2023 was a very busy year for me. I didn't watch too many new releases, but I did watch a lot of movies I hadn't seen before from previous years. I was stuck writing so much for school that I didn't get to write much about the things I like, which is obviously what this blog is for. So, I want to review and reflect on the 2023 Indian releases I watched.
In total, I watched 20 movies (across 5 Indian languages) that came out in 2023. Below is a list, in no particular order:
Romancham
Kannai Nambathey
Takkar
Veera Simha Reddy
Waltair Veerayya
Balagam
Ranga Marthanda
Dasara
Hello Meera
Custody
Bhagavanth Kesari
Salaar
Hi Nanna
Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty
Writer Padmabhushan
Addatheegala
Sapta Sagaradache Ello - Side A
Pathaan
Kathal
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan
First, I want to discuss the movies I actually liked, and then I'll discuss the mediocre and awful.
The Best:
Romancham.
I shouldn't have been surprised by a genuinely good Malayalam movie, but I was surprised that the film was actually a horror comedy. I've said this a million times, but Indian horror comedies are neither horror nor comedy most of the time. It's usually just cringe 'comedy' that's never really scary. Now, I don't usually get scared by horror films, so I wasn't necessarily biting my nails out of fear while watching Romancham, but I did feel it a bit. It always felt realistic and the comedy was natural. Nothing was forcefully placed for the sake of comedy or horror. Romancham actually delivered what was promised. On a scale of 'I need to burn my eyes for watching this' to 'I would watch this movie over and over until my life ends', I would say this movie falls under 'I would watch this again throughout the year'.
Writer Padmabhushan.
Most small Telugu movies like this—ones that give off the Malayalam vibe—tend to slap, and this one definitely did. From what I remember (which is very little), I genuinely enjoyed the movie, and the issues it did have (which again, I don't remember specifically) were easy to overlook. It's just one of those cute little Telugu movies you can't hate.
Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A.
This movie literally defines my favorite type of movie (in terms of genre). I've been waiting for this movie since Rakshit Shetty announced it, so I was EXCITED to watch it when it came out, and I was not disappointed. This had to be one of my favorite movies of the year easily. Everything about it was so good—the story, the music, the acting, the visuals—just everything. I talked about it so much before it was released out of anticipation, and I talked about it even more afterward because of how much I loved it. The ending of the movie had me speechless. Honestly, I might need to rewatch it to be able to write about it. Just sitting here thinking about it has made me speechless again.
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan.
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is about three 25ish-year-olds in Mumbai and their lives with the pressures of social media. The movie is purely about friendship. I didn't have high expectations for this movie, but I found myself really invested in it as I watched it, and I ended up really liking it. It was well-made and well-acted (which was the biggest surprise for me). The vibe of the movie was very urban, rich, old-money, which made it feel like I was looking through some window, watching rich people deal with their problems. That's a good thing and a bad thing, but still. It was definitely a socially relevant film regardless, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would rewatch this.
The Good/Good Enough:
Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty.
I remember lying down on the floor to watch this movie after a tiring football game, and it gave me a good laugh. Naveen Polishetty clearly has good comedic skill and he can write a mostly entertaining film from beginning to end. I wish Anushka's parts were written better though. Whenever she had solo screen time, it just felt so bland and dry instead of deep and emotional. The focus in the movie was entirely on putting comedy into the situation, and it showed. Basically, the movie would've been perfect if the non-comedic parts were given the same care. Comedy is only comedy if the tragedy is just as deep. Otherwise, it's just normal. I would rewatch the comedy scenes in the movie, but that's about it.
Salaar.
I never thought I would be saying this about a Prabhas movie post-Baahubali, but this was actually good, which means that it was somewhere between mediocre and just below average. Maybe I'm just thinking in relativity because of how awful Prabhas's recent movies have been, but I don't care. The movie was actually pretty okay and it deserves to be in the good section of this. Prabhas still looks AI-generated (and still cannot show expression on his face), the women in the film are still useless (cough cough sruthi haasan), and the movie could've been written a little better, but I was still very invested in the film as I watched it, especially in the flashback with Prithviraj and Prabhas together. The setting of the movie itself is very interesting as well. It's so obviously inspired by KGF, but the rules of the world and the way things play out just made things more interesting. The entire story in the present, with the school and Sruthi Haasan, could've been deleted and the movie would've been even better. There was also no need for the movie to randomly go international. I would watch this again if I had to, but only for Prtihviraj+Prabhas. I would skip over any Sruthi Haasan stuff.
Hi Nanna.
Hi Nanna was another movie I was super excited about. I love a good Nani movie, and I tried so hard to like this one just as much as his others, but I just couldn't. It genuinely could've been amazing, but it fell so short of that. I set my expectations low, and it managed to fall just short of that as well. The story is pretty basic and predictable, which was fine in the beginning because I thought I could overlook it, but as soon as the flashback came, it became worse. Pops of cringe and random cliches that belonged in 2010 masala movies ruined what could've been an amazing movie. The first scene that comes to mind is the drunk scene. The entire vibe and tone set by the movie until then just made the whole drunk scene feel incredibly out of place and weird to watch. Overall, a portion of the second half was good enough to pass, but the rest of the movie fell to cliche and cringe (like the drunk scene and the ending of the movie). I guess it's good for a debut movie though. I wouldn't watch it again. If I had to, it would only be for Nani. He's basically the only reason this is in the good section and not the mediocre section.
The Mediocre:
Ranga Marthanda and Balagam.
I honestly feel so bad for putting these two below movies like Salaar and Hi Nanna, but I just didn't feel too strongly about these. They were good, but they didn't hold my attention that much. I did laugh maybe once or twice watching these, but mostly, I was just waiting for the films to be over. I just couldn't bring myself to be interested in them.
Kathal.
It's a simple story about a lost jackfruit, and it played out well, but this was just boring to me. I lost interest in it about halfway through. It's an okay one-time watch.
Dasara.
Dasara was technically good too, and I thought it was fine, but I didn't find it to be as amazing as the reviews said. It genuinely was good for the most part, with some things overlooked, but I just didn't find myself that invested in the story. I think this movie might be something I need to watch again though.
Kannai Nambathey.
This movie was decent, but nothing more. The story just kinda... went, if that makes any sense. It's a very average thriller movie, but nothing more. I wouldn't have even watched this once.
The Awful:
Pathaan.
This one was just too over the top for me. I'm fine with Mission Impossible stuff, but not this. I wouldn't watch this again. I wish I didn't even watch this once.
Addateegala.
This movie was such a waste of my time. The story went nowhere. They drove in a car and there was a truck. That's it. I genuinely wish this movie didn't even exist. It is that bad. I wouldn't wish this movie upon my worst enemies.
Hello Meera.
I feel like this movie was an honest attempt at something, but I'm not sure what that something is. I guess the heroine acted fine but the voiceovers were weird and so was the whole thing.
Takkar.
This movie was so bad I don't even remember most of it. I remember thinking the setup was interesting, but once the thirty-minute mark hit, the movie became unbearable.
Custody.
This movie was annoying because it could've been a good movie, but it turned out to be a plain bad one thanks to Naga Chaitanya and poor writing. If Naga Chaitanya was replaced by someone who could act and if the love story was removed, then the movie would have been an okay watch. If it had better writing on top of that, it would have been pretty good. But obviously, it wasn't like that at all. Salaar was better than this, and that says a lot.
Waltair Veerayya.
I could not sit through this movie, but I had no choice. It was a theater and I didn't have my airpods so I couldn't be on my phone. I had to stare at the big screen and try not to cringe. The movie was just so bad. I could not handle it. Chiranjeevi looked AI-generated. In general, he needs to stop acting in roles where his love interest is half his age. He should take on roles like Mohanlal and Mammootty do.
Bhagavanth Kesari and Veera Simha Reddy.
Balayya gets a special place at the bottom of this post for his awful movies. The lady who played Balayya's mother in Veera Simha Reddy was about half Balayya's age and younger than Sruthi Haasan who played his love interest in the movie. His mom in the movie was actually younger than him and his girlfriend. That's just plain weird. It's hard not to laugh at this point though. He has to be aware of what he's doing, especially because he's been doing the same type of movie over and over for years. It's basically satire at this point. I'm glad Sreeleela wasn't his love interest in Bhagavanth Kesari.
Update: I watched Kaathal - The Core yesterday. It was amazing. Mammootty has great script selection. This would totally go in the Best section. Might be the best out of all of these honestly.
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