Here is looking at the best in cinema and web series in 2025. A year when merit was often sidelined by the audience, the movie halls, the trade and even the media. If such films had been unequivocally successful, it would have been a different, more successful and exciting industry. And for once, the plethora of web series had few takers that warranted a repeat watch.

Films in theatres

Among theatrical releases, I would include the following in no particular order of excellence or noteworthiness.

Chhaava (Laxman Utekar) was a searing exposure of truth and highlighted the real and suppressed highlights of Emperor Shambhaji’s rule and persona.

Dhurandhar (Director: Aditya Dhar), a film that was unique in concept, presentation and in its portrayal of truth without hiding behind any fake veneers. Unfiltered patriotism.

Haq (Suparn Verma) categorically showed how Indian law finally triumphed in giving Muslim women their due with the landmark Shah Bano case.

Jolly LLB 3 (Subhash Kapoor) was the director’s best work yet, and the best in the franchise, even if it underperformed vis-à-vis its production cost.

Metro…In Dino (Anurag Basu) was a perfect sequel—decidedly improved over Life…In A Metro, in which relationships were treated with compassion and intensity. Anurag Basu has yet to deliver ordinary work since Tumsa Nahin Dekha 21 years back!

Raid 2 (Rajkumar Gupta) was another superb true sequel that was ingeniously crafted rather than designed as a mere mechanical follow-up to a successful original.

Sitaare Zameen Par (R.S. Prasanna) told a story of the actual might of people with disabilities. The story touched you even more as it was told with immense humor.

Sky Force (Sandeep Kewlani & Anil Kapur) told a poignant tale of how destiny can give overdue justice to a brave-heart, even as the world looks askew at him.

Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari (Shashank Khaitan) was a breezy entertainer about wrong partners turning into right partners, thanks to both fate and human machinations. 

Tanvi—The Great (Anupam Kher) was a deeply-moving insight into an autistic girl’s psyche.

The Bengal Files (Vivek Agnihotri) was a searing saga of an incident that shaped India’s future at the time. Bloodied and brutal, it showcased the ugly side of Indian politics then—and now.

The Diplomat (Shivam Nair) narrated a real incident minus sugar-coating, dramatics or other frills. Its triumph lay in telling the story of a heartwarming diplomatic incident that took place in 2017.

The Taj Story (Tushar Amrish Goel) made us look at yet another hidden truth, to officially admit and reveal which would cost Indian tourism dear, but it still remains a blot in our history.

Films on OTT 

Baramulla (Netflix / Aditya Suhas Jambhale) was an ingeniously crafted horror drama with a difference. It spoke of displaced Kashmiri Pandits and patriotic Muslims in Kashmir in a way that chilled our souls and yet warmed the cockles of our hearts.

Dhoom Dhaam (Netflix / Rishab Seth) was the breeziest rom-com of the year on an arranged wedding couples’s howlarious first night. It’s un’brid(e)’led entertainment and solid performances could make for a super repeat-watch.

The Great Shamsuddin Family (Jio Hotstar / Anusha Rizvi) narrated an excellent feel-good story about life in one extraordinary day of a normal Muslim family. 

The Web Series

Mrs Deshpande (Jio Hotstar / Director: Nagesh Kukunoor)

Hitting the right spot in all aspects from plot to performances, this Nagesh Kukunoor narration sourced from a French thriller (La Mante) was an outright winner.

The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Netflix / Aryan Khan)

The whopper end-twist justified the seemingly weird title and gave a scintillating dimension to an intelligently-crafted complex narrative. Aryan Khan’s irreverent debut was first-rate.

The Family Man 3 (Amazon Prime Video / Raj & DK)

Raj & DK lived up to expectations in this thriller in which the Indian intelligence hunters become the hunted. With this series’ season 3, they undid their below-par work in other series like Farzi and Citadel: Honey Bunny.

Special Ops 2 (Neeraj Pandey & Shivam Nair) The finest espionage story ever told on the web got a third (we had 1 and 1.5 in the franchise!), biggest and boldest season with terrific performances, script, direction and, of course, scale.

Dupahiya (Amazon Prime Video / Sonam Nair)

A masterstroke of a story from Sonam Nair, this comic village-based tale about the theft of a bicycle, coming from a village that had been crime-free for 25 years, was a fabulous treat!

Related posts:

Netflix’s $82.7 Billion Warner Bros. Deal Marks Hollywood’s Definitive Power Shift Neeraj Pandey: ‘Sikandar ka Muqaddar is My Ode to Muqaddar Ka Sikander!’ Netflix’s Genre-Bending Supernatural Mystery Set in Kashmir, Baramulla, Premieres November 7 Year-Ender 4: Trapped By the Web—The Best of OTT Series