New wave of Indian cinema: 2018 will be remembered as a golden year

The year 2018 has proven to be a rather peculiar year for Hindi cinema. While it witnessed big-budget, star-studded films like Zero, Thugs of Hindostan, Race 3 facing a tough time at the box office, it also saw content-driven films like Raazi, Stree, Badhaai Ho, Andhadhun etc. tasting unprecedented success.

This year-end review endeavors to touch upon some of the most outstanding Hindi films that have released this year.

In addition to all this, the year also saw blockbusters like Padmaavat, Sanju, and 2.0.

Since 2.0 is originally a Tamil film, it automatically gets disqualified from this assessment.

As for Padmaavat and Sanju, unfortunately these two films are nowhere close to the cinematic brilliance and quality of some of the best films that Hindi cinema had to offer in 2018.

PANKAJ TRIPATHI, ACTOR

2018 was really good for cinema and for my acting career. It was an extremely busy year especially after Newton. And during this time I did six films. So it was a busy but satisfying year, and it was fun. I got a few colourful roles and did many experiments in 2018. I have work commitments till September 2019, so the coming year should be kind of exciting for me and I am happy about it. Because I’ll be working with a few directors with whom working has been a dream for me. And all of them are exceptional movies. So there is excitement for those beautiful films and also for the filming we’d be travelling to many places for which I am happy.

ALI FAZAL, ACTOR

Cinema has taken a new turn for India on the global stage. With films like Village Rockstars and Manto reaching new levels of international acclaim, we have a lot to offer to the Western sensibilities. Mirzapur became a massive hit not just in India but in so many other international territories including the United States. The need for good content is like good food. It is global… 2019 is going to be fresh with a lot of exciting films. We will have to make room for talent. 2019, for me, seems very exciting. Currently, I’m buried in watching all the movies in the running for the Oscars, for this will be my first year of voting as an academy member.

RICHA CHADHA, ACTOR

This year has been pretty cool for me personally and for the industry as a whole. It has shown that today, the audience is wise with their money and support content. The advent of platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix has insured that the audience is exposed to good content from around the world, hence our own writing needs to get better. Oh, and actors are the new stars. I am thrilled at the prospects 2019 will bring—people will see me play a ditzy woman in a comedy, an adult star and a lawyer. And then there’s the much awaited season two of Inside Edge.

OMUNG KUMAR, DIRECTOR

2018 witnessed films varying in concepts and genres. There were films with unique concepts, something that we have not seen in Bollywood before. Films like Padman, Hichki, Raazi, Stree, Andhadhun, Tumbbad and Badhaai Ho among others were films with different and interesting concepts which broke stereotypes and emerged highly successful. Yes, the audience’s choice and preferences have changed and for the greater good. They also have many options with the launch of digital channels offering a wide range in content. The audience is smart enough to decide the quality of films on the basis of content and production value. I think as far as the economics is concerned, it has been a decent year, with smaller films being made on a smaller budget fetching huge dividends at the box office.

RASIKA DUGAL, ACTOR

I think it’s been a very interesting year for cinema. A year which has proved that there is no formula to a good film except the age-old one of being honest to the story. There has not only been quality but also variety in the films which were made. There now seems to be room for multiple genres, different forms of storytelling, various mediums to tell them through and also room for women. I had the opportunity to watch some films and also participate in some which had interestingly-written, nuanced parts for women, defying all stereotypes. I think this year finally also acknowledged that writing is king. I do hope the coming year has all of this and more. I look forward to a year of wellwritten stories with women at the centre.

ANJUM RAJABALI, SCREENWRITER

Scripts that used identifiable middle-class milieus, with believable but interesting dynamics among characters did quite well this year. We saw a fairly wide range of plots and themes, too, from the unnecessary embarrassment caused by middle-age pregnancy to a horror-comedy, to twisted minds outwitting one another, to communal prejudice, to the hard choices of a female spy, the unintended impact of a comatose colleague on a brattish young man etc. All of it goes to show that the audience will willingly receive every good story, which is interestingly scripted.

JITESH PILLAAI, EDITOR, FILMFARE MAGAZINE

What has happened this year isn’t an isolated case.

While big films fall like nine pins, small budget films do well.

I think since time immemorial both have existed. A Chhoti Si Baat existed with a Deewaar in the ’70s, a Masoom and Ardh Satya in the same year was released with a Betaab or an Avtaar in the ’80s. The year of Rang De Basanti and Munnabhai also saw Omkara and Khosla Ka Ghosla. Hence, content has always been king, queen and the jack. What’s happening this year is a continuation. Films like Raazi, Badhaai Ho, Andhadhun have shown us that content will be always consumed. What is interesting is that while the message is the same, the mediums are different and it will still be consumed.