Saiyaara will always be special to the romantics and Bollywood Buffs

Apart from Saiyaara and Sitaare Zameen Pe, most of the other so-called “successes” this year felt like a mixed bag of safe bets and thinly veiled propaganda. A couple of historicals cashed in more on chest-thumping than on craft, the big action spectacles relied on scale rather than soul, and the franchise comedies ran purely on nostalgia and noise. Yes, they made money — but not because they pushed the industry forward. They worked because audiences had nothing better to choose from. In a year crowded with formula, agenda-driven storytelling, and factory-made blockbusters, Saiyaara and Sitaare Zameen Pe stood out simply because they dared to be sincere.

Same old story