So far, so good – 2018 has indeed been a good year as far as Bollywood movies are concerned. Of course, there has been the usual fare of mindless movies that have done incredibly well at the Box Office (as such movies usually tend to do) but all in all, we have been treated to quite a few interesting films.

Padmaavat

Following months of controversy dredged up during the election season by political parties, Padmaavat finally released to packed houses and amidst heavy police security. Like all Sanjay Leela Bhansali films, Padmaavat was visually stunning but we’d be lying if we said that we weren’t a tad bit disappointed. Maybe its the energy that Ranveer Singh brings to the project or maybe its all the hullaballoo that was created around his character but the movie was more about Khilji that it was about Padmavati. We did not get a deeper psychological look inside the legendary queen’s mind and Deepika ended up portraying the glorified version of one of history’s most intriguing characters.

Raazi

Alia Bhatt continues to push boundaries and gives us the masterpiece that was Raazi. The film spoke about the tragedies of war and the collateral damage we rarely hear about. Bhatt was brilliant in her role as spy, daughter and wife and the supporting cast was just as good. Raazi was a surprisingly sensitive film and yet another reason why we need more female directors in Bollywood.

October

Varun Dhawan, the most mainstream of heroes, went against the grain with October. He tones down his ‘Badri’ personality and shows us a side of him that we haven’t had the pleasure of seeing before. So impressed were we that we truly hope Dhawan takes up more of such projects in the future.

Padman

Well, the film spoke about a very important topic so there’s that. Menstruation is still spoken about in hush-hush tones across the country with many women having to use cotton, paper and sand instead of sanitary pads. Padman brought that conversation to the fore.

Veere Di Wedding

Veere Di Wedding was groundbreaking in its own way and refreshing as hell. It was an absolute joy to see women live their best lives on screen. It may not have been perfect but it does set the tone for a new era in Bollywood. Viva la vulva!

Race 3

Race 3 hit the 100 crore mark in three days and while that’s great news for the producers, directors and the cast, we are not sure if its good news for cinema in the country.

Bhavesh Joshi Superhero

Bhavesh Joshi Superhero was actually a good film but unfortunately, it clashed with Veere Di Wedding which was more mainstream and had a bevy of Bollywood’s leading ladies starring in it. We wish the movie had done better in the Box Office and are excited to see what Harshvardhan Kapoor comes up with next.

Hichki

Hichki’s saving grace was the highly talented Rani Mukerji. The movie set out to address an important issue but didn’t quite hit the mark.

Baaghi 2

Tiger Shroff’s abs looked great on screen and this is perhaps the only reason we’d see the film again. The movie had the third highest opening of 2018 so far.

Sanju

The highly awaited Sanjay Dutt biopic, Sanju, starring Ranbir Kapoor in the leading role has gotten off to a great start, as predicted. Beating Race 3 and Padmaavat, the film delivered the biggest opening of 2018 with a collection of ₹34.75 crores on Friday. Suffice to say that we’ll see Ranbir Kapoor around for quite some time now that Sanju is well on its way to becoming one of the biggest hits of the year.