‘Darlings’ to ‘Janhit Mein Jaari’ to ‘Doctor G’ to ‘Badhaai Do’ to ‘Jayeshbhai Jordaar’, this year has been a year filled with movies that have not just tried to bring forth awkward conversations but also tried to break set societal norms.
Films might have conventionally been made for entertainment, but over the years cinema has fast become a medium that reflects societal change, its progress and its flaws and holds a mirror to our reality. Audiences are now craving stories that make a difference and give you food for thought and reason to introspect.
Here’s a roundup of films from 2022 that stood out for their quality content and the significant social impact they leave on their audiences:
In the film Darlings, Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, and Vijay Varma play three characters whose lives take a dramatic change when they encounter domestic abuse, the film's main antagonist. It is a social commentary-based film that will make you reflect on the community and its conditions. It deals with a subject that is kept quiet and discussed only behind closed doors. The use of dark humour brings out the critically important nuances related to the subjects in this Netflix-released social drama.
A story about a lavender marriage that continues to remain a sad reality in India, Junglee Pictures’ ‘Badhaai Do’ resonated with the audience who related to the plight of its protagonists. The film depicted the life and struggles of Shardul Thakur, a gay police officer (Rajkummar Rao) and Suman Singh, a lesbian physical education teacher (Bhumi Pednekar), who tie the knot to hide their true selves from their families. The film was praised for normalising and humanising its LGBTQ+ characters. The manner in which they come out to their families and the change in the family dynamics was inspiring and heart-warming.
The film ‘Janhit Mein Jaari’ is uplifted by Nushratt and Vijay Raaz's outstanding acting. This film is a pure comedy-drama with an inspirational social message. The movie addresses the taboo around condoms in society and misconceptions about them. Everything in the movie is amusing, from the humour to the Bundelkhandi language and its beauty to the landscape images. The film offers education, empowerment, and entertainment.
The story of a man navigating his way in a woman’s world, ‘Doctor G’ produced by Junglee Pictures touched upon gender norms, equality and pro-choice. The medical campus drama-comedy broke stereotypes and highlighted an important conversation in the most light-hearted manner as Ayushmann Khurrana’s character, a male chauvinist, unwillingly takes up gynaecology and soon finds himself amid chaos, confusion and eventually great camaraderie with his fellow female classmates. What made this coming-of-age story so unique was how sensitively it brings up minor rape and abortion as an issue while not losing its larger narrative of liberal men unaware of their gender blindness.
YRF’s ‘Jayeshbhai Jordaar’ is a social comedy-drama based on female foeticide and patriarchy. They have dealt with the sensitive topic in a very commendable manner and added humourous punches at the perfect moments. Apart from Ranveer Singh, the film also stars Shalini Pandey, Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak Shah, and Deeksha Joshi.
The audiences have loved these introspective stories and 2022 has clearly been the year of social impact in Bollywood.