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Best Bollywood Movies of 2025

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Time to take a final look back at last year with my Best Bollywood Movies of 2025 list. The Hindi film industry has gotten bashed recently for a lack of quality titles, but last year produced a bunch of terrific movies.

As a side note, I’ve decided not to do a Worst Bollywood Movies of 2025 list. There are just too many common things that are wrong year after year — sexism, jingoism, unfunny romantic comedies that don’t recognize their own toxicity — to warrant a brand new list. I will say that my three least favorite films of 2025 can all be found on my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu.

Back to the good stuff. Here are my Top 10 Bollywood Movies of 2025, counting down from number 10.

The year’s biggest overachiever is the crime drama Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas. Arshad Warsi portrays the rare Hindi-cinema cop who is flawed but working on improving himself, making his own personal journey as compelling as the mystery he’s trying to solve. Running his story parallel to a romantic subplot is clever and keeps the audience guessing as to how it ties in to the main story. This was way better than I expected it to be.

Saiyaara didn’t wind up the year’s surprise box office hit for nothing. Overwrought, youthful romances used to be much more commonplace, and this engrossing drama reminds everyone why that was the case. What a treat to be introduced to two talented young lead actors — Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday — who will undoubtedly be the stars of the future.

Most Hindi films set in Kashmir are war stories, but director Danish Renzu’s Songs of Paradise offers a refreshing change of pace. This gentle movie about a trailblazing woman in Kashmiri music history is a delight to watch.

Though it premiered at festivals in 2024, Humans in the Loop first got a wide release on Netflix in 2025, so I’m counting it here. Like Songs of Paradise, Humans in the Loop takes a quiet, focused approach to telling the stories of the Indian women who make AI possible.

In contrast, Dhoom Dhaam is a raucous adventure about an interrupted honeymoon. Yami Gautam Dhar and Pratik Gandhi are a ton of fun as a newly married couple who have a lot to learn about one another.

I adored the 2008 documentary Supermen of Malegaon, and director Reema Kagti’s fictional version of that film — Superboys of Malegaon — is a fitting tribute. It’s a perfect movie for anyone who loves movies.

Probably the biggest surprise of the year was Stolen, a film that excels as both a taut action thriller and an astute commentary on wealth inequality and institutional shortcomings. Director Keran Tejpal’s kidnapping drama is the best rural thriller since NH10, which is saying a lot.

Like Humans in the Loop, Mrs. is another film that finally got its wide release in 2025 after playing at festivals. The wait was worth it. Sanya Malhotra shines in this story of a new wife slowly crushed under the impossible expectations of her husband and father-in-law. It’s a poignant depiction of how abusers disguise their actions while still exercising control — and the resilience it takes to escape such an oppressive situation.

It made perfect sense when Homebound was selected as India’s official submission to the Oscars for Best International Feature Film. It’s a moving portrayal of two friends trying to escape poverty, only to run up against prolonged COVID business closures right as they start to make real money. Homebound captures an important moment in history while giving us characters we come to truly care about.

My favorite Hindi film of the year might also be the strangest (well, that honor might go to Crazxy). Another tale of an unhappy newlywed bride, this one takes a bizarre and hilarious turn that succeeds entirely thanks to a career-best performance from Radhika Apte. The Best Bollywood Movie of 2025 is Sister Midnight. Thank goodness this actually got a wide release and didn’t disappear after its festival run in 2024. I love this bonkers film.

Kathy’s Best Bollywood Movies of 2025

  1. Sister Midnight – stream on Hulu; buy/rent on Amazon
  2. Homebound – stream on Netflix
  3. Mrs. – stream on ZEE5
  4. Stolen – stream on Amazon Prime
  5. Superboys of Malegaon – stream on Amazon Prime
  6. Dhoom Dhaam – stream on Netflix
  7. Humans in the Loop – stream on Netflix
  8. Songs of Paradise – stream on Amazon Prime
  9. Saiyaara – stream on Netflix
  10. Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas – stream on ZEE5

Previous Best Movies Lists

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Streaming Video News: July 3, 2025

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with today’s world premiere of the Amazon Original Telugu comedy Uppu Kappurambu.

Today, ZEE5 premiered Abhishek Bachchan’s new film Kaalidhar Laapata, a remake of the 2019 Tamil movie K.D.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with yesterday’s streaming debut of Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Thug Life. If you missed any of the Indian content added to Netflix in June, check out my monthly recap for What’s on Netflix. While you’re there, check out my list of reality game shows to watch on Netflix if you’re a fan of the games in Squid Game. I’m proud of it.

There’s no sign of the new Hotstar Indian Original shows Good Wife or Mistry on Hulu, which is par for the course these days. But, hey, they just added the 1987 film Imaandaar, so that’s something.

Since we’re at the mid-point of the year — and there’s not much new to watch on a holiday weekend — here are my Top 5 films of 2025 so far (with the caveat that I haven’t seen any of the Hindi theatrical releases from May or June yet):

  1. Mrs. — ★★★½
  2. Stolen  — ★★★½
  3. Superboys of Malegaon — ★★★½
  4. Dhoom Dhaam — ★★★½
  5. Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins — ★★★

Bonus: There’s a discount on A Nice Indian Boy for rent or purchase at Amazon right now. It’s a great feel-good movie!

Have a nice 3-day weekend! — Kathy

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Movie Review: Mrs. (2023)

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3.5 Stars (out of 4)

Watch Mrs. on ZEE5

A bride’s newlywed bliss is slowly crushed under household demands and unattainable standards set by her new husband and his father in the relentless drama Mrs.. The film isn’t presented as a thriller, but it elicits some of the same oppressive feelings as movies in that genre.

Mrs. is Cargo-director Arati Kadav’s adaptation of Jeo Baby’s 2021 Malayalam movie The Great Indian Kitchen (which I haven’t seen). The Hindi version stars Sanya Malhotra as Richa Sharma, the leader of a dance troupe. Through an arranged marriage, she weds Diwakar Kumar (Nishant Dahiya). He’s a handsome doctor who is kind and attentive in the run-up to their wedding.

Upon moving into Diwakar’s family home with her in-laws, Richa notices that her mother-in-law Meena (Aparna Ghoshal) spends her day in near-constant labor, waking before everyone and going to sleep last. Father-in-law Ashwin (Kanwaljit Singh) is particular about his meals, so Meena has to do a lot of work by hand that could be done by a machine more quickly.

Diwakar’s sister lives far away and is expecting her first baby. Richa offers to take over the household chores so that Meena can go help with her new grandchild. Meena happily takes Richa up on the offer, but she knows that her daughter-in-law is in for a hard time.

A learning curve is to be expected, but Richa’s lack of familiarity with the house is not the problem. Even when she does as she’s asked, her father-in-law finds flaws. When she executes a recipe perfectly, he invents problems. She just can’t seem to do anything to his satisfaction.

That’s exactly the point. Giving Richa approval would give her leverage, and that’s the last thing the Kumar men would ever do.

The relationships between men and women in Mrs. are defined by power imbalances. The methods used for maintaining that balance are less obviously villainous than, say, locking Richa in a closet, but are just as abusive nonetheless. It’s the cumulative weight of indignities, insults, and lack of agency — designed to make Richa too exhausted to resist — that reveal them as the control tactics they are.

That’s even before mentioning the fact that Diwakar subjects Richa to daily, painful sexual intercourse. He’s never noticed that he’s hurting her or cared that she’s not having a good time. It’s more important for him to get her pregnant, giving her yet more to do and making it that much harder for her to leave.

Kadav is careful not to be too heavy-handed with the tone of her film. She lets the audience draw their own conclusions from the actions of the characters, without relying on things like melodramatic music. It’s clear what’s happening.

Kadav also knows how to use her greatest asset: Sanya Malhotra. An opening dance number show’s Malhotra for the star she is, and she’s just as skilled through the rest of the film. She portrays Richa as a woman who is sincerely doing her best while she being pulled farther and farther away from the woman she was before marriage. She’s not a quitter, so it takes her a long time to accept that her best will never be enough.

Dahiya and Singh deserve a lot of credit as well for playing their characters with restraint. The point of the film would be lost if Diwakar and his dad were cartoon villains. Everyone knows them to be upstanding citizens and devoted family men, and that’s how they see themselves. They act in a manner that will get them what they want while still maintaining that image.

I really enjoyed Kadav’s film Cargo, which is delightful to watch. Mrs. is anything but delightful, but it’s an impressive achievement all the same.

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Streaming Video News: February 6, 2025

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with two big new additions to the catalog: Ram Charan’s 2025 Telugu flick Game Changer and the world premiere of Boman Irani’s directorial debut The Mehta Boys.

Today’s other new global Hindi release is Sanya Malhotra’s Mrs. on ZEE5, a remake of the acclaimed Malayalam drama The Great Indian Kitchen.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix yesterday with the world premiere of the Oscar-nominated short drama film Anuja. It’s well-done and only 22 minutes, so give it a watch. On Friday, the new Original sports documentary series The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan debuts.

Over at What’s On Netflix, I updated my giant 2025 Indian content preview with all of the new Original series and films announced at Monday’s Next on Netflix India event.

Earlier this week, I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with the addition of the Hindi action movie Kill (which I liked a lot). There’s something hinky going on with Hulu’s Indian collection right now, and I wrote about it a couple days ago. I’m not going to make sweeping changes to my Hulu page just yet, but I might have to in the near future.

[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!]

Streaming Video News: January 29, 2025

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the streaming debut of the Telugu blockbuster Pushpa 2: The Rule. Netflix’s “Reloaded Version” has 23 minutes of extra footage, bumping the runtime up to nearly 4 hours. Dubbed dialogue is available in Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil, with Kannada coming soon.

Netflix also announced a February 5 release date for the Oscar-nominated short documentary film Anuja:

The new Hindi series The Secret of the Shiledars is scheduled to debut on Disney+ Hotstar in India tomorrow, but we’ll see if we actually get it here in the US. Hulu’s track record for adding new Indian Originals has been bad this month. I’ll update my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu accordingly. [Update: We got it! The Secret of the Shildedars is now streaming, with dubbed versions in Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.]

The first week of February looks to be a busy one on the streamers. Besides Anuja on Netflix, ZEE5 releases the Hindi film Mrs. — starring Sanya Malhotra — on Friday, February 7 (likely the afternoon of February 6 in the US). That same day, Amazon Prime premieres The Mehta Boys, Boman Irani’s directorial debut. It’s gonna be a busy week!