The year of Neeraj Ghaywan’s sophomore feature.
In 2025, Akhil Arora’s movie reviews explored new and returning sci-fi realms.
Haq
This irresponsible propaganda movie, starring Yami Gautam Dhar and Emraan Hashmi, is even more insidious than Dhurandhar.
Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders
More than just a way for director Honey Trehan to pay the rent—or is it actually worthwhile?
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Betrays the franchise’s core values in many ways, James Cameron sends Jake Sully in illogical directions, and the third chapter in the world of Pandora ends with multiple loose ends.
Dhurandhar
Vile propaganda whose influence will spread beyond even its target audience of unemployed youth and WhatsApp uncles.
The Girlfriend
Seems like a direct response to the widespread misogyny of Indian cinema, but it feels disingenuous because it stars someone who has defended that very misogyny.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari
Varun Dhawan’s evolution as an actor has stagnated, Janhvi Kapoor is moving in the opposite direction, and Sanya Malhotra and Rohit Saraf happily accept the paycheque.
Nishaanchi: Part 2
Features arguably the best climax that Anurag Kashyap has ever orchestrated.
Nishaanchi: Part 1
A welcome return to form and the long-awaited spiritual successor to Gangs of Wasseypur that Anurag Kashyap’s fans have been waiting for.
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra
Perhaps the most overrated Indian movie of the year.
Param Sundari
There is offensive cultural appropriation in every frame of the film, its protagonists have odd motivations, and the film relies on cultural stereotypes.
Homebound
Takes a daring, humanist approach to spotlighting minority communities and how a tragedy like the COVID-19 pandemic affected them.
Inspector Zende
What could’ve been a homegrown homage to The Naked Gun comes across as a first draft in need of clever rewrites.
Songs of Paradise
It could’ve worked as a metaphor for post-Independence Kashmir, but instead, it’s like a bedtime story for five-year-olds.
Maareesan
The film’s shady morality seems to champion extrajudicial killings if the cause is perceived as noble enough.
Tehran
The new John Abraham political action thriller literally cannot identify the country of Georgia on the map.
Sitaare Zameen Par
Marketed as the spiritual sequel to Aamir Khan’s 2007 hit Taare Zameen Par, this is a shoddily made, preachy, borderline insensitive film with a noble mission.
Sarzameen
Reeks of something that Netflix and Prime Video passed on, which is probably why it ended up on JioHotstar, a streamer where movies go to die.
Alappuzha Gymkhana
No stakes, no villain, and no classic structure. This could either have been a bold decision or an act of self-sabotage. It’s somewhere in the middle.
Stolen
Karan Tejpal weaves the film’s many layers into a tight narrative.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
It may or may not be Tom Cruise’s final time playing IMF agent Ethan Hunt, but the movie is certainly not worthy of taking on send-off responsibilities.
The Diplomat
No diplomacy takes place in this John Abraham film.
Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins
Inexplicably, further lowers the bar for Netflix India.
The Electric State
The United Nations should probably intervene and impose sanctions on streamers for wasting over $300 million on movies like these.
Superboys of Malegaon
Reema Kagti unites three talented male actors in an inspiring story about ambition and friendship. But was she the ideal person for the job?
Mrs.
Is the Hindi-language remake of the acclaimed Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen a better exploration of the same ideas?
All We Imagine As Light
Bittersweet exploration of urban loneliness and the migrant experience.