Chhaya Kadam has emerged as a powerhouse performer, featuring in films such as Laapataa Ladies, All We Imagine as Light, and Madgaon Express.
Fahadh Faasil started the year with his performance in Aavesham and received praise for the Malayalam film Bougainvillea and the Telugu hit Pushpa 2.
Kareena Kapoor Khan ruled with box office successes such as Crew and Singham Again. She also turned producer with The Buckingham Murders.
Kani Kusruti was the face of Payal Kapadia’s acclaimed film All We Imagine as Light. She also made her mark in Abhishek Chaubey’s show Killer Soup.
Karthi starred in one of the most heart-warming Indian films in 2024–Meiyazhagan. Karthi’s earnest performance shouldered the emotional drama.
Kriti Sanon starred in two hit movies–Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Crew. She also produced with the Netflix release Do Patti.
Kartik Aaryan did a biopic of India’s first paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar–Chandu Champion. He tasted big success with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.
Mammootty led Malayalam cinema’s ‘horror cinema peaked here’ moment with his exceptional performance in Rahul Sadasivan’s Bramayugam.
Parvathy had great performances in Malayalam and Tamil films, including Ullozhukku and Thangalaan. She is also part of the Women in Cinema Collective.
Rajkummar Rao’s Stree 2 became one of the year’s biggest blockbusters, having earned ₹874.58 crore worldwide. He was also appreciated for the movie Srikanth.
Sai Pallavi had a relatively smaller role in the hit film Amaran than co-star Sivakarthikeyan, but she made her mark with her limited screen time.
Triptii Dimri had an impressive 2024 with three films—Bad Newz, Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video and the blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.
Vicky Kaushal nailed the part as India’s first Field Marshall in Sam Bahadur. He starred in Bad Newz and will be seen in the highly anticipated Chhava
Urvashi gave one of the most nuanced and layered performances as a grieving, warm-hearted mother in Malayalam cinema in Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukku.
Vijay Sethupathi started 2024 with Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas, followed by an acclaimed performance in Nithilan Swaminathan’s Maharaja.
Amar Kaushik made headlines this year for his directorial film Stree 2, becoming 2024’s biggest hit, making more than ₹870 crore internationally.
Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies was India’s official entry for the 2025 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
Chidambaram S Poduval wrote and directed Manjummel Boys, one of the highest-grossing Malayalam language films of all time, making close to ₹250 crore.
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.
Payal Kapadia won Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for All We Imagine as Light. It won at the Gotham Awards and was nominated for Golden Globes.