Brahmastra most Googled Indian film of 2022; beats Kantara, RRR, KGF2

Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra Part One- Shiva has topped the Google’s movies search list for the year, beating several other popular blockbusters like KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, Kantara, and The Kashmir Files. Search engine Google recently unveiled its ‘Year in Search 2022’, a compendium of the biggest trends in search it saw over the past 11+ months of the year 2022.

Brahmastra, the high-budget fantasy adventure — starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Mouni Roy, with extended cameos from Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Nagarjuna — was released in the theatres on September 9 and went on to gross over Rs 400 crore.

It became the most-watched film on the streaming platform based on hours streamed in the first 10 days, after it had its digital debut on Disney+ Hotstar on November 4. The film is produced by Star Studios, Dharma Productions, Ayan Mukerji & Prime Focus.

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Leaves behind KGF 2, 2022’s highest-grossing Indian film, others

Mukerji is believed to have worked on Brahmastra for a decade. Given its scale, it was a hugely anticipated film. Brahmastra was followed on the list by Yash-starrer Kannada blockbuster KGF 2, which is the highest-grossing Indian film of the year. Vivek Agnihotri’s sleeper hit The Kashmir Files, which has been in the news after the IFFI 2022 Jury Chairman Nadav Lapid termed it a “vulgar, propaganda,” rounded up the top three in the list.

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Four films from the three south industries follow, including Telugu sensation RRR at Number 4, Kannada hit Kantara at Number 5, and Kamal Haasan’s comeback Tamil venture Vikram at Number 7. Telugu hit Pushpa: The Riseֹ, which released last year but still managed to dominate the search trends in 2022, is the most striking entry at number 6.

As with the box office, films from the south edged Bollywood in the list. Only four Hindi films found a place in the top ten as opposed to five from the south. Apart from Brahmastra and The Kashmir Files, Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha and Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2 also found place in the top 10.

Rounding off the list is the only Hollywood entry: Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Though both Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness did more business than Thor 4, the latter polarised more people, perhaps contributing to its high search trend.