7 months into the year and here's where Indian movies of 2024 stand!

From the declining box office numbers to the resurgence of women onscreen, let's examine the current scenario of the Indian cinematic universe seven months into 2024! 

India is a country where cinema is not just taken as entertainment but is obsessively rejoiced and celebrated as a faith. Actors become gods for their fans while their movies are a religious practice to look forward to. Hence there's tons of content to unpack from the first seven months of 2024! In the Indian cinema space, Malayalam and small-budget films are making their mark, but the anticipated big films seem to be struggling to leave a larger-than-life impact. However, apart from the box office report, we could see many undercurrent tropes with the release of films across India. What is even more important is that beyond our own reviews, we also took account of the many trends, discussions and how the audience interacted with each of these films, proving that this cinema-obsessed country wants more from its movies. 

Also Read: Hollywood movies that entertained us in the first 6 months of 2024!

Hence we're trying to analyse and summarise the last 7 months of Indian cinema! Here's what we think!

An era of experimentation 

One of the most common things we have witnessed this year is that films are no longer afraid to experiment! With so many new cast pairings seen in films like Fighter, TBMAUJ, Merry Christmas, Do Aur Do Pyaar, and Bad Newz to biopics that were a league apart from the usual like Amar Singh Chamkila or Chandu Champion. And then there was the biggest experiment of all, Kalki 2898 AD, a one-of-its-kind dystopian sci-fi adventure of India. So, in conclusion, it can be safe to say that so far, with the release of many films, 2024 looked like a combination of unusual casts, different genres and themes coming together to craft something refreshing like in Kill, Munjya or LSD 2. 

Going back to the core 

Another recurrent noticeable point seen in many films was their reliance on reigning in nostalgia, like in Madgaon Express or going back to simpler times like in Laapataa Ladies. Both films also draw from the old-school storytelling style while introducing new filmmaking methods, very much like Merry Christmas. Following the same suit of borrowing from the older times with an inventive strategy, Kalki 2898 AD and Munjya both brought in and took ahead our age-old mythological concepts, and some films like Murder Mubarak brought back that look and feel of the old era. 

Resurgence of women on the screen 

Irrespective of everything else going on, with regressive films like Wild Wild Punjab, one of the highly appreciative facts so far in 2024 has been the resurgence of women on the screen, which seemed to have been backsliding in 2023. Of course, a lot can still be done but films like Crew, Laapataa Ladies, Patna Shukla, Bhakshak, Sharmajee ki Beti, and Kauda have at least brought the stories of women and conversations around them back on the table. 

Malayalam cinema's supremacy 

More than any trending film, it has been a pleasure to see Malayalam films achieving the massive feat of winning people's hearts nationwide. Their dominance with trending films like Aavesham, The Goat Life, Premalu, Manjummel Boys, and Bramayugam proves that Malayalam cinema's supremacy has already been established and developed throughout the country. 

Experiential content over extravaganza at the box office 

Coming to the box office, we are a country that is obsessed with the BO. report as much as we are with our cinema, after the resurgence of films in 2023, it was expected that with A-list actors, the biggest and most anticipated films with all their buzz like Bad Newz, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Yodha, Shaitaan, Fighter releasing in the first half of the year would break all records. Unfortunately, that did not seem to happen! Apart from Article 370, biopics like Maidaan, Srikanth, Chandu Champion, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, Main Atal Hoon, and rom-coms like TBMAUJ, Mr and Mrs Mahi also didn't seem to attract many to the theatres. Surprisingly, films like Madgoan Express, Laapataa Ladies, Crew, Merry Christmas or Munjya worked their magic and became what the industry called 'sleeper hits' as no one had anticipated their success. This proves that while the extravaganza is alluring and worked last year, people want more of an experience in the theatre with good content! 

That's our wrap-up, but please do let us know what you think about the Indian movies released in the first half of 2024 in the comments below! 

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