Top 9 Indie Gems Of Hindi Cinema

With multiple clutter-breaking movies dropping back to back, it seems Hindi cinema is thriving beyond the massy commercial ventures

- By Ananya Ghosh

So far, 2025 has been a year of big budget star-powered theatrical releases—right from Sikandar, Jaat, Raid 2, Sky Force, Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh, Deva, Badass Ravikumar, Chhaava (the highest grossing Indian film of the year with a domestic net collection : 604.1cr) to the multi-starrer Housefull 5 (second highest grossing Hindi film of the year with a domestic net collection of Rs 162.69 cr) till the time of going to press). But with crass cinema still being peddled as mass cinema and propaganda movies graduating into sleek mainstream event films, it seems Bollywood has sacrificed the art and integrity of cinema on the excel-sheet wrapped alter of commerce. However, all is not lost. Beyond the spotlight of mainstream Bollywood, Hindi cinema is having its own moment thanks to the indie filmmakers and the nonconformists—many of whom are debutants. Here are 9 such 2025 releases—daring, edgy, and unconventional—that every cinephile should sample:

1 SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON
OTT PLATFORM: PRIME VIDEO

Directed by Reema Kagti and written by Varun Grover, this quirky movie takes inspiration from Faiza Ahmad Khan's 2008 documentary titled Malegaon Ka Superman about a mofussil town’s cinema obsession and a bunch of village oddballs turning into DIY filmmakers. With heartfelt performances by Adarsh Gourav (as Nasir), Shashank Arora (as Shafique), and Vineet Kumar (as Farogh), this delightful little gem, much like Cinema Paradiso, is an ode to the magic of cinema and the cinephiles.

2 STOLEN
OTT PLATFORM: PRIME VIDEO