The 24 Best Indian Films of 2024

2024 ultimately proved to be an interesting year for Indian cinema. Tentpole franchise releases collected a lot of box office cash, with “Stree 2: Sarkate ka Aatank” and “Pushpa 2: The Rule” both entering the top ten highest grossing Indian films of all time, and new franchise establishing “Kalki 2898 AD” joining them on the list. Box-office numbers did not equate strong critical word for the protest though, with the majority of good word-of-mouth going once again to regional cinema. Prime among those remained Malayalam cinema, who started the year strong, with a quality release almost every month all the way to the end of the year. Tamil cinema too registered a few release of note, with “Maharaja” becoming the highest grossing Indian film in China upon its release there. Hindi cinema, despite the general opinion of being in regression, also managed to make its presence known, even if noteworthy releases were few and far in-between.

Without further ado, we list down 24 of the best Indian films of 2024, in reverse order. Some films may have been released in 2023, but since they mostly circulated in 2024, we decided to include them

24. Sector 36 (dir. Aditya Nimbalkar)

“Sector 36” takes in its stride too many details and angles of the harrowing real-life Nithari Killings case that it is based on, to the point that it sometimes feels like it could have worked better as a series, but there is no denying the quality that director Aditya Nimbalkar brings to his debut feature. Prime amongst its superior qualities is the incredible performance that lead actor Vikrant Massey puts forth, embodying the often scary traits of the cannibal killer. Giving sufficient support is the equally watchable and ever reliant Deepak Dobriyal, with the interrogation scenes proving memorable. (Rhythm Zaveri)

23. Jiganthanda DoubleX (dir. Karthik Subbaraj)

Evidently, searching for logic and coherence in such a film is a fool’s errand, but in this case, it is easy to say ‘who cares?’. “Jigarthanda Double X” starts the fun from the beginning, when Rathma Kumar says, “this is not cigarette, this is ganja” and never actually ceases until the end, where the clash between every one of the all powerful characters gradually takes place. It is not just the fighting scenes in the city, with the ones where Ceasar is using two elephant tusks to beat scores of enemies setting the tone, but the ones in the jungle that truly highlight both the aesthetics and the technical prowess of the movie. (Panos Kotzathanasis)

22. Aavesham (dir. Jithu Madhavan)

With “Aavesham”, Jithu Madhavan tries his hands at a full-blown mass feature, but not without having the distinct flavour that made his debut such a popular release. With its central characters being college students, the narrative tackles some themes often seen in stories revolving around them, like ragging or bullying of juniors by their seniors, living conditions and language issues that people from different regions face in places that don’t speak their language. However, as with “Romancham”, Madhavan’s focus is on comedy, which really is the narrative’s strongest suit, and using that, he never really makes the story a heavy-handed social message. (Rhythm Zaveri)

21. I Want to Talk (dir. Shoojit Sircar)

One of the most exciting voices in Hindi cinema, a new Shoojit Sircar feature is always one to keep an eye out for and rarely does the director disappoint. His latest work “I Want to Talk” is not without its issues, and might rank lower in his overall filmography, but is still a compelling narrative, backed by the kind of assured and sensitive performance that Abhishek Bachchan is capable of with the right director in the right project. Another Indian film from 2024 that is based on a true story, Sircar balances the heavy material of a man trying to coping with terminal illness and connecting with his daughter with moments of raw humour that do not feel out of place. (Rhythm Zaveri)