A Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda
With Saiyaara, Ahaan Panday scored a blockbuster debut and Aneet Padda featured in a breakout act. The pair — Ahaan with his boyish charm, Aneet with her wide-eyed innocence — took over the box office, quickly becoming heartthrobs. Saiyaara’s magic spilled from screen to aisle, eliciting both smiles and sniffles and proving that at the end of the day, everyone loves love.
Akshaye Khanna
He kicked off the year with a blockbuster (Chhaava) and ended it with a bang (Dhurandhar). Year 2025 belonged to Akshaye Khanna who did what he does best — come in quietly, own the screen, and check out quietly, leaving the world raving about him. Chewing up the scenery in both films, Akshaye — now also a Gen Z favourite — has unexpectedly given us the top anthem (and the top moves) of the year with his nimble-footed charm in Dhurandhar. “Asalaam waleikum, Lyari,” is now legendary.
B Baby boom
It was the year of babies in Bollywood, with Kiara Advani-Siddharth Malhotra, Katrina Kaif-Vicky Kaushal, Parineeti Chopra-Raghav Chadha and Patralekhaa-Rajkummar Rao all becoming first-time parents. Karan Johar must be prepping for ‘Student of the Year 25’.
C Chhaava
The biggest blockbuster of 2025 roared in, with Vicky Kaushal leading from the front as braveheart Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Chhaava did justice to its scale and scope, though loud whispers of its subtle propagandist tone couldn’t be denied. Still it found enough favour with the audiences to rake in a cool ₹797.34 crore.
D Dhadak 2
Much before ‘D’ for Dhurandhar stole the spotlight, it was ‘D’ for Dhadak 2 that left an impact. Director Shazia Iqbal made the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal her own, but reimagined it for a diverse audience to give us a mainstream Bollywood film that didn’t shy away from bringing caste — and the ramifications of the bias attached to it — to the forefront. Powerful acts from Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri ensured that the film ‘screamed’ its way into our consciousness.
Duniya haseeno ka mela
It was 1997 once more with The Ba***ds of Bollywood bringing Bobby Deol — and his Gupt number Duniya haseeno ka mela — to the front and centre. Not only did the listening streams of the Viju Shah-scored song jump by a few million, using it as a crucial plot twist in the Aryan Khan-directed series (with a dose of AI), ensured that fans made a beeline for YouTube to watch the video, enabling it to set new viewership records.
E Emraan Hashmi
The B***ds of Bollywood also befittingly brought back into focus Emraan Hashmi and his early-2000s heartthrob status. Emraan’s poker-faced reaction to Raghav Juyal’s Parvaiz fan-boying over him was the scene-stealing act of the Netflix series and the stuff of a few million Instagram Reels. Kaho na kaho!
Zahan Kapoor, Sinners
Eight-hour shift
Deepika Padukone’s demand for an eight-hour shooting shift saw her unceremonious exit from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit, reigniting a debate that saw many siding with the actor, who quietly but firmly stood her ground, while a few others argued whether creativity should be limited by fixed working hours. The jury is still out on that one.
F Face reveal: Dua Padukone Singh
A month after she turned one, Dua Padukone Singh made her way (officially) to Instagram for the first time, with parents Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone introducing their little cherub to the world. Dua — a spitting image of her mom with a hint of her dad’s familiar smile — won millions of hearts in an instant.
Foot in mouth: Kajol and Twinkle
On paper, it was a match made in ‘cool conversation’ heaven. In reality, it turned out to be anything but. Two Much with Kajol and Twinkle brought the duo on the hosting couch for what should have been an irreverent and intimate, fun and frothy celebrity chat show. But it was the contrary — performative and tone-deaf with an extremely try-hard vibe.
G Ghafoor
Before Flipperachi’s Fa9la danced in, it was Ghafoor that occupied pride of place as the resident earworm. Essentially hooking us with just one word — “Ghafooooooor!” — The Ba***ds of Bollywood number was made all the more impactful by the presence of Arshad Warsi as, well, Ghafoor. That entry scene at the docks — “He’s a bad motherf***er” — is an instant classic.
H Homebound
India’s official entry to the 2026 Academy Awards may or not make the cut, but Homebound is a touching, telling and timely zeitgeist of the tumultuous times we live in. Director Neeraj Ghaywan, aided by superlative performances from Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, crafted a story of hope even in the middle of hopelessness and imbued it with a lived-in feel that didn’t feel didactic or documentary-like.
Hit back
Celebrity spats were par for the course with a few making headlines consistently — Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s court battle gained momentum, while two of Salman Khan’s directors — Sikandar man A.R. Murugadoss and Dabangg maker Abhinav Kashyap — took much more than a jibe at the superstar.
I India Shining
The momentum set by All We Imagine As Light in putting India firmly on the international cinema map in 2024, was carried forward by Songs of Forgotten Trees that earned Purulia girl Anuparna Roy the Best Director Award in the Orizzonti section at the Venice International Film Festival 2025. Sabar Bonda, a sensitive portrayal of queer love playing out against the background of grief, brought home the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri notched up a re-release premiere at Cannes, with the film — marked by the presence of its actors Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal on the red carpet — being presented at the festival by filmmaker Wes Anderson.
Ibrahim Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan’s son made his acting debut this year, but failed to impress. While Nadaaniyan, co-starring Khushi Kapoor, was an outright disaster, Sarzameen helped the Pataudi scion redeem himself (just about). Will Ibrahim (who looks better than he sounds) surprise us with his next? We live in hope.
J Jaideep Ahlawat’s moves
Paatal Lok 2 to The Family Man 3, Hathiram to Rukma — this was the year of Jaideep Ahlawat. But what made the actor truly go viral? His too-cool-for-school moves in the song Jaadu from Jewel Thief.
Jimmy Kimmel suspension
For the first time in its two-decade run, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taken off air for six days for purportedly controversial remarks made by host Jimmy Kimmel about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer. Disney reinstated the show after about a week, citing concerns about “inflaming tensions during an emotional time”.
K K-Pop Demon Hunters
If we say that almost every home in India has at least one tween obsessed with K-Pop Demon Hunters, it won’t be an exaggeration. This animation offering on Netflix, focusing on a music band of three girls moonlighting as demon hunters, became a global sensation from the word go, with young viewers getting hooked to everything from its pop-coloured fashion to its winning melodies like Golden and Soda Pop.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Seventeen years after it went off the airwaves, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi came back with a new season (described both as a sequel and a reboot), with actor-politician Smriti Irani leading the charge as Tulsi Virani. Largely pedestrian, Part 2 did strike nostalgic notes for a few viewers, recording healthy viewership numbers. Its biggest — and most unexpected coup — was getting Bill Gates (yes, the one and only) to go “Jai Shri Krishna” with Tulsi over a video call!
L Latent loss
Podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia’s obscene remarks as a guest on India’s Got Latent put a temporary hold on his career and a permanent full stop on the show, with Latent’s chief whip Samay Raina, along with Allahbadia, coming in the line of fire (and battling a few FIRs along the way).
Letterboxd welcomes Kennedy
After languishing in the cans for two years after its Cannes premiere, Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy — described as a powerfully enacted borderline-surrealist piece — made its way to Letterboxd, becoming the first Indian film to stream on the TVOD (Transactional Video-on-Demand) platform.
M Mahavatar Narsimha
In a year that has seen OTT players bet big on titles focused on mythology (Kurukshetra to Mahabharata), it was Mahavatar Narsimha that struck gold on the big screen. The first instalment in the planned seven-part animated Mahavatar Cinematic Universe, based on the 10 avatars of Vishnu, is the seventh highest-grossing Indian film of 2025. With a total box-office haul of ₹325-crore, it is the highest-grossing Indian animated film, and also the highest-grossing animated film in India, surpassing The Lion King.
MTV, adieu!
MTV — that started out as a music channel and then became anything but — bid goodbye this year, bringing to an end a four-decade run, citing declining audience and shifting viewing habits. Even those who hadn’t tuned in for years mourned the closure, signifying as it did the end of an era.
N Ne Zha 2
The biggest worldwide hit of 2025 didn’t come from Hollywood. It is, in fact, the Chinese fantasy animation biggie Ne Zha 2, which shattered all records when it released in January. Raking in a cool $2.216 billion, it is the first animated film in history to cross the $2 billion mark, ranks as the highest-grossing film of 2025, and the fifth highest-grossing film of all time.
O Owen Cooper
Netflix series Adolescence ripped the Bandaid off a host of issues that concern us in the here and now — what are our children thinking, what are they watching, and what are they doing? Teen actor Owen Cooper was the beating heart of the four-episode series in what is undoubtedly one of the most stellar acts of the year, crowning him, at only 15, as the youngest-ever male actor to win a Primetime Emmy award.
One hundred and five crore
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you couldn’t have missed Urvashi Rautela going “One hundred and five crore” — the box-office numbers of her film Daaku Maharaj — every time she spied a camera on her (or even not). Urvashi’s moves to Dabidi dibidi from the film, Nandamuri Balakrishna for company, were even more traumatic.
P Paul Dano
Director Quentin Tarantino’s unprovoked attack on Paul Dano (“the weakest male actor in the SAG”, aka the Screen Actors Guild, according to him) brought on a wave of support — within Hollywood and outside — for the There Will Be Blood actor who faced a “renewal” (the reverse of being “cancelled”) on social media.
Pap pow-wow
Sunny Deol took the fight to the paparazzi camp, raining abuses on any camera lens that came within viewing distance when dad Dharmendra was ailing. Jaya Bachchan, who was never on friendly terms with the paparazzi, called them out on a public forum with words that some felt were elitist while others thought were justified.
Q Queen of the box office — Scarlett Johansson
Following the huge box-office showing of Jurassic World: Rebirth, Scarlett Johansson became the highest-grossing actor ever (male and female), surpassing the likes of Robert Downey Jr and Samuel L. Jackson. No surprises there since the 41-year-old actor has been a part of the biggest money-spinning franchises — Avengers to Iron Man, The Jungle Book to Jurassic World.
Queer: Jonathan Bailey
Jonathan Bailey made history as People magazine’s first openly gay “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2025, a significant moment for LGBTQIA+ representation in media, with many seeing the Bridgerton star’s crowning as a validation for queer actors who once felt pressured to stay closeted in order to be accepted and succeed in leading roles.
R Re-release
Sanam Teri Kasam was a huge winner in its re-release run. Jonathan Bailey made history as People magazine's first openly gay "Sexiest Man Alive"
Like last year, re-releases scored big in 2025. Particularly significant was the re-release of Sholay in its fully restored 4K version with the original, uncut climax that was censored during its initial 1975 release. The other big re-release story belonged to Sanam Teri Kasam, the 2016 romance drama starring Harshvardhan Rane and Mawra Hocane, that found far more takers this time around, earning over ₹50 Crore worldwide, making it the highest-grossing re-release of a Hindi film ever, beating Tumbbad.
S Shashwat Sachdev
Music man Shashwat Sachdev spun magic with The Ba***ds of Bollywood and then took his winning beats several notches higher with his exemplary soundboard — compositions, recreations, adaptations, hat tips — for Dhurandhar.
Sydney Sweeney
Sydney Sweeney found herself in the middle of a raging controversy, courtesy the tagline — “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” — of her American Eagle jeans ad, which some interpreted as a pun on “genes”, leading to accusations of promoting eugenics and white supremacy, sparking intense debate and political commentary. Her ambitious project Christy — the biopic of former professional boxer Christy Martin — won little or no praise, proving that this wasn’t simply her year.
T take that, toxicity!
Representation of toxic relationships and male entitlement continued on Indian screens. But for every film that propagated rampant misogyny (Tere Ishk Mein), there were several others (Mrs, The Girlfriend) who called it out in a way — the climax of both films where women wrestle back power, was a huge #win — making for a cathartic experience.
Tanya Mittal
Every season of Bigg Boss throws up a few quirky contestants, but Season 19’s Tanya Mittal — a self-proclaimed spiritual influencer — is in a league of her own. The Gwalior girl constantly kept harping about her wealth — including having “150 bodyguards” and carrying “800 saris” to the Bigg Boss house, much to the chagrin of show host Salman Khan.
U Uyi amma
Her debut film Azaad may have come a cropper, but Rasha Thadani’s moves in Uyi amma — that reminds one of Katrina Kaif’s Chikni Chameli in some ways — gave 2025 a new nightclub banger.
V Vampire films
Vampire films — from here, there, everywhere — earned big praise and huge box-office. While Michael B. Jordan’s Sinners, that brought together horror and history with a side of blues music, was a class apart, Malayalam film Lokah, that blended Indian mythology with vampire themes, was a sureshot winner, marking a significant step forward for the genre in Indian cinema. Radhika Apte’s indie offering Sister Midnight added to the genre. Bollywood did its bit with Thamma, that kicked off the MHCU (Maddock Horror Comedy Universe) nomenclature.
Veer Pahariya’s hop skip and jump
In January, Instagram was flooded with Reels of debutant Veer Pahariya hopping, skipping and jumping (in a rather maniacal way) as part of the choreography of his Skyforce number Rang. It went viral in no time.
W Warner Bros. takeover
Netflix winning the bidding war to take over Warner Bros. sparked protests from many quarters, with many associated with the creative space fearing it would sound the death knell on studio independence and bring an end to the theatrical experience as we know it.
Weapons
In a year that saw quite a few winners in the horror genre, it was Weapons that proved to be the standout. Director Zach Cregger unleashed a watch that combined haunting intrigue, impactful performances, a powerful staged creepy environment and a compelling villain in Aunt Gladys, brought chillingly to life by Amy Madigan.
X X-factor:Aryan Khan
With The B***ds of Bollywood, Aryan Khan proved that he is a chip off the old block, bringing humour and irreverence but also drama and the examination of relationships against the backdrop of the world of movies. The Netflix series found a record number of takers, and while much of its success was team work, it had Aryan’s signature stamp all over it.
Y YouTube yay
Bollywood went bold, with Aamir Khan deciding not to sell his June film Sitaare Zameen Par to a streaming platform after its theatrical run. Instead, the actor opted to show it on YouTube on a nominal pay-per-view model. A few months later, Pankaj Tripathi, putting his weight behind the drama series Perfect Family, followed suit. This week, it was announced that the Oscars will move to YouTube in 2029 in a streaming-only format.
Z Zootopia 2
Animation films hit pay dirt in 2025 and the biggest scorer was Zootopia 2 that came in like a hurricane and took over the global box office. Made on a budget of $150 million, it earned $1.137 billion, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year.
Zahan Kapoor
In Black Warrant, Shashi Kapoor’s grandson, Zahan Kapoor, brought poise, power and pathos to a character that would have well become a stereotype. An actor to watch out for.