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In a year where most major Hindi film superstars had a tentpole release, it was acting performances in smaller, mid-budget movies and shows that stirred the status quo in spite of the crowded, noisy cinematic landscape.
2025 has been the year of underdogs. Highly anticipated new seasons of flagship shows such as Netflix’s Delhi Crime and Prime Video’s The Family Man turned out to be duds. Meanwhile, certain formidable forces and fresh entrants delivered admirably despite gargantuan expectations.
In a sea brimming with Salman Khans, Akshay Kumars and Hrithik Roshans, it was the likes of Abhishek Banerjee, Raghav Juyal and Shashank Arora that shone the brightest in a year that accentuated the flux the Hindi entertainment industry has been struggling with since the pandemic.
Abhishek Banerjee (Stolen; Prime Video)
The former casting director who has risen to fame over the last decade, courtesy his indispensable presence in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe, is terrific as Gautam, the privileged elder brother who gets embroiled in an ugly mess he didn’t make.
Known for his exemplary comedy (Stree, Bhediya) and chilling villainy (Ajji, Pataal Lok, Vedaa), he plays everything in between in this edge-of-the-seat survival thriller directed by Karan Tejpal. Stolen cements what Hindi cinephiles have known for a while now—Banerjee is inarguably one of the finest actors working in the movies today.
Raghav Juyal (Bads of Bollywood; Netflix)
The campy caper marks Aryan Khan’s highly-publicised directorial debut, but what makes this Om Shanti Om-esque parody series sing is Raghav Juyal’s career-defining performance. Fresh off the blistering acclaim of their Hindi film debut Kill (2024), it is the magnetic bromance of Lakshya and Juyal’s central characters that anchors this show, bathed in excess access.
As Parvaiz, the slightly vulgar, deliciously nimble and effortlessly charming best friend of the hero who is loyal to a fault, Juyal takes the sidekick trope and runs, no, flies with it. There’s not one dull moment when he’s in the frame. He is gloriously agile with his craft and physicality. His time with Emraan Hashmi in the series is so explosive, it became the pop-culture high point of 2025.
Jaideep Ahlawat (Pataal Lok S2; Prime Video)
There is no such thing as a bad Jaideep Ahlawat performance. It is not every year that a streaming giant hires an actor to play a cop and a gangster in two of its flagship shows set in the same north-eastern state, and the actor takes the challenge head-on, only to deliver spectacularly.
At the beginning of the year, Ahlawat returned as Hathi Ram Chaudhary, the wry, wildly popular Jaat cop in Pataal Lok’s much-awaited second season. It’s rare for an acclaimed show to make a sequel that lives up to the impossible expectations cemented by its first season. However, powered by Ahlawat’s nuanced performance, Pataal Lok S2 did not only justified the hype but added gravitas to it. The actor extraordinaire ended the year with another memorable turn as Rukma, the primary antagonist in the third instalment of The Family Man.
Ishaan Khatter (Homebound; Netflix)
In less than a decade, Khatter has established himself as an incredibly versatile talent to watch out for. Neeraj Ghaywan’s second feature-length directorial is the latest feat in his filmography. In Homebound, he plays Mohammed Shoaib Ali, a disenfranchised youth striving to break out of the hole he’s been forced into because of his birth.
Bolstered by Ghaywan’s heartrending storytelling and Vishal Jethwa’s acting prowess, Khatter magnificently brings to the fore how societal marginalisation and the resultant quotidian cruelty can snuff out the brightest of flames. If you are planning to watch one film before the year ends, let it be this story that dares to find hope amid insurmountable odds.
Shashank Arora (Superboys of Malegaon; Prime Video)
Despite an ensemble cast comprising some of the best actors working in Hindi cinema today such as Adarsh Gourav and Vineet Kumar Singh, Shashank Arora manages to be the soft, beating heart of this iridescent love letter to cinema.
He plays Shafique, the meek and unwavering friend to Gourav’s Nasir, whose cancer diagnosis and passing away reunites the motley group of movie crazies years after a bitter fallout. Almost all the best scenes of the film—whether it be the opening shot of Nasir and Shafique riding on a scooter singing “Shauk paal ke kya karega, Malegaon me tu marega” or the immortal bus stop conversation with Manjiri Pupala’s character Trupti or Superman flying in a remote Maharashtrian town in the climactic sequence—have Shafique in them. You have to watch the lovely Reema Kagti film to experience its tenderness and turmoil.
Also Read: 2025 rewind: Four underrated Hindi movies you must make time for
2025 has been the year of underdogs. Highly anticipated new seasons of flagship shows such as Netflix’s Delhi Crime and Prime Video’s The Family Man turned out to be duds. Meanwhile, certain formidable forces and fresh entrants delivered admirably despite gargantuan expectations.
In a sea brimming with Salman Khans, Akshay Kumars and Hrithik Roshans, it was the likes of Abhishek Banerjee, Raghav Juyal and Shashank Arora that shone the brightest in a year that accentuated the flux the Hindi entertainment industry has been struggling with since the pandemic.
Abhishek Banerjee (Stolen; Prime Video)
The former casting director who has risen to fame over the last decade, courtesy his indispensable presence in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe, is terrific as Gautam, the privileged elder brother who gets embroiled in an ugly mess he didn’t make.
Known for his exemplary comedy (Stree, Bhediya) and chilling villainy (Ajji, Pataal Lok, Vedaa), he plays everything in between in this edge-of-the-seat survival thriller directed by Karan Tejpal. Stolen cements what Hindi cinephiles have known for a while now—Banerjee is inarguably one of the finest actors working in the movies today.
Raghav Juyal (Bads of Bollywood; Netflix)
The campy caper marks Aryan Khan’s highly-publicised directorial debut, but what makes this Om Shanti Om-esque parody series sing is Raghav Juyal’s career-defining performance. Fresh off the blistering acclaim of their Hindi film debut Kill (2024), it is the magnetic bromance of Lakshya and Juyal’s central characters that anchors this show, bathed in excess access.
As Parvaiz, the slightly vulgar, deliciously nimble and effortlessly charming best friend of the hero who is loyal to a fault, Juyal takes the sidekick trope and runs, no, flies with it. There’s not one dull moment when he’s in the frame. He is gloriously agile with his craft and physicality. His time with Emraan Hashmi in the series is so explosive, it became the pop-culture high point of 2025.
Jaideep Ahlawat (Pataal Lok S2; Prime Video)
There is no such thing as a bad Jaideep Ahlawat performance. It is not every year that a streaming giant hires an actor to play a cop and a gangster in two of its flagship shows set in the same north-eastern state, and the actor takes the challenge head-on, only to deliver spectacularly.
At the beginning of the year, Ahlawat returned as Hathi Ram Chaudhary, the wry, wildly popular Jaat cop in Pataal Lok’s much-awaited second season. It’s rare for an acclaimed show to make a sequel that lives up to the impossible expectations cemented by its first season. However, powered by Ahlawat’s nuanced performance, Pataal Lok S2 did not only justified the hype but added gravitas to it. The actor extraordinaire ended the year with another memorable turn as Rukma, the primary antagonist in the third instalment of The Family Man.
Ishaan Khatter (Homebound; Netflix)
In less than a decade, Khatter has established himself as an incredibly versatile talent to watch out for. Neeraj Ghaywan’s second feature-length directorial is the latest feat in his filmography. In Homebound, he plays Mohammed Shoaib Ali, a disenfranchised youth striving to break out of the hole he’s been forced into because of his birth.
Bolstered by Ghaywan’s heartrending storytelling and Vishal Jethwa’s acting prowess, Khatter magnificently brings to the fore how societal marginalisation and the resultant quotidian cruelty can snuff out the brightest of flames. If you are planning to watch one film before the year ends, let it be this story that dares to find hope amid insurmountable odds.
Shashank Arora (Superboys of Malegaon; Prime Video)
Despite an ensemble cast comprising some of the best actors working in Hindi cinema today such as Adarsh Gourav and Vineet Kumar Singh, Shashank Arora manages to be the soft, beating heart of this iridescent love letter to cinema.
He plays Shafique, the meek and unwavering friend to Gourav’s Nasir, whose cancer diagnosis and passing away reunites the motley group of movie crazies years after a bitter fallout. Almost all the best scenes of the film—whether it be the opening shot of Nasir and Shafique riding on a scooter singing “Shauk paal ke kya karega, Malegaon me tu marega” or the immortal bus stop conversation with Manjiri Pupala’s character Trupti or Superman flying in a remote Maharashtrian town in the climactic sequence—have Shafique in them. You have to watch the lovely Reema Kagti film to experience its tenderness and turmoil.
Also Read: 2025 rewind: Four underrated Hindi movies you must make time for
