5 must-see Indian movies of 2025

Some years overload you with movies. Trailers everywhere. Noise everywhere. 2025 doesn’t feel like that. It feels thoughtful.

When you look at the upcoming Indian movies, what stands out is how different they all are. One takes you into myth. One drags you back to the soil. One makes you laugh about people who just love movies. One feels tense and dangerous. One feels quiet and a little heavy on the heart.

These are the films you circle in your mind and think, 'I want to watch this properly in a theater.' So let’s talk about them.

The 2025 Indian films that will stay in your mind long after the credits

5) Lokah: Chapter 1

Lokah: Chapter 1 doesn’t rush you. And that’s a good thing. It opens the door to a new mythological world inspired by Indian beliefs, but without using familiar gods or stories as shortcuts. You’re not handed answers right away. You’re asked to observe. To feel the tension. To wonder what’s really happening.

There’s something slightly unsettling about that. Something exciting too. Among Indian movies in 2025, Lokah feels like the kind of film that slowly pulls you in and then refuses to let go.

Will everyone love it? Probably not.

But will it stay in people’s heads? That seems very likely.

4) Kantara: Chapter 1

Kantara: Chapter 1 goes back far back to where belief first took shape. This film looks at how traditions begin, how fear and faith mix, and how land becomes more than just land. Nature isn’t a background here. It’s watching. It’s listening. It matters.

There’s silence in this story. But when the jungle roars, empires shake. The film has remarkably achieved the scale that it was aiming for, which no other film in the fantasy genre was able to. Kantara: Chapter 1 is a folk tale brought to life by the genius of Rishabh Shetty.

3) Superboys of Malegaon

This one might make you smile without warning. Superboys of Malegaon is about friends who make movies simply because they love doing it. No big budgets. No big plans. Just excitement, jugaad, and the joy of creating something together.

It’s warm and fun, but when it gets emotional, you'll be swept off your feet and fly into the sky with one of its characters. This film has the best overall ending among all the films that graced the silver screen.

And, in case you forgot: "writer baap hota hai."

2) Dhurandhar

Dhurandhar feels tense from the start. This is a story about secret heroes who keep us safe, while being in constant threat of brutal demise. The film is so well-made that it makes you forget that you are watching Mission: Impossible by engaging you in a foreign gang war and politics.

However, when it brings you back to the mission, all you hear are bullets and screams, and all you see is a red screen. What makes Dhurandhar stand out among Indian movies is its mood, which is surprisingly constant throughout the runtime, unlike the other movies in the same genre.

1) Homebound

Homebound doesn’t try to impress you. It tells a story about migrants, memory, and the idea of home not as a place, but as a feeling. But before all that, it gives you a non-agenda display of discrimination and how it shapes one's destiny. The emotions here are quiet. The moments are small. And somehow, that makes them heavier.

There’s no rush. No noise. Just people carrying things they don’t know how to say out loud. Among Indian movies releasing in 2025, this feels like the one that might follow you home. You may not talk about it immediately. But you’ll think about it later. And that’s worse and better.

Why these Indian movies are worth every ticket

These Indian movies don’t feel like they were designed to “win the weekend” or trend for three days online. They feel like films made because someone needed to tell these stories.

One pulls you into a world you don’t fully understand and dares you to stay.

One reminds you that belief can be beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

One makes you laugh about people who love cinema the way some people love oxygen.

One tightens its grip around power and refuses to loosen it.

And one sits quietly beside you, long after the screen goes dark.

That’s a rare mix.

And honestly, isn’t that why we still go to theatres? Not just to be entertained but to feel something real. To sit in the dark with strangers and walk out a little changed.

So tell me which of these Indian movies you are already planning to watch on the biggest screen you can find? That’s the kind of year cinema should have.

Follow The ScreenLight for more movie magic.