcased as part of Cannes’ celebration of cinematic heritage. Introduced by Wes Anderson, a long-time admirer of Ray’s work, the screening was attended by Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal, making it a deeply nostalgic and historic occasion. The restoration was carried out by the Film Heritage Foundation, continuing its mission to preserve India’s film legacy.

Meanwhile, Cannes witnessed history being made in the main competition. It Was Just An Accident -A film by Jafar Panahi had its world premiere at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2025, where it went on to win the prestigious Palme d’Or, drawing widespread critical acclaim.

Panahi’s achievement is particularly remarkable given his long-standing conflict with the Iranian regime. A vocal critic of the regime, he has been imprisoned multiple times and made the film without official filming permission, turning the project itself into an act of artistic resistance.

May delivered a major pop-culture moment as Shah Rukh Khan made his Met Gala debut. Dressed in Sabyasachi, SRK embraced the theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” with understated elegance, reminding the world why he remains a global icon.

On the blockbuster front, Tom Cruise returned with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, once again raising the bar for theatrical spectacle and reaffirming his commitment to big-screen cinema.

JUNE

Abhishek Bannerjee made a striking impression with Karan Tejpal’s Stolen, a film that had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. The film went on to travel widely and earned major international recognition, winning Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Cinematography awards at the Beijing Film Festival and a Special Mention at the Zurich Film Festival.

Aamir Khan once again pushed boundaries by casting actors with real intellectual disabilities in his production, Sitaare Zameen Par, and challenging industry norms—while the film still went on to become the 6th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025.

A landmark moment for accessibility in cinemas as the film offered closed captions (including sound cues), audio descriptions for the visually impaired audience, and Indian Sign Language (ISL) support together—reported as a world-first, making theatres more inclusive than ever.

As a producer, he also took an unconventional route after the theatrical run of the film. He skipped conventional OTT platforms like Netflix or Prime Video and dropped the film on YouTube Movies on Demand, allowing viewers to rent/watch it for around ₹100 in India.

JULY

Saiyaara arrived like a cultural wave, instantly transporting millennials back to the emotionally charged era of Tere Naam, Aashiqui and Aashiqui 2. What stood out, however, was Gen Z’s wholehearted embrace of on-screen romance. Unapologetic about their emotions, they cried, screamed, sang along in theatres—and proudly filmed it all.

While the trailer generated strong buzz, no one anticipated the scale of its success. Saiyaara proved a timeless truth: every generation discovers its own defining love story—and one fresh pairing can still change the game entirely.

Among the most beautiful Hindi music albums of the year, Metro… In Dino stood tall. Its soulful, contemporary soundscape slowly grew to become a favourite amongst the listeners.

Voted the Best Film of 2025 across multiple online platforms, F1 emerged as a unanimous crowd favourite.

Made on a modest budget of ₹40 crore, Mahavtar Narasimha went on to earn over ₹300 crore, rewriting history in the process. It became the first Indian animated film to cross the ₹300 crore mark, signaling a breakthrough moment for animation in Indian cinema.

AUGUST

It turned out to be the strongest month of the year with Dhadak 2, Vash 2, Lokah Chapter 1, Weapons, Sorry Baby and Rajnikant’s Coolie.

Dhadak 2 emerged as a genuine pleasant surprise. Moving beyond expectations, the film struck an emotional chord and proved that a sequel can find its own voice while staying rooted in sincere storytelling.

Among the most talked about was Dulquer Salman’s production and Dominic Arun’s directed Lokah Chapter 1. Far from being a standalone film, Lokah launches a meticulously planned mytho-fantasy universe—one that draws deeply from Indian cultural imagination instead of relying on familiar Western superhero templates.

The month was further enriched by diverse offerings like Weapons, A 24’s production Sorry Baby, and Lokesh Kanakraj’s Rajinikanth starrer Coolie.

SEPTEMBER

September became the month of small films with big voices—Jugnuma, Homebound, Sabar Bonda, and Humans In The Loop stood out for their ambition, originality, and emotional depth.

Ironically, many of what would later be regarded as the best films of the year arrived in September—only to disappear from theatres in less than a week. Their brief theatrical runs said more about the system than the films themselves.

Adding to the month’s cinematic high was one of the most fun theatre-going experiences of 2025—One Battle After Another by Paul Thomas Anderson. Energetic, unpredictable, and immensely watchable, it reminded audiences why some films simply demand the big-screen experience.

September was also marked by notable moments off-screen. Shabana Azmi turned 75, a milestone that invited reflection on an extraordinary legacy spanning decade of Indian cinema. Meanwhile, Aryan Khan made a confident and entertaining debut with The Bads of Bollywood, delivering a fun, thrilling entry.

OCTOBER

Laalo Krishna Sada Sahayto created history by becoming the highest-grossing Gujarati film of all time. It also became the first Gujarati film to cross the ₹100 crore mark in global earnings.

The month also belonged to Kantara: Chapter 1, a film that arrived with enormous expectations and lived up to its cultural and cinematic weight. Its release reaffirmed the growing appetite for rooted, myth-driven storytelling that resonates far beyond language barriers.

Tamil cinema added further depth to the month with Bison, directed by Mari Selvaraj. Known for his socially conscious and politically charged narratives, Selvaraj once again delivered a film that blended raw emotion with powerful commentary, making Bison one of the most talked-about Tamil releases of the year.

NOVEMBER

November saw the arrival of some of the most-awaited sequels on streaming, with Delhi Crime Season 3 and The Family Man Season 3 finally dropping. While anticipation was sky-high, both series received mixed reviews, sparking divided conversations among audiences and critics.

On the independent cinema front, Kanu Behl’s Agra faced a familiar struggle—an extremely limited theatrical release. The filmmaker took to social media to urge audiences to seek out the film, once again highlighting the persistent challenges faced by bold, uncompromising cinema within the current exhibition system.

From Telugu cinema, one of the most talked about film, The Girlfriend added to the month’s releases, drawing attention for its contemporary theme and important, powerful narrative.

Globally, animation ruled the box office as Zootopia 2 achieved a historic milestone. The film became the highest-grossing Walt Disney Animation Studios release ever, surpassing Frozen 2 with approximately $1.46 billion in global earnings.

DECEMBER

December began with a move that triggered widespread debate within film circles, the Centre blocked 19 films from screening at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).

The list notably included several Palestinian titles, along with Sergei Eisenstein’s legendary cinema classic Battleship Potemkin, a cornerstone of world cinema history. The decision reignited conversations around artistic freedom, political expression in cinema, and the role of film festivals as spaces for global dialogue.

Wake Up Dead Man took over online conversations, once again proving Knives Out to be one of Netflix’s most loved and talked-about franchises.

After years of anticipation, Netflix dropped the final season of Stranger Things, marking the end of one of the most influential pop-culture phenomena of the streaming era.

The farewell season leans heavily into emotional closures, high-stakes action, and nostalgia, bringing the Hawkins saga to a definitive close. Fans across the world flooded social media with reactions, theories, and tributes to the show that defined a generation of binge-watching.

The much-talked-about film Dhurandhar emerged as a standout, generating strong word-of-mouth for its storytelling, stylish action and stellar performances by the cast. Aditya Dhar gets appreciated as well as criticised for the politics of the story. As Akshay Khanna began the year by stealing all the limelight in Chhava, he ends 2025 by being the most raved about performance in Dhurandhar.

ON OTHER FRONTS

In 2025, all three legendary Khans of Bollywood—Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan—marked a significant personal milestone as they each celebrated their 60th birthday. Even at this stage, they continued to rule the hearts of the masses and the box office, proving their unparalleled influence on Hindi cinema across decades.

Films that turned 50 in 2025- Deewar, Chupke Chupke, Aandhi, Nishant and Sholay.

Sholay got a re-release as Sholay: The Final Cut, restored in 4K with Dolby 5.1 sound, celebrating its Golden Jubilee. It featured the original, previously censored climax where Thakur kills Gabbar, plus two deleted scenes presenting the director’s original visions.

In Hollywood, iconic classics like Jaws and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest celebrated their 50th anniversary, marking five decades since these landmark films redefined filmmaking, storytelling, and cultural impact, and continue to influence generations of filmmakers and audiences worldwide.

IN MEMORIAM

Cinema and Beyond pays tribute to all the artists, actors, directors and entertainers who added meaning and joy in our lives through their luminous work.

Share your favourite highlight moments of 2025 in the world of cinema with us.

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