r/bollywood

Sriram Raghavan is one of my favourite directors when it comes to thrillers and dark comedies. His films have such unique storytelling, unpredictable twists, morally grey characters, and an atmosphere that keeps you hooked until the very end.

Movies like Johnny Gaddaar, Ek Hasina Thi, Badlapur, Andhadhun, Agent Vinod, and Merry Christmas showcase his ability to experiment with different styles of thriller filmmaking.

the writing, character development, dark humour, and unexpected turns make them stand out.

Personally, Johnny Gaddaar and Andhadhun are my absolute favourites. Both are masterpieces in their own ways. Johnny Gaddaar is a brilliantly executed crime thriller, while Andhadhun keeps you guessing with its unpredictable screenplay and twisted sense of humour.

Which is your favourite sriram raghvan film ?

Let's share your views and discuss...

Source

https://www.instagram.com/p/DeWh0rzRkbm/

Title:

Best of Bollywood Community Vote (Week 14): Which Film Deserves the Best Film Spot?

Body:

The Best Film category has concluded.

Sholay (1975) wins Best Film with 78 upvotes, securing its place in the Best of Bollywood Hall of Fame.

Current Winners

Romance — Veer-Zaara (2004)

Action — Kill (2024)

Comedy — Hera Pheri (2000)

Drama — Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001)

Thriller — Andhadhun (2018)

Horror — Tumbbad (2018)

Biopic — Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)

Family — Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994)

Gangster — Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)

Cop — Sarfarosh (1999)

Sci-Fi — Mr. India (1987)

Fantasy — Jajantaram Mamantaram (2003)

Sports — Chak De! India (2007)

Best Film -- Sholay (1975)

---

Now it's time for the next category: Best Experimental.

Not necessarily the biggest blockbuster, the most popular film, or the film with the biggest star — which Hindi film do you believe deserves to be considered the best experimental film of Bollywood?

Which Hindi film deserves the Best Experimental spot on the Best of Bollywood Hall of Fame grid?

📜 Rules

- Hindi/Bollywood films only.

- One film per comment.

- Upvote existing nominations instead of reposting them.

- The highest-upvoted nomination at the end of the week wins.

- In case of a tie, the higher-ranked comment at the close of voting wins.

Voting closes next Sunday at 9 PM IST.

Let the debates begin.

Khichdi: The Movie is genuinely one of my favourite comedy films. Every character is iconic, and the entire cast is absolutely on fire! Anang Desai, Supriya Pathak, Rajeev Mehta, and Jamnadas Majethia are hilarious together.

Almost every scene has something ridiculously funny, and the characters make even the simplest situations entertaining. It's the kind of movie where the family's stupidity becomes the biggest source of laughter..

For me, Khichdi is one of those films I can rewatch anytime without getting bored.

What's your thoughts on this movie? Let's discuss..

And obviously it goes without saying, Ranbir was on a whole different level from 2009-13. Imagine having Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh, Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani, within a span of 10 WEEKS! Followed it well with Rajneeti. Then he again he had Rockstar, Barfi, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani back-to-back!

One of the best peaks for Indian actor this century. Right on par with 00's SRK, Aamir and Akshay. Too bad he's not THAT guy anymore.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd-9Q9ZDEjX/dzc0N2ozazZjeHF3

Based on the books Gandhi Before India and Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, by Ramachandra Guha

Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Bhamini Oza Gandhi, Tom Felton, and others

Gandhi is the first Indian series to have a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The series will reportedly have 3 seasons.

Official TIFF description:

In season one, we meet Mohandas Gandhi (Pratik Gandhi, no relation) before he was Mahatma as a young man in India. He is already married and expecting a first child with his love Kasturba (Bhamini Oza Gandhi, married in real life to her fellow lead). Gandhi dreams of pursuing his passion for law in distant London. After some gentle persuasion by Kasturba, the wider family agrees to support Gandhi and send him on his way, expecting his law bona fides to pave the way for a life in local politics. Yet as Gandhi experiences life in London, meeting a like-minded fellow vegetarian, Josiah Oldfield (Tom Felton, the Harry Potter franchise), and growing into a deeper understanding of his own ethics, the young barrister begins to see a greater struggle ahead for him… and for India.

Source:

https://x.com/taran\_adarsh/status/2106284377160462594

Drishyam: The Conclusion is now estimated to collect 190+ crores by the end of the weekend. The film has broken the following records:

Biggest Day 1 collection of Ajay Devgn's career (previous record held by Singham Again)

Biggest Gandhi Jayanti release (previous record held by War)

2nd biggest opening of 2026 (behind Dhurandhar: The Revenge)

4th biggest opening for a Bollywood film (behind Animal, Jawan, and Dhurandhar: The Revenge)

Anushka Sharma as Akira in Jab Tak Hai Jaan

Her journey of being a journalist, her circle of friends, the entire arc on the army base was the most interesting part of the film, and brought life into an otherwise boring one. Her character challenged Samir, but she also developed because of him.

Katrina Kaif as Babita Kumari in Zero

Felt this could've been another installment of Fashion / Heroine, and Katrina actually for once demonstrated some acting chops. Her character was chaotic, interesting and messy. I wanted to know more about her life, how she became famous, why etc. Favourite dialogue is when she looks in the mirror and says 'I'm so white, I don't need makeup to look good.' Just revealed a lot about her that I wish they explored.

I wanted to include Ranveer Singh as Khilji, but technically he is a leading role despite being treated as a side character in the film.

[removed]

In 2014, Shahrukh Khan described his upcoming film Fan as something he wanted to do an intense, yet commercially viable film.

Looking back, that almost feels ironic, because the attempt to make the film more commercially viable is probably what hurt it.

The premise itself was fantastic. What happens when a superstar is confronted by a fan whose admiration crosses the line into obsession? It is one of cinema's most popular templates, and for good reason. The fan thinks he knows the star. The star doesn't even know the fan exists.

And Fan starts well.

Gaurav Chandna is interesting because he isn't an action hero. He's just a fan. He lives in Delhi, runs a small cybercafé, copies Aryan Khanna's mannerisms and knows everything about his films and career. Aryan isn't just his favourite actor. He has become a part of Gaurav's identity.

So when Gaurav goes to Mumbai to meet him and Aryan rejects him, he can't accept it. For Gaurav, this isn't just a superstar refusing to meet a fan. Aryan is rejecting a relationship that existed almost entirely inside Gaurav's head.

That's the most interesting part of the film.

But then the interval happens and the film starts becoming something else.

Instead of taking Gaurav's obsession further, the film turns him into an action/spy character. Suddenly he's travelling across countries, pulling off elaborate plans, escaping people and surviving things that feel completely out of character.

He basically becomes an Indian Ethan Hunt.

Gaurav should have become more dangerous psychologically, not physically. His obsession could have become more disturbing and unpredictable. He knows Aryan's habits, his public image and the way people around him behave. That could have made for a much better cat-and-mouse thriller.

Instead, the obsession becomes secondary to the chase.

And Aryan Khanna is another huge missed opportunity.

Shahrukh Khan playing both Gaurav and Aryan should have allowed the film to explore the difference between the celebrity a fan imagines and the actual person behind him. But we barely get to know Aryan.

Is he lonely? Is he tired of fame? Is he arrogant? Does he actually care about his fans? What does being worshipped by millions do to a person?

The film doesn't really explore any of this.

At times, it almost feels like Shahrukh Khan decided, "I'm Aryan Khanna." Instead of creating a fictional superstar who happens to be played by Shahrukh Khan, the film basically creates a fictional version of Shahrukh Khan.

The irony is that a film about a fan being obsessed with a superstar also becomes obsessed with its own superstar.

And this is also a bigger problem with mainstream Hindi cinema. We often change the movie at the interval instead of taking the same movie further.

The first half of Fan is a psychological story about obsession. The second half becomes an action chase. The instinct seems to be that the second half has to be bigger- more locations, more action, bigger set pieces.

But bigger isn't always better.

The second half should have taken Gaurav's obsession and pushed it further. Instead, it changes the entire nature of the conflict.

That's why Fan failed.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd3Cs4gs67O/bGx3a3U4d2oxMHVr

After its theatrical release in 2013, it was unclear who owned the digital rights to Shahid, possibly due to asset-management issues. The film was not streaming on OTT for more than a decade until Amazon Prime Video started streaming the film for rent in 2024. However, Shahid is now available for all Prime users.

For those who are unaware about the film, Shahid is a biopic drama based on lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who almost exclusively defended people that he believed were jailed as scapegoats and were accused of terrorism. The film was directed by Hansal Mehta and it starred Rajkummar Rao, who won a National Award for his portrayal of Shahid in the film

I wouldn't just refer to the film as one of the greatest biopics of all time, but I'll go one step ahead and call it one of the greatest Bollywood films ever made. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen the film.

Sources:

https://www.news18.com/amp/movies/bollywood/gandhi-and-my-mother-first-look-manoj-bajpayee-waheeda-rehman-lead-sudhir-mishras-period-drama-ws-kl-10364884.html

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/manoj-bajpayee-gandhi-film-plot-cast-producer-1236838081/

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Waheeda Rahman, Divya Dutta, Saurabh Shukla

Sudhir Mishra's statement on the film:

This new film focuses on an important yet lesser-known chapter of history – the 21 days in the life of Mahatma Gandhi during India’s independence. At a time when the nation was stepping into freedom, and Delhi was becoming the center of power, Gandhi made an unexpected choice: he chose to walk away. But by walking away, he did not retreat. He reinvented himself. While history books record the surface events of that era, this story explores what lay beneath that famous choice and will depict the personal journey of a leader redefining his path

I genuinely think Hawaizaada deserves way more appreciation than it gets.

There’s something about the movie that I really admire. The overall atmosphere, cinematography, music, costumes, set design and the way the film was presented all gave it a very distinct identity.

Ayushmann Khurrana was really good in it, and I especially liked how different his performance felt compared to many of his other roles. The supporting cast also added a lot to the movie.

I also appreciate the fact that the filmmakers actually took a chance on something different instead of going for a safe, formulaic Bollywood film.

It may not be perfect, but I think it’s one of those movies that deserves to be remembered and appreciated more than it currently is.

Anyone else here who really liked Hawaizaada?