Anand Pandit, Dinesh Vijan, Soubin Shahir, C.Aswini Dutt and Aamir Khan wowed audiences with clutter-breaking productions

This was not a very lucrative year for the Hindi film industry, barring a few exceptions like ‘Stree-‘2. However, pan-Indian hits like ‘Pushpa 2-The Rule’ and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ made news for their bumper box-office openings. At the same time, some films made waves by earning critical acclaim for their unusual subject matter. As the year draws to a close, it is time to look back at some definitive moments from 2024 that indicated the diversity and richness of the cinematic landscape in the country. 

Anand Pandit (Fakt Purusho Maate)

Arguably the only pan-Indian producer in the country who makes big-budget films in multiple languages, Anand Pandit scored another big hit this year with his Gujarati family drama, ‘Fakt Purusho Maate.’ Directed and written by Jay Bodas and Parth Trivedi, the films about intergenerational conflicts also starred Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo with Yash Soni, Darshan Jariwala, Mitra Gadhavi, Esha Kansara and others. Produced by Anand Pandit and Vaishal Shah, the film drew family audiences to the theatres and wowed them with a progressive story questioning patriarchy and outdated values.

Dinesh Vijan (Stree 2)

This former banker and founder of Maddock Films, has delivered more than 30 hits since 2004 including ‘Love Aaj Kal’, ‘Cocktail’, ‘Badlapur’, ‘Hindi Medium’, ‘Stree’, ‘Angrezi Medium’, ‘Mimi’, ‘Bhediya’ and of course ‘Stree 2’ which made box-office history this year. The comedy horror film directed by Amar Kaushik, and co-produced by Jio Studio, stars Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana.  Released on 15 August 2024, the film grossed over ₹874.58 crore (US$100 million) worldwide, emerging as the third-highest-grossing Indian film and the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024.

Soubin Shahir (Manjummel Boys)

Soubin Shahir has built an incredible body of work in Malayalam cinema as an actor, director and producer.  Having started his career as an assistant director in 2003, he made his acting debut in 2013 with a scene-stealing role in ‘Annayum Rasoolum’. In 2017, he made his directorial debut with ‘Parava’ and won over the pan-Indian audience with hits like ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ and ‘Sudani from Nigeria.’ This year he not only produced ‘Manjummel Boys’, the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time but also starred in it. The survival thriller film based on the Guna Caves rescue in 2006, is written and directed by Chidambaram. It also stars Sreenath Bhasi, Balu Varghese, Ganapathi S. Poduval, Lal Jr., Deepak Parambol, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Arun Kurian, Khalid Rahman and Shebin Benson.

Aamir Khan (Laapataa Ladies)

‘Lagaan’, ‘Talaash’, ‘Dhobi Ghaat’, ‘Secret Superstar’, ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and  ‘Dangal’ are just some of the modern classics that Aamir Khan has produced. This year, he backed ‘Laapataa Ladies’, a gem of a film that not only garnered record viewership on Netflix but was also India’s official submission to the Oscars. Directed by Kiran Rao, ‘Laapataa Ladies’ stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan, and is a story about how two brides find themselves when they are misplaced during a train journey.

C.Aswini Dutt (Kalki 2898 AD)

Chalasani Aswini Dutt is an iconic producer in Telugu cinema and established the production company Vyjayanthi Movies in 1974. In five decades, he has produced over 40 films and this year, his production ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ became one of the biggest hits of all time. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film boasts a formidable cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Disha Patani. Set in a post-apocalyptic world in the year 2898 AD, the film follows a group of warriors trying to protect a lab subject SUM-80’s unborn child, Kalki.