2024: The Year Of Big Budgets, Surprise Hits, And Diljit Dosanjh

Another year, another recap list. As 2024 nears its end, a look back at the events in the past few months is important because so much happened. But since we can’t recap EVERYTHING, this will be restricted to the world of cinema, music, and entertainment.

Of course, the world of entertainment is vast; the following list will try its best to recap the ten big events that India saw when it comes to cinema.

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1.     All We Imagine As Light: A Global Cinematic Triumph

A still from All We Imagine As Light.

Starting off with the film that has been on everyone’s watchlist and received good reviews, Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light made records on the global stage. Creating history, the French-India collaboration won the prestigious Grand Prix Award at the Cannes International Film Festival and was named best international feature film at a series of film festivals.

Not only that, the film is now competing independently at the Oscars nomination and bagged two Golden Globe nominations. It also found its way to the top of Obama’s favourite films of 2024.

2.    Big Budget Falls Short: Spectacle Without Substance?

Half of Bollywood in Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again.

Speaking of big-budget films, not many performed well in the past months. Filmmakers and producers believed that creating a grand spectacle with ginormous budgets would help create massive hits with audiences. However, audiences across seemed to have rejected the grandeur for its lacklustre plots.

Films including Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2 and Suriya’s Kanguva failed to connect with audiences. Even those that were commercial hits, failed to create an impact that they expected. Singham Again, Thangalaan, Vettaiyan and Salaar are some examples.

3.     Breaking Boundaries With Industry Collabs

Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, and Deepika Padukone in Kalki 2898 AD.

At the same time, this year also witnessed a series of surprising collaborations with actors from across regional industries featuring in each other’s films. Kalki 2898 AD is a good example of actors from the South meeting the North. Smaller films like Rifle Club (Anurag Kashyap as the antagonist) also saw artists crossing the supposed boundaries and collaborating with each other.

Also Read | Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine As Light’ Tops Obama’s Favourite Movies Of 2024

4.     Bollywood Struggles, But Smaller Films And OTT Gems Shine

Rajukummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor’s Stree 2.

While regional industries flourished this year, the Hindi film industry failed to produce similar projects. Bollywood saw a string of flops with a series of remakes and sequels that failed to hit the mark with audiences. However, there were exceptions that stood out. Laapataa Ladies, Maharaj, Amar Singh Chamkila, Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba, Sector 36, and Sikandar Ka Muqaddar made waves on the OTT platform.

The ones that did bring audiences to the theatres were unexpected because these were smaller films made with decent budgets: Munjya, Crew, Kill, and Stree 2.

5.     A Golden Year For Malayalam Cinema

A brief glimpse of some of the Malayalam hits this year. (image-X/@AMLTheWanderer)

When the majority of the film industries failed to produce impressive art, there was one regional film industry that offered not one or two hits but consistent hits—commercial and critical—throughout the year. The Malayalam industry did not shy away from experimenting this year.

Starting with the National Award-winning Aattam, crime thriller Abraham Ozler, cop drama Anweshippin Kandethum, romcom Premalu, legendary actor Mammootty’s black-and-white horror Bramayugam, survival thriller Manjummel Boys, Prithiviraj’s survival drama Aadujeevitham, Fafa’s action-comedy Aavesham, crime-thriller Thalavan, mystery thriller Golam, Urvashi’s drama Ullozhukku, fictional mocumentary Gaganachari, coming of age Vaazha, Tovino Thomas’ action adventure A.R.M, Asif Ali’s mystery Kishkindha Kaandam, psychological thriller Bougainvillea, Basil-Nazriya’s comedy thriller Sookshmadarshini, action thrillers Rifle Club and Marco.

I mean, look at the varieties of genres. Refreshing stories, strong screenplays, impressive acting performances, and powerful music—Malayalam cinema delivered it all and how.

6. Violence Redefined 

Unni Munkundan as Marco.

Since the release of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s controversial Animal last year, two films were released in 2024 exploring and depicting violence and bloodshed on the big screen. Unlike Vanga’s film, they did a better job. Lakshya and Raghav Juyal’s Kill and the recent Malayalam release Marco starring Unni Munkundan redefine the action genre in Indian cinema. While Marco takes the gore several notches up, the audience welcomed both films for their execution and excellent action choreography.

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7.     Pushpa 2 Spreads Its Wildfire

Allu Arjun as Pushparaj.

Having broken all records at the box office, the Allu Arjun starrer Pushpa 2: The Rule, released on December 5, is now minting money and setting records. Directed by Sukumar, the sequel has earned over Rs 1,500 crores worldwide in record time and is on its way to becoming the highest-grossing movie in the country, the title currently held by Aamir Khan’s 2016 Dangal. The film also stars Fahadh Faasil and Rashmika Mandanna.

Oh, and there will be a final part titled Pushpa 3: The Rampage soon.

8.     Hema Committee Report

Perhaps the biggest and most significant change in the world of Indian cinema, the Kerala government released the Hema Committee Report on August 19, exposing the grim picture of the industry’s treatment of its most marginalised workers.

The report unveiled sexual exploitation and the casting couch culture faced by junior artists and established actors in the Malayalam film industry with no protections in place for them.

Following its partial release, several artists came forward with their experiences with abuse, and several big names were drawn out of the shadows. The Kerala High Court set up a special bench to hear the cases connected to the report. The shockwaves were felt across industries, with many expressing their solidarity with survivors and demanding stricter policies to prevent exploitation.

Also Read | Actors Turned Directors Of Hollywood, Bollywood, Mollywood

9.     Global Music Stars Head To India

Popstar Dua Lipa.

For all music lovers, 2024 was a treat with Jonas Brothers, Sting, Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran, Bryan Adams, and Dua Lipa coming to India for concerts. India became a hot spot for international artists and the next year also looks promising for concert goers.

10.     Diljit Dosanjh

Diljit Dosanjh making performing at Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show.

Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh dominated 2024. He made history with his Dil-Luminati tour in Canada’s Vancouver, putting Punjabi music and culture on the global stage. As his stature rises on the global music scene, Dosanjh also stood up for unity and inclusivity.

“Borders are created by politicians, but Punjabis love everyone,” he said while meeting a Pakistani fan at his concerts and quoting lyricist Rahat Indori’s hit piece ‘Agar Khilaf Hai Hone Do’ in an indirect clapback at the people in power, Dosanjh has cemented himself as a cultural icon.