25 years of Indian Cinema

In the special series 25 years of Indian Cinema, we will give you a quick snapshot of each year from 2000, the films that made the top grossing bracket, and the films which didn’t. But we will go beyond the box office and give you the films which stood out, and those which changed the game.

News

25 YEARS OF INDIAN CINEMA NEWS

Pataal Lok, Panchayat and a struggling film industry: 25 Years of Indian Cinema

November 28, 2025 8:03 am

As Covid changed the world, fantastic shows such as Panchayat and Pataal Lok trumped films, setting the narrative for what was to come.

Sacred Games changed Indian entertainment in 2018, the year of Stree and October: 25 Years of Indian Cinema

November 26, 2025 8:43 am

Sacred Games was a watershed in the year of a handful of well-told hits rose above the general dross, which was topped by the so bad it's terrible Thugs Of Hindostan (Aamir Khan), with Anand L Rai’s Zero (Shah Rukh Khan) coming a close second.

25 years of Indian Cinema | 2017: A humdinger of a year for small films with a big heart

November 25, 2025 9:04 pm

25 years of Indian Cinema | Of the other big hits--Tiger Zinda Hai, Golmaal, Raees, Toilet Ek Prem Katha, Secret Superstar, Kaabil, Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya, Judwa 2-- only Toilet claimed difference in its plot point.

25 years of Indian Cinema: 2016 was the year of Dangal, Fan, Udta Punjab and Pink

November 23, 2025 4:44 pm

Sultan is that rare Salman Khan outing which actually submits to a plot. This is not just Bhaigiri, but being a character, in which he fails, falls, and gets up again, showing us the sweat and blood that goes into winning.

25 years of Indian Cinema: 2015 was the year of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Dil Dhadakne Do, Masaan

November 22, 2025 4:34 pm

25 years of Indian Cinema: Zoya Akhtar’s 2015 Dil Dhadakne Do was yet another poor-little-rich-people drama that the director excelled at before she rolled over into more egalitarian ground with Gully Boy.

2014: Big blockbusters, small paybacks

November 20, 2025 3:08 pm

Amid Kick, Bang Bang, Singham Returns, Holiday, Happy New Year and Ek Villain -- only PK stood tall for its freshness.

2013: Lunchbox, Kai Po Che, Queen gave us the stars and the stories

November 19, 2025 8:13 am

If I were to pick one film which changed the game in terms of a wider overseas release, it was Ritesh Batra’s Lunchbox, an unlikely romance between two lonely souls starring Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur.

With Vicky Donor, Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, Hindi cinema changed in 2012

November 18, 2025 8:06 am

Not Ek Tha Tiger and Rowdy Rathore, 2012 belonged to Tigmanshu Dhulia (Paan Singh Tomar), Shoojit Sircar (Vicky Donor), Anurag Kashyap (Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2), Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish, and Sujoy Ghosh (Kahaani).

2011 Delhi Belly and Pyaar Ka Punchnama new

Delhi Belly and Pyaar Ka Punchnama defined 2011 in the year of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Singham and Ra.One

November 17, 2025 5:10 pm

25 Years of Indian Cinema: A handful of non-starry films defined 2011. The top of the pops were Delhi Belly, and Pyaar Ka Punchnama even though big films and big stars kept their date with audience in theatres.