From Payal Kapadia to Vicky Kaushal: 2024-25 Showstoppers, filmmakers and film edition

Kani Kusruti

Image: Getty Images

The actor was the face of Payal Kapadia’s critically acclaimed film All We Imagine as Light. From a nuanced performance in the film to carrying a watermelon clutch in solidarity with the war in Gaza during the film’s premier at the Cannes Film Festival (where it won the Grand Prix), Kusruti has been in the news for both her craft and her political awareness. She also managed to make her mark in a star-studded ensemble cast in Abhishek Chaubey’s show Killer Soup.

Also read: Showstoppers 2024-25: Forbes India's top 75 picks in cinema, OTT, music and sports

Karthi

Image: Sujit Jaiswal / AFP

The actor starred in one of the most heart-warming Indian films in 2024, with the titular role opposite actor Aravind Swamy in Meiyazhagan by C Prem Kumar, who had previously directed the gorgeous Tamil film 96. Karthi’s earnest performance shouldered the emotional drama, which relied on the bromance of its lead actors.

Kriti Sanon

Image: Mexy Xavier

The 34-year-old had a fruitful innings at the box office: She starred in two hit movies, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Crew. The actor also turned producer with the Netflix release Do Patti in which she had a double role.

Kartik Aaryan

Image: Mexy Xavier

The actor played India’s first paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar in Chandu Champion. Though the film did not perform as well as expected, the 34 year old won laurels for pushing the envelope as an artiste. He tasted big success with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which was among the highest grossers of the year with a worldwide collection of over ₹420 crore.

Mammootty

The veteran actor led Malayalam cinema’s ‘horror cinema peaked here’ moment, as a review called it, with his exceptional performance in Rahul Sadasivan’s Bramayugam. The film, which secured the second spot in Letterboxd’s top 25 horror films of 2024, added to the 73-year-old actor’s continued efforts to pick challenging, offbeat roles.

Parvathy

Image: Sivaram V for Forbes India

The actor had powerful performances in Malayalam and Tamil films this year. She stood her ground opposite co-star Urvashi’s powerful performance in Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukku, which she followed up with a strong performance opposite actor Chiyaan Vikram in Thangalaan. The actor is also known for using her voice for causes, including being part of the Women in Cinema Collective that has been responsible for helming crucial conversations in the Malayalam film industry.

Also read: Money is just a byproduct of what I do: Rajkummar Rao

Rajkummar Rao

Image: Mexy Xavier

The 40-year-old starred in four releases in 2024, one of which was Stree 2, the biggest blockbuster of the year, having earned ₹874.58 crore worldwide. The actor was particularly appreciated for playing a blind entrepreneur in Srikanth, a biopic on the founder of Bollant Industries, who is a Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 alumnus.

Sai Pallavi

While she had a relatively smaller role in the hit film Amaran compared to co-star Sivakarthikeyan, Sai Pallavi managed to make her mark with her limited screen time. The actor continues to work across languages and has a healthy pipeline of films, including a Hindi film debut with Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana opposite actor Ranbir Kapoor, and Telugu film Thandel opposite Naga Chaitanya.

Also read: Triptii Dimri: Bollywood's breakthrough star of 2024

Tripti Dimri

Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India

She had an impressive 2024 following the recognition and fame she got for Animal in 2023. The actor starred in three films—Bad Newz, Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video and the blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Named as IMDb’s most popular Indian star of 2024, the 30-year-old has been on a signing spree.

Vicky Kaushal

Image: Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Known for his impeccable on-screen performances, the actor nailed the part as India’s first Field Marshall in Sam Bahadur, which released in December 2023. The 36 year old also starred in Bad Newz in 2024. He will next be seen in the highly anticipated Chhava in February.

Urvashi

The senior artiste gave one of the most nuanced and layered performances as a grieving, warm-hearted mother in Malayalam cinema in the Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukku. She makes it to the List for her consistent strong performances as one of the most accomplished character artistes in India today.

Vijay Sethupathi

Image: Selvaprakash Lakshmanan for Forbes India

The actor started the year with a restrained yet memorable performance in Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas. He followed it up with a critically and commercially acclaimed performance in Nithilan Swaminathan’s Maharaja. The Tamil film, which was Sethupathi’s 40th, was also criticised for its problematic portrayal of child sexual abuse. The actor also took over from Kamal Haasan as the host of Bigg Boss Tamil.

Filmmakers

Amar Kaushik

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Amar Kaushik made headlines this year for his directorial film Stree 2 becoming this year’s biggest hit, and one of the highest grossing Hindi films of all time, making more than ₹870 crore internationally. This year, he also produced Munjya, which was also well received and entered the ₹100 crore club.

Kiran Rao

Image: Anurag Kabbur for Imdb/Getty Images

Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies was India’s official entry for the 2025 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. The film didn’t do very well at the box office, but was highly acclaimed critically, with much praise going to Rao who has directed the film. Laapata Ladies was screened at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival in September last year before releasing in India in March 2024.

Also read: 'I'm a completely different person from when I made Kuch Kuch Hota Hai': Karan Johar

Chidambaram S Poduval

Chidambaram S Poduval wrote and directed one of the most loved thrillers this year, Manjummel Boys. The film became one of the highest grossing Malayalam language films of all time, making close to ₹250 crore. Poduval’s film also received the Best Music award at the KinoBravo International Film Festival in Russia. 

Paresh Mokashi

Image: Bhijit Bhatlekar/Mint Via Getty Images

Paresh Mokashi’s Marathi film Nach Ga Ghuma was one of the best Marathi language films from this year, and made a collection of close to ₹30 crore post its release in May 2024. The film was rated 7.3 on IMDb. The writer-director is set for his next directorial film Mukkam Post Bombilwadi which is set to release in January 2025.

Payal Kapadia

Image: Gilbert Flores/Variety Via Getty Images

Payal Kapadia did the nation proud this year by winning the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival for her film All We Imagine as Light, her directorial debut. She also scripted history by becoming the first Indian director to be nominated for Best Director—Motion Picture for the same film at the 82nd Golden Globes. Recently, Kapadia’s film was also recognised by the New York Film Critics Circle as the Best International Film and secured awards at the Gotham Awards.

Methodology 

Forbes India Showstoppers, in its third year, is a list of 75 achievers who have outperformed in their respective fields—cinema (theatrical release), OTT, music and sports. The timeline considered is December 1, 2023, to December 1, 2024. Three months ago, a team of journalists and senior editors at Forbes India started putting together a long list of close to 150 names of actors, filmmakers, musicians, singers and sportspersons, through primary and secondary research. They arrived at the final list of 75 in the first week of December after internal deliberations. Since 2024 saw a multitude of younger professionals and artistes making their mark across these categories, especially in cinema and OTT, the List this year gives preference to younger stars over senior, more established celebrities.

For cinema, the factors under consideration were quality of work, appreciation (critical acclaim and popularity), level of challenge and diversity in roles, pipeline of projects, and box office success. In OTT, apart from the challenge and diversity of roles, we also considered popularity and recall value of their respective roles and shows. For sports, the metric was achievements this year, while for music, it was popularity across mainstream genres during the year.

Category coordinators: Divya Shekhar and Kunal Purandare

Text by divya shekhar, kunal purandare and samidha jain