Hindi cinema in 2023: Bollywood unleashed its animal spirits, embraced subversion while battling censorship

A lowdown on the ideas and idioms that defined an eventful year for Hindi cinema

Rising from the lows of the pandemic period, the Hindi film industry rediscovered its blockbuster form in 2023 with four films scoring more than 500 crores at the box office. The year offered varied fare to an audience seeking more colour and charisma in their entertainment plate, after being on an OTT diet where dark delicacies often dominate the menu. Cynics who feared that Bollywood would open more files of hatred were pleasantly surprised to find plenty of subversion in the mainstream movies and streaming shows. Music seeped into the narratives all over again. In Jubilee, a series woven around the golden period of the industry, it drove the narrative, but when melodies lent an extra layer to spy thrillers like Khufiya and Pathaan and more importantly to the unbridled violence of Animal, they became noteworthy.

Let’s rewind to the sights and sounds of a year where stars shone bright but lesser-celebrated actors were also showered with applause, and filmmakers found a way to provoke and protest amidst the raging propaganda.

Alphas thrive; Alphettes survive

After a spree of female-centric films, the Alpha male made a muddled comeback to the big screen, but raked in the moolah. When both Sunny and Bobby Deol score at the box office withGadar 2 and Animal, it doesn’t take much to decipher that the audience wants a double dose of masculinity in their movies. This is the year where both Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor shed their romantic image to embrace action and aggression in Jawan and Animal. Those who found Animal breaking the mould with its misogynistic and sexist tinge, forgot that the tone was set by the Netflix series Rana Naidu and Ranbir himself in Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar earlier in the year.

Alphettes also got an opportunity to flex their muscles in Thank You For Coming, Dhak Dhak, Kathal, Mrs Undercover, Tejas, Fukrey 3, Ghoomer, Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo, Dahaad and Aakhri Sach, but without much commercial or critical success.

It was Sumit Saxena’s Kaalkoot that stood out for dealing with the psyche of the so-called Alphas and Alphettes in the crime thriller based around acid attacks.

When subversion scored over propaganda