Tag Archives: Crew

Best Bollywood Movies of 2024

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With the first theatrical releases of 2025 due to make their streaming debuts any day now, it’s time to wrap up 2024. I wasn’t able to get to all of the films I wanted to review (sorry, Madgaon Express), but I did have 35 Hindi movies to choose from. Here are my Top 10 Bollywood Movies of 2024:

Sequels can’t help but be compared to the films that spawned them. Thankfully, Stree 2 had the same spooky, funny energy as the original Stree from 2018.

Choosing Laapataa Ladies as India’s submission to the most recent Oscars opened it up to unfair criticism, especially after it failed to make the shortlist for Best International Feature. Still, it’s a very cute story that introduced some fresh new acting talent.

If you’ve read any of my previous “Best of” lists, you know that they almost always include a Vidyut Jammwal action flick. This time it’s Crakk: Jeetegaa Toh Jiyegaa! (which is unfortunately not available anywhere in the United States at the time of this writing).

I’m a sucker for buddy comedies about women, and Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon came through with the heist flick Crew.

The movie that India’s selection committee should have picked as its Oscar submission was All We Imagine as Light, a great look at the alienation of modern day life in the city.

Some of my favorite performances of 2024 were by Deepak Dobriyal and Vikrant Massey in the tense serial killer drama Sector 36.

The most exciting action movie of the year was Kill. Watching Lakshya punch, kick, and hack his way through goons on a crowded train provided nonstop thrills.

Alia Bhatt makes an appearance on this list as an action heroine in the jailbreak drama Jigra. Vasan Bala is one of my favorite directors, and casting Bhatt as a sister who’ll do anything to save her imprisoned brother was a genius choice.

One of my other favorite filmmakers took a huge risk in shooting a thriller that consists almost entirely of footage meant to look like it was shot on a smartphone, and boy did it pay off. Vikramaditya Motwane trusted Ananya Pandey to lead the claustrophobic mystery CTRL as an influencer lured into a technological trap, and he was repaid with a career-best performance in a gripping film.

The best Hindi movie of the year told the true story of a controversial artist via a clever, memorable mix of narrative techniques. Diljeet Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra shone in their leading roles in my new favorite movie from writer-director Imtiaz Ali. The Best Bollywood Movie of 2024 is Amar Singh Chamkila!

What was your favorite Hindi film of 2024? What would have made your Top 10 list? Let me know in the comments!

Kathy’s Best Bollywood Movies of 2024

  1. Amar Singh Chamkila – stream on Netflix
  2. CTRL – stream on Netflix
  3. Jigra – stream on Netflix
  4. Kill – stream on Hulu; buy/rent on Amazon
  5. Sector 36 – stream on Netflix
  6. All We Imagine as Light – buy/rent on Amazon
  7. Crew – stream on Netflix
  8. Crakk
  9. Laapataa Ladies – stream on Netflix
  10. Stree 2 – stream on Amazon Prime

Previous Best Movies Lists

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Movie Review: Crew (2024)

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3 Stars (out of 4)

Watch Crew on Netflix

The writers of 2018’s terrific buddy comedy Veere Di Wedding reunite with their ace Kareena Kapoor Khan for a new flick about a trio of women in need of cash. The high-concept heist comedy Crew soars thanks to great performances.

Kapoor Khan plays Jasmine, a flight attendant with a taste for luxury goods she can’t afford. Her coworker Geeta (Tabu) pays her family’s bills while her husband Arun (Kapil Sharma) tries to start his own food company. And Divya (Kriti Sanon) graduated from flight school with a pilot’s license but limited job opportunities, and she’s too ashamed to tell her parents that she’s paying off her student loans by working as a flight attendant.

Their employer, Kohinoor Airlines, hasn’t paid their salaries in months, and the cash per diem the crew gets on trips to the fictitious Middle Eastern country of Al Burj is shrinking as well. Rumors of bankruptcy circulate, but crusty old head attendant Rajvanshi (Ramakant Dayma) isn’t concerned. The ladies learn why when Rajvanshi dies mid-flight and they find a dozen gold bars strapped to his chest under his uniform.

Thanks to Jasmine’s quick thinking, they use Rajvanshi’s phone to contact his co-conspirator: the company’s head of Human Resources, Mr. Mittal (Rajesh Sharma). The three women take over Rajvanshi’s role in the gold smuggling operation, and their money troubles vanish.

Soon enough, the ladies find themselves under investigation from the airport customs authorities, right as their smuggling scheme is brought to an abrupt halt. The trio can either wallow in poverty or take back what they feel they’ve earned.

The screenplay for Crew — written by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri — hooks viewers immediately and quickly gets into the action. This is only director Rajesh A Krishnan’s second feature film after 2020’s crime comedy Lootcase, but he shows a real flair for the genre. That said, the pace slows a bit as the story enters its overly-complicated third act, and the resolution feels unintentionally morally ambiguous.

Yet the film is ultimately a success thanks to its leading trio. Kapoor Khan is outstanding and doesn’t waste a single second of screentime. Even when Jasmine isn’t the center of attention, Kapoor Khan reacts in a way that elevates every scene. Her off-the-ball game is perfect. Tabu is a stabilizing force as the most mature of the three women. Sanon gets to do some fun physical comedy, as her character was a former collegiate athlete.

The supporting cast is solid as well, including Diljit Dosanjh in an extended cameo as a customs officer with a crush on Divya.

Crew knows what kind of movie it is and what it needs to do, and it delivers on that promise. What a delightful film.

Links

Streaming Video News: May 16, 2024

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with today’s addition of the theatrical release Madgaon Express. This follows last week’s addition of Sidharth Malhotra’s Yodha.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with a June 7 expiration date for the horror comedy Stree. It’s definitely worth prioritizing.

You’ve probably noticed that it’s been quiet on the streaming services as well as in theaters. We’re in the middle of cricket season, a time when producers and distributors traditionally pull back on releases while audience attention is elsewhere. The Indian Premier League is happening this month followed by the Cricket World Cup all throughout June.

So what releases are on the horizon? The only Indian Original streaming title with an announced release date is Season 3 of Panchayat, which comes to Amazon Prime on May 28:

We can predict some likely streaming debut dates for theatrical releases, which typically wind up on OTT 8 weeks after hitting theaters. All these dates are all approximate, and the streaming service may be subject to change:

May 24 – Crew on Netflix
June 5 – Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (I’ve seen both Netflix and Prime rumored)
June 5 – Maidaan on Amazon Prime
June 14 – Do Aur Do Pyaar on Hulu
June 14 – Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 on Netflix

Other smaller or India-only theatrical releases may also get global streaming distribution, but these are the biggest titles we’re waiting for.

In the meantime, this is a great time to catch up on some of the 2024 releases you might have missed. My 5 favorite films of the year so far are:

  1. Amar Singh Chamkila (on Netflix)
  2. Crakk (on Hulu)
  3. Ae Watan Mere Watan (on Amazon Prime)
  4. Bhakshak (on Netflix)
  5. Shaitaan (on Netflix)

What are your favorite films of 2024 so far? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Streaming Video News: April 25, 2024

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with today’s additions of the Telugu film Tillu Square and the Hindi movie Laapataa Ladies, directed by Kiran Rao. These theatrical releases come on the heels of last week’s new additions: the Bollywood flicks All India Rank and Article 370. Netflix is investing heavily in Hindi theatrical releases this year, with movies generally hitting streaming 8 weeks after they debut in theaters. Ajay Devgn’s Shaitaan could come to Netflix as early as next week, followed by Crew in late May and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan in early June (though none have official streaming debut dates yet).

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with today’s addition of the Vidyut Jammwal-Arjun Rampal extreme sports action flick Crakk: Jeetegaa Toh Jiyegaa. The Telugu film Bhimaa is also now streaming (dubbed in Malayalam and Tamil as well).

Finally, I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with today’s additions of the Hindi version of Operation Valentine and the Telugu film The Family Star. Yesterday saw the debut of the Hindi series Dil Dosti Dilemma. As far as Hindi theatrical releases go, expect to see Yodha come to Prime in May and Maidaan in June.

[Disclaimer: my Amazon links include an affiliate tag, and I may earn a commission on purchases made via those links. Thanks for helping to support this website!]

Kites Producers Didn’t Pay American Actors

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The producers of Kites have a lot of explaining to do. First, the composer swiped a song from Lord of the Rings. Now it’s been revealed that the producers failed to pay some of the American actors that worked on the film.

Steven Michael Quezada, best known for his role as Gomez on AMC’s Breaking Bad, plays a cop in Kites. His character, listed in the credits as “Cop,” has a crucial speaking role in a shootout sequence in a Wild West-type motel.

Quezada posted at IMDb in February (under the screen name “smqgomez505”) that he had not been paid for a week’s worth of work on Kites. I spoke to Quezada earlier this week about his experience making the movie.

According to Quezada, conditions on the set of Kites were unusual. The only trailers were reserved for stars Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori, meaning that actors with smaller roles had to change into costume in a restroom. “They didn’t even have chairs for the actors.”

Screen Actors Guild contracts specify that actors must be paid for their work within five days. Quezada waited two weeks before calling the production office to ask why he hadn’t received his check.

“It was weird because, every show that I’m on, when you call the production office, somebody answers — especially when they’re in production. I would get an answering machine. I continued to leave messages. I started thinking this is a really shady deal.”

Quezada called SAG, which in turn forbade members from further work on Kites until the producers paid the actors what was already owed. At that point, the production moved elsewhere, possibly shooting the rest of the movie in Mexico. “All I know is they packed up and disappeared, but they finished the movie.”

Quezada knows of at least two other actors who haven’t received any payment for their work, and one who received half of what he’s owed. “It’s not even a whole lot of money, if you look at how much they spent.” The budget for Kites is estimated to be 60 crore rupees (approximately $13 million), a record for a Hindi movie.

Quezada hopes that going public with his grievance will force the producers of Kites to pay him for his work, even if the check is two years late. “I think I need to stand up for actors out here in New Mexico. Just because we’re not living in L.A. doesn’t mean we’re not professionals.

“I’m not greedy. I’m just a hard-working actor just trying to feed my family. I just want that paycheck. That’s it.”

Update: I just noticed a story that union crew members in California sued Kites producer Rakesh Roshan for failure to pay wages. I hope Roshan uses some of the movie’s profits to honor his promises to American workers.