Like every year, 2025 was dominated by self-important movies with big-name actors aiming for blockbuster status. And like every year, there were films – many of them by first-time directors – with more modest ambitions, greater integrity and the willingness to take risks.
Here is a selection of 2025’s boldest, most compelling and repeat-worthy films that were released in cinemas.
Sabar Bonda Rohan Kanawade’s directing debut is a gorgeous gay romance that plays out in a village in Maharashtra. The Marathi film explores the feelings that resurface between Anand and Balya following the death of Anand’s father. The Scroll review praised the film as a “quiet, unhurried and tender tale of personal upheaval taking place in unconventional settings”.
Bad Girl Varsha Bharath’s Tamil movie is a memorable funny-sad-angry chronicle of womanhood. The film observes Ramya between the ages of 15 and 32 as she lurches from one relationship to another alongside battling her mother. From the review on Scroll: “Ramya is so relatable that she walks in our midst. Rarely has a heroine been this exasperating, and this honest.”
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Source: The best Indian films of 2025: Sabar Bonda, Dhadak 2, Agra and more
