New Latest Bollywood Movies 2025 – A Mixed Bag of Drama, History, and Comedy
Bollywood started 2025 with a variety of films that touched every emotion - romance, history, mythology and comedy. One of the most talked about releases is Metro in Dino, a spiritual successor to Life in a Metro. Directed by Anurag Basu, the film explores love stories in urban India, featuring stellar performances from actors like Sara Ali Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur and Pankaj Tripathi. Though it had a slow start, the weekend collections gave it a strong momentum, but it struggled to maintain the momentum during the weekdays. With emotional music by Pritam and heart-warming moments, the film presents a modern perspective on urban relationships.
Set in a mythological genre, Kannappa grabbed attention with its star-studded cast that included Vishnu Manchu, Akshay Kumar as Lord Shiva and Prabhas as Rudra. Based on the legendary story of a hunter who becomes a devoted follower of Lord Shiva, the film opened strongly at the box office, especially in the regional and Hindi versions. Despite facing some hurdles from the censor board over language and violence, the film managed to win over the audience with its stunning visuals and spiritual performances. Its weekend performance will also determine how far it can go commercially.
Aamir Khan's Sitare Zameen Par also made headlines, though for reasons his previous socially-oriented films did not. Playing the role of a troubled basketball coach assigned to train neurodivergent adults, Aamir gives a performance that is more focused on his own journey than the individuals he trains. While the film has some emotional warmth, critics felt that it lacked the personal touch seen in previous films like Taare Zameen Par. The storytelling style feels more like a moral lesson than a compelling story, though its intentions remain noble.
On the lighter side, Housefull 5 returns with its signature anarchy and humor. Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, this fifth installment combines comedy and suspense as a murder unfolds on a luxury cruise. With two alternate endings, a huge cast, and a strong weekend earnings, the film crossed the ₹100 crore mark in just four days. Lastly, Kesari Prakash 2, co-produced by Karan Johar, sparked controversy for its fictionalization of the historical events surrounding Jallianwala Bagh. While its creative liberties caught the public's attention, it also sparked debates about the portrayal of truth in cinema.
Metro In Dino
A spiritual sequel to the 2007 film ‘Life in a Metro’, ‘Metro in Dino’ was released in theatres on July 4. Directed by Anurag Basu, the film had a slow opening on the first day but performed well over the weekend. However, the love drama is finding it difficult to sustain itself and its earnings have seen a dip on Monday.
‘Metro in Dino’ features a strong cast including Neena Gupta, Anupam Kher, Konkona Sen Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Sara Ali Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Ali Fazal and Shashwata Chatterjee. The story depicts today’s love life in big cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru.
‘Metro in Dino’, presented by Gulshan Kumar and T-Series in association with Anurag Basu Productions, also features the return of music producer Pritam and director Anurag Basu. He has given many hit songs in films like Gangster: A Love Story, Barfi!, Life in a Metro, Jagga Jasoos and Ludo.
Metro in Dino is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishna Kumar, Anurag Basu and Tani Basu.
Kannappa
The new film Kannappa has a big star cast. It features Vishnu Manchu, Prabhas, Akshay Kumar, Sarathkumar, Mohanlal, Kajal Aggarwal, Preeti Mukundhan, Mohan Babu, Arpit Ranka, Brahmanandam, Brahmaji, Shiv Balaji, Kaushal Manda, Rahul Madhav, Devraj, Mukesh Rishi, Raghu Babu and Madhu.
The story is about Tinadhu, a hunter who later becomes a true devotee of Lord Shiva. In the film, Akshay Kumar plays the role of Shiva, Kajal Aggarwal plays the role of Parvati, and Prabhas plays the role of Rudra.
The audience gave mixed reviews after watching the film, but Kannappa did well at the box office. On the second day, the film remained strong and performed well with good ticket sales on Bookmyshows. According to the film’s PR team, the worldwide collection has reached around ₹40 crore, with ₹20 crore coming in on the second day alone. The Hindi version’s collection has seen a 40% increase, which shows that people are also taking interest in other parts of India.
Mohan Babu produced the film. The initial numbers look good, and many people are talking about it. Now, everyone is waiting to see how the film performs over the weekend.
The film also faced some problems. The censor board asked the makers to change words like “pilak,” “gilak,” “chavata,” and “nicha jati” as they could hurt people’s sentiments. They also said that the film came across as more violent than devotional.
To avoid problems, the makers added a disclaimer at the beginning. It says that the story is based on the Srikalahasti Mahatyam written by poet Dhurjati and Basava Puranam. They also say that the team has taken some creative liberties in the storytelling. Another message says that the chief priest of Srikalahasti temple has given them permission to make the film.
With strong visuals, well-known actors and a mythological theme, Kannappa hopes that it will attract a large and family audience. The next few days will decide how big the film can become.a
Sitaare Zameen Par
There may be no immediate reason to dislike Aamir Khan’s latest film, yet its decidedly simplistic plot does fall short when held up against his earlier works in the same socially driven genre. While “Sitaare Zameen Par” (2025) adheres to Khan’s signature formula of blending cinema with social commentary, it lacks the character focus and emotional depth that defined films like “Taare Zameen Par” (2007) and “Secret Superstar” (2017). When placed alongside these films, “Sitaare Zameen Par” would arguably rank the lowest, not for its subject matter, but for its inability to connect emotionally.
Tasked with the training of a group of neurodivergent adults while serving community service for a drunk driving offense, Aamir Khan plays Gulshan, a troubled basketball coach negotiating with serious emotional volatility. Purposefully estranged from his wife while living with his mother, Gulshan is prone to violent outbursts and giving up on people at the first call of trouble. While we see the violent outburst only once, we do observe how quietly he walks away when confronted.
Based on this two-line premise, the film directed by R.S. Prasanna is engaging but seldom uniquely insightful. Mostly because it chooses to tell the story of the coach rather than the trainees. Imagine “Taare Zameen Par” being about Ram Shankar Nikumbh and not Ishaan Awasthi — that’s how “Sitaare Zameen Par” is structured. And the coach — along with us, the audience — is only informed about the condition of the special trainees that he has to train. We don’t get to witness and experience them firsthand.
If we compare both films, “Taare Zameen Par” explores Ishaan’s world much before we get to know that there is something special about him. Ishaan’s undisciplined way of thought also reflected a genuine organization of creativity. This particular angle was absent in “Sitaare Zameen Par,” which keeps the film and the characters relatively distant from the audience.
“Sitaare Zameen Par” sets Gulshan’s basketball skills and coaching ambitions against the tough task of training a group of individuals who show little regard for the championship they’re supposed to compete in. These are innocent, often childlike personalities in adult bodies, more interested in teasing their coach than taking the game seriously. As Gulshan navigates their quirks and whimsical resistance, the entire session becomes a form of anger management therapy for Gulshan himself.
“Sitaare Zameen Par” has a quiet charm, and even amid its familiar structure, one can still sense an underlying sweetness in the journey of the characters. But therein also lies the film’s central weakness. It occasionally makes the viewer directly aware of that innocence. Instead of telling a story that can do the social messaging in itself, the film tries to function more like an extended moral science lesson – the practical dos and don’ts in life. Don’t call a sex worker a ‘prostitute’. Don’t call someone with a mental condition ‘mad’. Give people a second chance. Embrace differing perspectives in life. Confront and overcome your fears. Name it and you have it.
Kesari Chapter 2
A few years ago, Karan Johar debuted his Dharmatic Entertainment banner with a Netflix film called Guilty. It remains memorable for two reasons; first, Kiara Advani is terrific in it, and second, it’s perhaps the only time that Bollywood has addressed the #MeToo movement head-on. Guilty, which made solid use of the Rashomon effect, ended with a rather on-the-nose title card about Bollywood having turned a blind eye to the accusations made against some of its most prominent figures. Years later, their alleged crimes are essentially forgotten. Many of the accused continue to work freely, while several of those that raised their voices were quietly outcast. Entirely by accident, Johar’s recent co-production, Kesari Chapter 2, turns out to be an accurate indictment of why, as a system, the industry failed its most vulnerable members.
Directed by the debutant Karan Singh Tyagi, Kesari 2 is a particularly problematic example of post-truth cinema. It doesn’t embellish, it fabricates; it doesn’t deviate, it distorts. Marketed as a fact-based drama set in the aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre — the film’s subtitle is ‘The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh’ — Kesari 2 invents a court case between the historical figure Sankaran Nair and the British Crown. In the movie, the British sympathiser Nair sues the Crown for genocide after experiencing an awakening. Nothing of the sort happened. In fact, he was the one who got sued. Imagine if Aamir Khan had tried to convince us that a group of Indian villagers actually beat British soldiers in a game of cricket; imagine if SS Rajamouli pretended like two major historical figures really had a dance-off. This is what Kesari 2 does.
Housefull 5
Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh and Abhishek Bachchan’s comedy film was released on the big screen on June 6. The film had a good opening with good earnings and good reviews. Housefull 5 crossed the Rs 100 crore mark in just four days. Its first week was good and it is expected to do well at the box office. The upcoming weekend is crucial for the film’s future earnings.
The story is about the murder of a rich man which takes place on a fancy cruise ship. When the police come to solve the case, everyone becomes a suspect. The film has two endings, called Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B. Housefull 5 stars Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Sonam Bajwa, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sanjay Dutt, Nargis Fakhri, Chitrangada Singh, Nana Patekar, Fardeen Khan and Dino Morea in lead roles. The film was directed by Tarun Mansukhani and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Firuzi Khan. The film runs for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
