My Top 10 Indian Films of 2024

Year 2024 has ended now. What a year has it been to Indian cinema when it comes to exploration of diverse themes and fresh ideas, but also we witnessed recycling of old stuff in new containers. Some films did extraordinary in box office, finding their own audiences, while majority failed to make an impact. However I am going with the positive side, and listing top 10 Indian movies I watched this year.

In one sentence, 2024 has been a year of south Indian cinema, with Malayalam and Telugu industries scoring most. It’s interesting to see south Indian films finding audience in the North, while sadly, Bollywood mostly presented run off the mill projects, yet scored only in sequels during the second half of the year, with a very few exceptions though. Yet they managed to collect movies through a few mediocre sequel films, which never met the standards of their prequels. The year ended with Tollywood giving the biggest Indian blockbuster through Pushpa 2: The Rule and Mollywood offering the most violent film of Indian cinema through Marco, interestingly both during the last month of December.

When it comes to quality content, Mollywood scores. What a great year has been 2024 to Malayalam cinema! Being a Malayali, I am not biased towards Mollywood. But most people will agree with me, this year goes to Malayalam cinema and many films immensely became popular across the country. But when it comes to theatre experience, Malayalam made on small budget has a very small audience & can never compete with big film industries like Bollywood or Tollywood. But the positive thing is that people have now started watching Malayalam films through OTT platforms, and finally during the last week of 2024 Mollywood found its theatre audience.

Here is the list of best 10 Indian movies I watched this year. It’s not significant which movie scores more and which movie scores less. Based on personal tastes and mood, the ranking may vary. It’s more important, which movies found a place in your heart. Most of these films have been watched by people all over. Yes, language is not a barrier now, and audience love to watch good stuff. Again, like many others, I don’t get exposure to many language films like Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi and many more, and I can make a list based on Hindi and all south Indian languages, and that’s my limitation. Hope you understand.

Top 10 Indian movies I watched in 2024

10. Laapataa Ladies (Hindi)

The comedy-drama film directed by Kiran Rao, starred Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta and Sparsh Shrivastava. Widely chosen as the best Bollywood film of the year, the film was praised for its story, screenplay and cast performances. Screened at many international film festivals, Laapataa Ladies was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards. It tells the story of two young newly-wed brides who get exchanged during a train ride to their husband’s homes, and is said to be inspired from Anant Mahadevan’s directorial Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol, aired on DD Metro 20 years back.

9. Amar Singh Chamkila (Hindi)

It’s so pleasant to see Imtiaz Ali returning to his form. Amar Singh Chamkila is one of the best biopics made on Indian screen in the recent times. Retold the story of Amar Singh Chamkila & his wife Amarjot through Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, and brilliantly backed by A.R.Rahman’s score, we also got opportunity to see original footage of the singer duo’s live performances. The movie appeared like a ballet flowing onscreen flawless.

8. Manjummel Boys (Malayalam)

Made on a shoestring budget of 20 crore, the movie collected 242 crores from box office. It’s the highest Malayalam grosser, breaking the previous collection records of 2018. This survival thriller was directed by Chidambaram, whose earlier outing Jan.E.Man was also a surprise hit at box office. The movie starred ensemble cast of Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Deepak Parambol, Balu Varghese, Lal Jr. and a bunch of actors.

Based on a real-life incident, Manjummel Boys tells the story of a group of friends who go to a vacation in Kodaikanal and how the friends together strive to save their friend, trapped in the Guna Caves. The gut-wrenching rescue operations were well shot with a nail-biting climax which created great impact among the audiences. The movie was a major hit in Tamil Nadu grossing over 100 crores, and received warm welcome across the country once it got released in OTT platform. The movie never missed Top 10 list of many reviewers.

7. Lucky Baskhar (Telugu)

Dulquer Salmaan is successful playing retro roles in the recent times. Lucky Baskhar is the latest addition. This period crime drama film written and directed by Venky Atluri received rave reviews and grossed over 100 crores. The movie tells the story of a banker Baskhar who embarks on a risky investment scheme and soon gets drawn into the murky world of money laundering. The cleverly written script was praised, and the movie became the hat-trick hit of DQ’s Telugu film journey. In fact, he has only 3 Telugu releases up-to-date and all were box office hits.

6. Bramayugam (Malayalam)

Shooting a full-length film in black-and-white format in present times is too risky, that too when a superstar is playing the leading role. Despite that, the experiment paid off and this period folk horror film became a huge success in box office. Fully shot at a single location with three characters, the director Rahul Sadasivan deserves applause. Grossing over ₹85 crore, the movie became one of the highest grossing Malayalam film of 2024. Once it got released in OTT it received positive response from everywhere. This folklore depicts the story of a Paanan singer, who gets trapped in the cobweb woven by a chathan, who disguises himself as a landlord with golden heart in the beginning. The director’s previous outing Bhoothakaalam (2022) was also widely praised by critics.

5. Meiyazhagan (Tamil)

Last year, if I felt sad when finished watching, and felt like these movies should not end and keep going on, because of their entertainment value, warmth and good feel, those two films were Avesham and Meiyazhagan. Avesham was a fun ride while Meyyazhagan was a beautiful journey, and I didn’t want both movies to end. Both of them promise a heartfelt ride and both the movies succeeded in it, though both took their own distinct paths. Yet, I had to place them at 4th and 5th position. That’s the quality of first 3 films.

This drama film was directed by C. Prem Kumar, of ‘96 film. It was a 6-year long wait for Tamil audiences, yet worth it. While most Indian films discuss the screen chemistry between the lead romantic pair, this movie came into spotlight for the chemistry between two men, the characters played by Karthi and Arvind Swamy. What a beautiful film, which taught us new dimensions of human bonds and relations! It tells the story of a mid-aged man who revisits his hometown after a gap of 22 years, and how he establishes a bond with a talkative person who appears a lot of annoying in the beginning. Though there are a few more characters and lovely moments woven with them, these two characters stand out.

4. Avesham (Malayalam)

Already how I have explained how this comedy flick touched my mind. The movie takes us for a ride through different emotions and so convincing that we can’t stop ourselves from falling in love with the characters, Ranga and Ambaan – Malayalam version of Munna Bhai and Circuit. This action comedy was a blockbuster at box office and once it got premiered in Amazon Prime, Fahadh Faasil received a huge fan following crowd and language was not a barrier at all. Character Ranga’s ‘Da Mone’ became an iconic dialogue, alongside strange mannerisms of Ranga and Ambaan and their chemistry, portrayed by Fahadh Faasil and Sajin Gopu. Ranga’s reel on ‘Karinkaali’ song went viral.

Jithu Madhavan’s previous outing Romanchan was also a huge hit, and it’s a pleasant thing to see newcomers coming up with promising ideas. Many times they take short breaks, but it really works, when it comes to quality of their work.

3. Aattam (Malayalam)

Only a very few films manage to keep our brains engaged even hours and days after we watch a film, and Aattam definitely falls in this category. This thriller has drama elements and definitely doesn’t have normal commercial elements. Yet this movie stands out how the movie was scripted and executed. Performances are realistic and so is its climax, which makes it worth watching. Aattam explores human emotions and hypocrisy at its best, and the layered script is thought provoking. The debutante director Anand Ekarshi won National Film awards for best film and screenplay. What a dream start for a talented creative artist, who created an entirely different world in front of audience & kept us engaging throughout!

Aattam starred Zarin Shihab, Vinay Forrt, Kalabhavan Shajohn and a few more theatre artists who work in a theatre group. The film explores sexual violence and harassment in the arts and workspace. The way the film explores the double standard of people when good opportunities knock their doors, comes as a great surprise. It’s just a co-incidence that Hema Committee report came out a few months later, which revealed the exploitation of female artists in Malayalam film industry.

2. Kishkinda Kandam (Malayalam)

I have no words to describe the beauty of this mystery thriller. The movie is definitely going to stay with me for years to come. Just like another successful thriller released this year, Bramayugam, the whole movie was woven around three characters – Ajay Chandran, Appu Pillai and Aparna, played on screen by Asif Ali, Vijayaraghavan and Aparna Balamurali respectively. The movie is a perfect example that people will definitely accept good films, and the commercial success of Kishkinda Kandam is the success of good films, which encourages filmmakers to focus on content. Also read: Is Asif Ali’s character hiding the truth in ‘Kishkindha Kaandam’?

Made on a shoe-string budget of just 7 crores, the film came out without any hype alongside Tovino Thomas’ adventure film, ARM during Onam season. It’s heart-warming to see people accepting both films. The film is all about the story of a missing boy and a mission gun, and how the events are connected to each other. When the film reaches the climax, which was so unpredictable, we feel empathy for Ajayan and Appu Pillai. I feel, Dinjith Ayyathan’s Kishkinda Kandam is the best Mollywood thriller after Dhrishyam, and really wish to see its sequel with a twist of events. This year many new directors’ second outing proved to be commercial and critical success, and Dinjith Ayyathan is one among those, whose debut work Kakshi: Amminipillai (2019) starring Asif Ali also garnered good reviews. Working with regular breaks definitely brings quality work, absolutely! 

1. Maharaja (Tamil)

I know, this Vijay Sethupathy film tops the list of most reviewers, and Maharaja is my most favourite film of the year. Actually, I was a bit confused between Kishkinda Kandam and Maharaja, and was so hard to choose one. Climax of both the films are absolutely breath taking and highly unpredictable. Kishkinda Kandam is a bit slow, takes time in building the story while Maharaja is a total blast from beginning till end, and I love both type of film making. When it comes to mystic thrillers, slow burners are best just like Kishkinda Kandam, and when the tale is about a crime thriller, pace of the film is very important. Both the movies worked for me and most of the Indian audience.   

Maharaja is the search of a dustbin named Lakshmi, and what comes out in the climax will shock you to core. The movie has been praised for non-linear story telling and the twist at the climax. The movie can be added to the library of scripts for reference on how to write a simple story in an engaging way. Nithilan Saminathan’s debut work Kurangu Bommai (2017) also falls into the category of non-linear storytelling, and was a thriller. As I explained earlier, many talented young directors are not haste in churning movies one after another. Instead they are waiting for the right script and a lot has been put into characters which make them believable.

It’s only the second directorial venture of 7 directors listed here

Is it just co-incidence, out of the 10 movies listed here, Laapataa Ladies, Manjummel Boys, Bramayugam (if Rahul Sadasivan’s less-heard Red Rain is excluded), Meiyazhagan, Avesham, Kishkinda Kandam, and Maharaja are the second works of the director while Aattam is the debut work of the director. Only Amar Singh Chamkila and Lucky Baskhar were directed by experienced filmmakers. In most cases, the directors have taken breaks. All their debut works have been appreciated, met with critical appreciation & received warm response in their theatre release too. Isn’t it interesting? I wonder how all these directors returned together in a bang in a single year.

Honourable mentions 2024

A few more honourable mentions include (from the list of movies I watched) – Kill, Sector 36, Article 370, Maidan, Munjiya, Madgaon Express, Srikanth, Saithan, Tikdam, The Buckingham Murders, Stree 2, Khel Khel Mein, I Want To Talk, Bhakshak (Hindi), Anweshippin Kandethum, Ullozhukk, Golam, Gaganachari, Premalu, Level Cross, ARM, Anchakkallakokkan, Sookshmadarshini, Aadu Jeevitham (Malayalam), Lubber Pandhu, Sorgavaasal, Amaran, Garudan, Lover, Vaazhai, Merry Christmas, Ayaalan (Tamil), Kalki 2898 AD, Hanu-Man, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (Telugu).

To add, I am yet to watch Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light which won Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. The movie fetched praises far and wide. If I had watched it, possibly I might have added the film to the list. Interestingly this is Payal’s debut feature film work. It’s great to see new filmmakers bringing a change to Indian film industry. I am yet to watch Tamil films – Thangalaan and Kottukaali. Marco became the first Pan Indian Malayalam film, whose action sequences were well praised. But I don’t think I will be able to watch it, even if I try hard.

It’s very rare that half of the top-10 list features Malayalam films. But it happened this year, not just my list but majority reviewers did. Not only in terms of box office success, but also in terms of quality content, Mollywood ruled this year. Many of them crossed language and cultural barreirs and were well received across the country. To add, women characters were less significant, Aattam, Premalu, Ullozhukku and Kishkinda Kandam being a few exceptions. There was a time when Bollywood produced best movies of the country. Now they are struggling behind south Indian film industry which is doing a lot of innovative films in the past few years, especially post-pandemic times. Only a very few Bollywood movies found place in my mention list, most of them were not big hits too. Sequels which did magic at box office were not critically acclaimed, Stree 2 being an exception. Not a great sequel, yet it was a fun watch.

Which industry left the biggest impact in 2024?

Before I wind up, I would like to add box office figures of leading film industries of India. Which industry ruled 2024?

The collective box office collection of 10 best Bollywood grossers for 2024 was 2846 Cr from a combined budget of 1115 Cr. Profit – 155%

The collective box office collection of 10 best Kollywood grossers for 2024 was 1900 Cr from a combined budget of 1455 Cr. Profit – 30%

The collective box office collection of 10 best Tollywood grossers for 2024 was 4288 Cr* from a combined budget of 1705 Cr. Profit – 140% approximate

The combined box office collection of 10 best Mollywood grossers for 2024 was 1157 Cr* from a combined budget of 253 Cr. Profit – 355% approximate

The collective box office collection of 10 best Sandalwood grossers for 2024 was 250 Cr* from a combined budget of 285 Cr. Loss – 11% approximate

So, based on the film budget and returns, Malayalam industry tops this year. It’s also to be noted that all the 10 films which got into the list of highest grossing Hindi and Malayalam films were commercially successful, while many flops have been featured in the remaining top 10 grossing films in their respective industries.