With 2022 drawing to an end, it’s time to look at the real winner of the year from Bollywood. The year started with the surge of a third wave of Covid coming to an end mid February and netizens showing hesitance towards going back to theatres, which also were only open at a 50 per cent occupancy rate. Hence, only a few filmmakers took the bold step of releasing their films on the big screens.
And the first to take the leap with his highly-awaited film, was Sanjay Leela Banshali, who released Gangubai Kathiawadi on February 25, 2022, delivering a bonafide success from its very opening day.
Bhansali has time and again given some of India’s most iconic films in keeping with his inherent traditional style of Asian filmmaking bringing authenticity and grandeur to the screens. While anti-Bollywood sentiments were surfacing in the audience since Covid, the Alia Bhatt starrer won loudly against all odds and hence, its success is larger than ever and needs to be evaluated considering everything that was going against it.
And as this cinematically rollercoaster of a year comes to an end, we should appreciate the one film that truly was the Most Loved of the Year. It not only did great numbers despite difficulties but was also highly acclaimed by the critics and appreciated in every way.
Alia’s mettle as an actor in this film, took away any doubts that people may have had about the casting when judging the book by the cover and of course, that matched Bhansali’s filmmaking genius, Gangubai Kathiawadi became the first and the real winner of 2022 in Bollywood.