Tag Archives: Superboys of Malegaon

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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Streaming Video News: April 24, 2025

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with today’s streaming debuts of two Hindi theatrical releases: Sohum Shah’s kidnapping drama Crazxy and director Reema Kagti’s Superboys of Malegaon (which I really, really liked). Earlier this week, Prime added the Tamil film Veera Dheera Sooran – Part 2.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with today’s streaming debut of the Telugu film MAD Square. The Netflix Original action flick Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins makes its world premiere on Friday. I previewed the new Hindi film for What’s on Netflix.

Here’s one final reminder that this is the last weekend to watch any of the 35 Hindi movies by UTV Motion Pictures expiring from Netflix on April 30.

Finally, I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with the streaming debut of the Malayalam film L2: Empuraan (also available in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu). Hulu also added the 2018 Hindi horror flick 1921 earlier this week.

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Streaming Video News: April 10, 2025

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with today’s world premiere of the Hindi horror flick Chhorii 2. This is a true sequel to 2021’s Chhorii, which I really enjoyed. Amazon Prime also announced an April 24 streaming debut for the great film Superboys of Malegaon.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Hulu with today’s debut of Season 6 of the Hindi animated series The Legend of Hanuman (also available in Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu). Hulu randomly added the 1994 Hindi film Dulara earlier this week.

Finally, I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with a trio of newly added theatrical releases: Chhaava (Hindi), Court: State vs a Nobody (Telugu), and Perusu (Tamil).

The BIG Netflix news is that 3 dozen movies from UTV Motion Pictures are set to expire on April 30. A mass UTV exodus happened before in 2022, and while most of the films that expired returned after a month or two, some didn’t come back — and a lot of those movies aren’t streaming anywhere in the United States. If there’s something on this list that you really want to watch (or re-watch), best to prioritize it, just in case. Here’s what’s leaving Netflix at the end of this month:

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Movie Review: Superboys of Malegaon (2024)

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3.5 Stars (out of 4)

Watch Superboys of Malegaon on Amazon Prime

Superboys of Malegaon is a film for anyone who loves movies. Director Reema Kagti’s latest is a touching story of friendship and all the things that can go right and wrong in the creative process.

Varun Grover’s screenplay is based on director Faiza Ahmad Khan’s documentary Supermen of Malegaon. The documentary itself is wonderful, and Grover brilliantly adapts its fictional version.

The story begins in 1997 in the industrial town of Malegaon, about 300 kilometers from Mumbai. Movies are a popular pastime for the men in the city, but film reels are hard to come by. The small theater Nasir (Adarsh Gourav) runs with his older brother gets by screening Charlie Chaplin movies, but business is lousy.

Their fortunes improve when Nasir learns how to edit together VHS tapes using two VCRs. His mashups of Chaplin and Bruce Lee are a hit, until the cops bust him for piracy. That’s when Nasir realizes that he needs to make his own films.

He’s got everything he needs within his circle of friends. Nasir can direct and edit. Akram (Anuj Singh Duhan) is the town’s wedding videographer. Farogh (Vineet Kumar Singh) writes for the newspaper. Irfan (Saqib Ayub) can act. And Shafique (Shashank Arora) can do whatever else is needed.

Nasir rejects Farogh’s suggestion for a more serious story, reasoning that things in Malegaon are tough enough as is. They settle on a parody of Sholay called simply “Malegaon’s Sholay.” With the help of plenty of other people in town and a dancer named Trupti (Manjiri Pupala), their original film becomes a massive local hit.

Watching the guys make the film with the technology available in a small Indian city in 1997 is a treat. They improvise a dolly by strapping Akram’s video camera to bicycle. Trupti’s vanity van is an auto-rickshaw with a shawl draped over one side. It’s not fancy, but it works.

Yet even this crew of friends is susceptible to the stressors that can foil any collaborative creative project. Disputes over input, respect, and financial compensation strain the group, and Nasir — who enjoys being celebrated as the brains behind the operation — is too prideful to stop things from unraveling.

The story is ultimately about learning the real meaning and value of friendship, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Since the movie is based on real people who have lives outside of their amateur filmmaking endeavors, Superboys of Malegaon takes place over the course of thirteen years. That just emphasizes how difficult it can be to put egos aside and apologize for bad behavior.

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect cast for this underdog story. Adarsh Gourav skillfully portrays Nasir as the kind of guy with enough charisma to pull together this kind of project, but with the flaws that often accompany that kind of charisma. Vineet Kumar Singh’s quiet seething as the writer whose ideas get trampled by his director represents the many contemporary Indian screenwriters who feel devalued by the industry.

With his skinny arms and incongruous pompadour, it’s impossible not to love Shashank Arora’s Shafique. Though everyone in the film feels their lives limited by lack of opportunity, that’s most true for Shafique. He’s the forgotten member even within his friend group. But from the minute he’s introduced, it’s obvious that he’s the heart of the film.

Reema Kagti’s movie is made with real affection for everyone who inspired it. It’s in details like all the retro movie technology and Bhawna Sharma’s charming costume design. It’s in casting just the right performers to bring these scrappy guys to the big screen. Superboys of Malegaon is a lovable movie.

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