“#Bajirao Mastani” co-stars #RanveerSingh and #DeepikaPadukone at the success party of “#Tamasha” in Mumbai, Dec. 1. (Press Trust of India)
“#Bajirao Mastani” co-stars #RanveerSingh and #DeepikaPadukone at the success party of “#Tamasha” in Mumbai, Dec. 1. (Press Trust of India)

It was a mixed bag for Bollywood in 2015 where content-driven films found space while superstars-led movies earned big bucks, with the year ending on a high note after the success of Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer “Dilwale” and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Bajirao Mastani.” (#Bollywood, #beinghuman, #BajiraoMastani, #Dilwale, #SRK, #beinghuman, #SalmanKhan, #BajrangiBhaijaan, #PremRatanDhanPayo, #SonamKapoor, #BigB, #DeepikaPadukone, #Piku, #Kajol, #AkshayKumar, #Baby, #Baahubali, #Drishyam, #AjayDevgn, #RanbirKapoor, #Tamasha, #KanganaRanaut, #TanuWedsManuReturns, #KattiBatti, #NH10, #Manjhi, #DumLagaKeHaisha, #Masaan, #Titli, #AngryIndianGoddesses, #Court, #NawazuddinSiddiqui, #IrrfanKhan, #KonkanaSenSharma, #Talvar, #Gabbar, #PyaarKaPunchnama2, #DollyKiDoli, #Shamitabh, #Dhanush, #JacquelineFernandez, #Roy, #ArjunRampal, #ShahidKapoor, #Shaandar, #ByomkeshBakshy, #Brothers, #SiddharthMalhotra, #ZoyaAkhtar, #DilDhadakaneDo, #VarunDhawan, #Badlapur, #ABCD2, #BombayVelvet, #KaranJohar, #DharmaProductions, #AliaBhatt, #AnushkaSharma, #SriramRaghavan, #DisneyIndia, #StarWarsTheForceAwakens.  #Siliconeer, @Siliconeer)

Stars were seen experimenting in the big budget format as Salman ditched his action-man image to play a simpleton in “Bajrangi Bhaijaan.” He had another hit in “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo,” which was big on nostalgia so was Shah Rukh’s box office outing “Dilwale,” whose promotions were centered around his iconic chemistry with Kajol.

Salman Khan host with Shah Rukh Khan during the promotion of his film ‘#Dilwale’ on the set of #Colors "#BiggBoss" TV Reality Show at Lonavala near Mumbai. (Press Trust of India)
Salman Khan host with Shah Rukh Khan during the promotion of his film ‘#Dilwale’ on the set of #Colors “#BiggBoss” TV Reality Show at Lonavala near Mumbai. (Press Trust of India)

The unusual father-daughter chemistry of Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone in “Piku” was loved by the audience, Akshay Kumar’s thriller “Baby,” based on covet operations and S.S. Rajamouli’s epic historical film “Baahubali” too received appreciation from people. Ajay Devgn-starrer “Drishyam” was also a major success.

The year, however, truly belonged to Deepika as she had three back-to-back hits with “Piku,” “Tamasha” and “Bajirao Mastani.” Kangana Ranaut’s dual performance in “Tanu Weds Manu Returns” raked in big moolah at the box office but her second outing “Katti Batti” failed to replicate the success of her earlier release.

Small budget movies like “NH10,” “Manjhi – The Mountain Man,” “Dum Laga Ke Haisha,” “Masaan,” “Titli” and “Angry Indian Goddesses” were lauded for their content.

Chaitanya Tamhane’s Marathi film “Court” was one of the most appreciated films of the year. It won the National Award for the best picture and was also announced as India’s official entry to the 88th Annual Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

“Masaan” won accolades at various film festivals, including awards at Cannes film festival. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui grabbed the attention of audience with his power-packed performance in “Manjhi – The Mountain Man.”

Irrfan Khan and Konkana Sen Sharma’s “Talvar,” based on the ‘Aarushi Murder Case,’ was among the most talked about movies of the year thanks to its real-to-reel adaptation.

“2015 has been a good year for us with films like ‘Gabbar,’ ‘Drishyam,’ ‘Manjhi – The Mountain Man,’ ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2’ doing good for us. It has been a remarkable year for us. We are very happy. We did film that would connect with audience … packaging alone doesn’t work the content has to be good,” Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures told PTI.

Sonam Kapoor’s “Dolly Ki Doli,” Amitabh and Dhanush-starrer “Shamitabh,” Jacqueline Fernandez and Arjun Rampal’s “Roy,” Ranbir Kapoor’s “Bombay Velvet,” Shahid Kapoor-Alia Bhatt’s “Shandaar,” “Byomkesh Bakshy!” and “Brothers” were among the movies that flopped at the box office. Zoya Akhtar’s “Dil Dhadakne Do” did average business at the box office despite the hype.

Varun Dhawan’s experimental turn in Sriram Raghavan’s “Badlapur” was appreciated so was Anushka’s performance in “NH 10.” Dhawan had two more hits with “ABCD 2” and “Dilwale.”

“2015 has been a great year for us at the Studio, both in terms of Hindi as well as our English movies slate. Our first Hindi release of 2015, Disney’s ‘ABCD 2’ was a blockbuster hit,” Amrita Pandey, VP and Head of Marketing and Distribution, Studios, Disney India, told PTI. The studio had another major hits “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”