It’s June and we are halfway into the year and that brings a lot of movies to the table. Among the plethora of films that have been released in the first half of the year, here are the top 10 highest-grossing Hindi films of 2023.
1. Pathaan
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹1050 crore
2. The Kerala Story
Cast: Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, Siddhi Idnani
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹303.68 crore
3. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹220.1 crore
4. Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan
Cast: Salman Khan, Pooja Hegde, Raghav Juyal, Shehnaaz Gill
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹182.44 crore
5. Bholaa
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹111.64 crore
6. Zara Hatke Zara Bachke
Cast: Sara Ali Khan, Vicky Kaushal
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹91.68 crore
7. Adipurush
Cast: Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Saif Ali Khan, Vatsal Sheth
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹58.68 crore
8. Shehzada
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Manisha Koirala
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹47.43 crore
9. Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway
Cast: Rani Mukerji, Jim Sarbh, Neena Gupta, Anirban Bhattacharya
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹36.53 crore
10. IB71
Cast: Vidyut Jamwal, Vishal Jethwa, Anupam Kher
Worldwide Gross Collection: ₹29.01 crore
If you look carefully, you will find that there is one thread that binds most of the films on this list. And that is lousy writing, bad writing, or just plain bad films.
For starters, take a look at this dialogue.
“Jab shareer, dil, aur dimaag mujhse kehta hai bas bhai no more, toh main kehta hoon, bring it on.”
This is a dialogue from a film that grossed ₹182.44 crore worldwide. And we are not kidding. The film we are talking about is Salman Khan‘s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. And, it is the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2023.
Adipurush is also on this list and it is a fact that the less we talk about its dialogues, the better.
And not just the dialogue, some of these movies have terrible plots too. Let’s take a look at Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar. The film harps on the same misogynistic trope Luv Ranjan always churns out and we have seen versions of it time and again by the same director and by others as well. And that film made ₹220.1 crores worldwide, which frankly speaking is a huge sum.
Keeping aside the fact that Shah Rukh Khan is an absolute charmer, we also cannot deny that Pathaan had an extremely predictable storyline. Had it not been for its cast and the production, the movie would have been a dud at the box office.
Take a look at just the top five highest-grossing Hindi films of this year and you will see none of these movies are exceptional. You can’t blame Bollywood for making terrible films when we, as audiences, flock to the theatres like droning bees to watch these films. Bollywood has produced better films. Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway had a well-written plot but look where it stands on the list.
As audiences, we are consuming content which feels like lazy writing and have ignored films with stronger plots because masala chahiye. Sometimes you hate-watch films and add to their gross collections.
But when you ignore well-written films like Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway or any other film for that matter because usmein mazza nahi hai, we cannot blame the industry entirely for not churning out better content.
We make a conscious decision to watch a lousy film. And when makers see those are doing well, of course, they will mass produce more of such lousy films. The onus does not fall on the makers alone. As audiences, we have to take responsibility and do better, as well.