In 2023, Hindi films were merely incidental — the real crowd-pullers unfolded on smaller screens across the country.

While Hindi cinema relied on star power, Indian streaming finally came of age and delivered the biggest hits, with longform storytelling emerging as a beast of its own


Twelve months down, Hindi cinema and the Hindi streaming landscape couldn’t be more unrecognizable from each other. If the cinema of this year has largely taken a turn toward testosterone-heavy gyrating, then the Hindi shows on offer have valiantly balanced the tightrope between storytelling and show-building. It’s true that this is also the year that has rescued Hindi cinema as an industry, reinforcing the belief that Indians will buy a ticket to watch a movie even when they boast a subscription to at least two streaming platforms. But a quick glance at the names, scope, and star cast of the films that have turned into box-office successes will also reveal that the outcome is barely a step forward in audience appetite or cinematic experimentation. That is to say, Indian audiences will flock in hordes to the theatres only when there is a Khan or a Kapoor attached to a project.

From Raj and DK’s Farzi to their Guns and Gulaabs, two creators continue to prove that no one can crack long-form narratives like them, irrespective of the genre.


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