In the glittering, high-octane world of contemporary Bollywood, a dominant strain of populism has taken centre stage in 2025, characterised by hyper-nationalist tropes (Dhurandhar and War 2), bombastic action sequences (Sikandar and Jaat), and overt communal messaging (Udaipur Files and The Taj Story). The arrival of the Hindutva genre (with films such as Kesari Veer, The Bengal Files, and Ajey: the Untold Story of a Yogi) has further tilted the idea of cinema as an ideological instrument for political advocacy, neglecting its capacity to provide its audience sensitive and critical stories that can elevate their intellectual capacities.
This brand of cinema has witnessed significant commercial success. However, it risks reducing cinema into a populist medium that fosters a culture of loud jingoism, neglecting creatives nuance and social empathy expected from cinematic art. Instead, these films often prioritise spectacle over creative artistry, weaving narratives that glorify patriarchal heroism and stir up divisive communal sentiments under the guise of entertainment. Yet, 2025 has quietly offered a counter-narrative through a slate of films that champion critical social messaging, artistic creativity, and a model of intellectual storytelling.
There has been a small stream of good cinema this year that delve into personal struggles, social injustices, and human resilience without resorting to sensationalism. For example, Superboys of Malegaon was a brilliant attempt to highlight the tragedies that engulf young creative minds in a mofussil town. Inspired by real events, the film shows how a few unemployed youth create their own brand of cinema, capturing the joy of amateur creativity amid everyday hardships. It’s a celebration of creative passion, contrasting sharply with the manufactured heroism of populist blockbusters. Similarly, Sitaare Zameen Par stands as a heartfelt sports drama about a team of neurodivergent adults participating in a tournament. We see how they confront social prejudices and discover profound lessons in empathy and perseverance. This narrative supplements themes of redemption and inclusion, far removed from the conventional cinematic model that Bollywood offers.
Such films prove that thoughtful cinema is not only possible but can appeal to a good audience. The box-office success of Jolly LLB 3 further inspires such a trend. It showcases a courtroom drama about a poor farmer’s land grabbed by a powerful industrialist, exposing corruption and judicial absurdities with wit and heart. Regrettably, many of other gems of good Hindi cinema have been overlooked by the audience, leaving innovative filmmakers with a modest viewership and critical acclaim alone. The best example of such neglect is Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound (now shortlisted for the Oscars) that draws from the tragic background of the COVID-19 lockdown, following two childhood friends on a gruelling journey home as migrant workers. The story explores the plight of caste discrimination that has often been overlooked in Hindi cinema, showcasing raw social truth over fictional spectacles.
In this popular cinematic culture, the stories about caste-based social ills, especially around the experiences of Dalits and Adivasis, have a negligible space. This year witnessed a few good films that revolve around the neglect of society towards the downtrodden and their struggles to survive with dignity. Phule, for example, is a biographical drama chronicling the lives of social reformers Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, who battled caste discrimination, child marriage, and gender inequality to champion education for the marginalised. By focusing on historical figures who fought systemic oppression through intellect and activism, it offers a subtle critique of ongoing societal divides without inflammatory rhetoric. Similarly, Dhadak 2 tackles inter-caste romance head-on, portraying the forbidden love between a Dalit student and an upper-caste woman, demonstrating the threats, violence and Brahmanical societal control even in space of higher learning. It boldly addresses caste-based injustice, promoting dialogue over division.
The Adivasi question in Hindi films hardly receives a mainstream space. The Humans in the Loop confronts such apathy and weaves a modern tale of an Adivasi woman who, after divorcing her husband, takes up AI data-labelling work to secure custody of her children while reconnecting with her tribal roots and exposing tech biases. This film intelligently blends technology, identity, and family, highlighting marginalised voices in a digital age. In addition to such a creative nuanced tale, the thriller Stolen follows two urban brothers who stumble into a child trafficking racket while searching for a kidnapped infant, unravelling a web of corruption that has engulfed the tribal habitats. Its intense, grounded exploration of crime and morality provides a new look about the deprivation and destitution in which the Adivasis are surviving.
Whither cinematic art?
These films collectively demonstrate Bollywood’s capacity for profound, creative storytelling that engages the intellectual credentials of the audience and promote cinema as a creative enterprise. I also wish to highlight, Agra, another cinematic gem of this year that explores the class-based tragedies of a young man burdened to live under sexual repression. It exposes everyday patriarchal social controls over our desire and how the urban low-class life is dysfunctional and tragic. It is ironic that such sensitive cinema struggles to find exhibitors and finds only a few shows.
These films in 2025 tackle sensitive subjects around social ills, class-based tragedies, corruption and personal freedom with nuance, elevating the capacity of cinema to influence the critical credentials of its audience. This parallel genre of “good cinema” shall also thrive alongside the mainstream populist cinema. However, there is a relative neglect of this genre by the audiences as they overtly get bewitched by the spectacles and extravaganza of entertaining cinema. Such creative and intellectual genre of filmmaking will survive if the regular cinema audience equally support, review and highlight its presence. Good, creative, and socially sensitive cinema must survive so that cinema shall not become a soulless instrument for profit and political propaganda.
Harish S. Wankhede is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Views expressed are personal
Published – December 24, 2025 12:20 am IST
