00:00From intimate character studies to stories that confront society head-on,
00:05this year witnessed films like Dharak 2, Cactus Pears, Homebound and Jhugnuma to name a few.
00:11However, the best films are only the ones with more heart than merely box office numbers.
00:17Welcome to Outlook's Picks, where we unveil the year's 5 best Indian films.
00:22First up is Loka Chapter 1 Chandra by Dominic Arun.
00:30A defining moment for Indian regional cinema, nobody anticipated Loka to become the beloved hit that it did.
00:37Kalyani Priyadarshan's powerful performance as the mystical Chandra dominated screens with ferocity and heart.
00:44Critics applauded the film's technical ambition, calling it a league apart in franchise debuts.
00:50An audience has celebrated Chandra as a rare, powerful female lead in Indian superhero storytelling.
00:57Then we have
00:57Anurag Kashyap's Nishanchi Part 1 and 2
01:04With Nishanchi, Kashyap reaches back towards the chaotic energy of a small-town Bollywood masala.
01:11At its center are identical twins Bablu and Dablu, both played by Aishwarya Thakre,
01:16and Rinku, played by Vedika Pinto.
01:18Caught in the cycles of love, betrayal, and political machinery,
01:23Monica Panwa delivers a career-defining performance as Manjari the matriarch.
01:29The first film charts the collapse of a family,
01:31and the sequel studies the aftermath and survival.
01:35It is uneven at times, but its ambition and emotional reach remain undeniable.
01:40Then comes The Girlfriend by Rahul Ravindran.
01:53Rashmika Mandana plays Bhuma Devi, a young woman navigating college life, desire, and power in
02:00Hyderabad, when Vikram slowly tightens his grip on her life.
02:04Rahul Ravindran's film truly understands how women's identities are eroded way before they are even formed.
02:12Mandana delivers what many are calling her career-best performance.
02:16And for right reasons, she's emotionally fluent here,
02:20and supported by a script that finally gives her room to reclaim her acting prowess.
02:25Next up is Bison by Mari Selvaraj.
02:36In his characteristic style, Selvaraj uses sports as a lens to examine caste, power, and dignity.
02:43Bison draws from the life of Manathi Ganeshan, but it never limits itself to a biography.
02:49Dhruv Vikram delivers one of his strongest performances to date.
02:52And this is a film that really mourns the effort wasted under an unequal order.
02:58And it does so with devastating clarity.
03:01As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted a boyfriend.
03:07Last but not the least is Bad Girl by Varsha Bharat.
03:11Bad Girl is one of the most honest coming-of-age films this year.
03:15It understands that growing up is rarely neat or polite.
03:18Anjali Shivaraman's Ramya is unbelievably radiant, reckless, and deeply vulnerable.
03:26And that is quite the film's unique strength.
03:29Audiences and critics rightly praised Shivaraman's performance among the year's finest.
03:34It's a film that truly trusts messiness and earns its tenderness wholeheartedly.
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