EACH month in 2024 brought its own mix of highs and lows for Bollywood. Eastern Eye looks back at the year, month by month, highlighting the successes and disappointments that defined the Hindi film industry.
January
Good: Vidhu Vinod Chopra triumphed at the Filmfare Awards, winning best film, director, and screenplay for last year’s sleeper hit 12 Fail. Vikrant Massey also won best actor (critics), and the film took home best editing.
Bad: Hrithik Roshan returned to cinemas after two years with Fighter. Unfortunately, the highbudget air force drama massively underperformed at the box office.
February
Good: Yami Gautam achieved a major box office hit with the controversial film Article 370. While her performance was highly praised, the film faced criticism for distorting facts.
Bad: Vidyut Jamm wal faced a bitter blow with Crakk, which flopped critically and commercially, despite being a passion project he also produced.
Yami Gautam
March
Good: Ajay Devgn scored a hit with supernatural thriller Shaitaan, a Bollywood remake of a popular Gujarati film. Its success has sparked plans for an exciting sequel.
Bad: Sidharth Malhotra continued his streak of box office flops with the disappointing Yodha.
Sidharth Malhotra
April
Good: Parineeti Chopra received universal acclaim for her performance in the biopic Amar Singh Chamkila, marking her successful reestablishment in Bollywood.
Bad: Tiger Shroff followed last year’s disastrous Ganapath with another disappointment, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, which failed miserably at the box office.
May
Good: Shabana Azmi celebrated 50 years of her illustrious career, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the London Asian Film Festival and the Freedom of the City of London honour.
Bad: Divya Khossla added another flop to her resume with Savi. The action crime thriller failed, despite being a remake of the successful 2008 French film Anything for Her.
June
Good: Newcomer Sharvari enjoyed her first major success with the sleeper hit Munjya, a horror-comedy that quickly became a box office sensation.
Bad: Kartik Aaryan’s highly anticipated biopic Chandu Champion failed to meet expectations at the box office, despite receiving positive reviews and praise for his performance.
July
Good: Shah Rukh Khan was announced as the recipient of a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival, which he proudly collected in August.
Bad: Akshay Kumar suffered his second flop of the year with Sarfira. Things worsened the following month when Khel Khel Mein made it a hat-trick of failures for the star.
Akshay Kumar
August
Good: Rajkummar Rao celebrated the biggest hit of his career with the box-office smash Stree 2, which also boosted the profiles of co-stars Shraddha Kapoor and others.
Bad: John Abraham endured another box office failure with Vedaa, a flop action drama he also produced.
September
Good: Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies was chosen as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards.
Bad: Reports emerged that Urmila Matondkar had filed for divorce after eight years of marriage, with strong suggestions that the split was not mutual.
Kiran Rao
October
Good: Juhi Chawla was revealed as India’s wealthiest actress, thanks to wise investments, her marriage to a successful businessman, and her partnership with Shah Rukh Khan.
Bad: Alia Bhatt’s prison break thriller Jigra, which she also produced, underperformed at the box office and faced accusations of being a poor imitation of another film.
November
Good: Vidya Balan made a triumphant return to the Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise, starring in the hugely successful third instalment and proving again no one can play Manjulika quite like her.
Bad: Vikrant Massey, who ended 2023 with the sleeper hit 12 Fail, rounded off this year with the critical and commercial failure The Sabarmati Report.
Vidya Balan
December
Good: Rashmika Mandana followed up her 2023 blockbuster Animal with another pan-Indian hit, Pushpa 2: The Rule, including its Hindi-dubbed version.
Bad: It was a terrible month for Bollywood as the Telugu movie Pushpa 2: The Rule dominated the box office. The much-anticipated release of the epic action film Chhaava was postponed to avoid a clash, and other Hindi movies released during December are widely expected to fail miserably.
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