After a lull of two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2022 proved to be a joyful year for the audience as well as the filmmakers. The top-notch producers led from the front and released one amazing project after the other. They not only ruled the roost with films but also diversified in web shows and music videos and even announced new projects for the upcoming year.
Here are some of the top producers that called the shots this year:
Karan Johar
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Come hail or sunshine, Karan Johar perfectly knows how to use both to his advantage. The Dharma Productions head-honcho had an extremely profitable year not only with films that were released in theatres but also OTT projects that were produced under his digital production arm Dharmatic. KJo started the year with a bang with Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday and Dhairya Karwa starrer Gehraiyaan that released on Prime Video.
He followed it up by lighting up the box office with Jugjugg Jeeyo that had an ensemble cast of Anil Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani, Prajakta Koli, Varun Sood and Maniesh Paul. The film was a family entertainer and worked extremely well by bringing in the big-Indian family back in theatres. He introduced southern sensation Vijay Deverakonda in Liger making him a pan-Indian star as well.
With Brahmastra Part One: Shiva, Karan did the unthinkable – created an astraverse on the likes of Marvel Cinematic Universe with director Ayan Mukerji. The film’s VFX was highly commendable that propelled it to become one of the highest grossers of the year. It again starred a magnificent cast that included Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Mouni Roy and Dimple Kapadia. The film is a trilogy and the subsequent two sequels will be released in the years to come.
Govinda Naam Mera starring Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar and Kiara Advani has also been released on OTT and made much noise.
Karan took the digital platform by storm with his chat show Koffee with Karan Season 7 as host making it one of the top-most series on OTT.
On the other hand, The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives starring Maheep Kapoor, Bhavana Pandey, Seema Sajdeh and Neelam Kothari proved to be another winner with its second season on Netflix. He also produced Madhur Dixit’s OTT debut The Fame Game which became one of the most viewed series on Netflix.
Bhushan Kumar
T-Series head-honcho Bhushan Kumar had his fingers in a lot of pies this year and all of them turned out to be succulent and delicious for him and his company. Not only films but he also produced music videos that became chart busters and trended. He produced Kartik Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 that also starred Tabu and Kiara Advani and became the first bonafide blockbuster of the year. The film established Kartik’s place in the industry as a force to be reckoned with. T-Series also produced Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2 that lit up the box office and broke several records.
Bhushan has been the sole producer or a co-producer in several films that released this year. Besides Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Drishyam 2 he also produced Jhund, Toolsidas Junior, Radhe Shyam, Jalsa, Hurdang, Anek, Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga, Hit: The First Case, Ek Villain Returns, Dhokha: Round D Corner, Vikram Vedha, Nazar Andaaz, Code Name: Tiranga, Thank God, Honeymoon, Tara vs Bilal, Double XL, Thai Massage, Mister Mummy, An Action Hero and Cirkus.
Aanand L Rai
Aanand L Rai released his films in theatres as well as OTT this year. He got a winner with black comedy Good Luck Jerry starring Janvhi Kapoor, Deepak Dobriyal, Mita Vashisht, Neeraj Sood, Jaswant Singh Dayal and Sushant Singh in pivotal roles. The film was directed by Sidharth Sengupta and released digitally.
Aanand also produced Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar’s Rasha Bandhan. The family drama was released in the theatres. Aanand followed it up with Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat’s An Action Hero which is doing great at the box office currently.
Ektaa Kapoor
The czarina of TV, Ekta Kapoor or Ektaa Kapoor had her hands full with films as well as web series. Ekta produced films like EK Villain Returns, Dobaaraa and Goodbye this year.
She ruled on OTT with Kangana Ranaut’s Lock Upp and also produced A Cold Mess.
Ekta also produced Kartik Aaryan and Alaya F’s Freddy that released on OTT and has been reaping accolades.
Dinesh Vijan
Dinesh Vijan had two releases this year, one on digital and the other in theaters and he emerged as a winner with both of them. He started the year with Abhishek Bachchan, Yami Gautam and Nimrat Kaur starrer Dasvi that released on OTT. Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon starrer Bhediya released in cinemas making the producer laugh all the way to the cash registers as the horror-comedy garnered acclaim as well as moolah.
Siddharth Roy Kapur
Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapoor Films produced SonyLIV’s Rocket Boys this year. Starring Jim Sarbh and Ishwak Singh in the lead the web series depicted the life and times of India’s pioneer scientists Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai. His film Chello Show aka Last Film Show is India’s official entry to the Academy Awards 2023 in the Best Foreign Language film category.
Nikkhil Advani
Nikkhil Advani produced Kaun Banegi Shikharwati this year for OTT and co-produced Rocket Boys with Siddharth Roy Kapur. Both the shows became hits with the audience and brought in good viewership numbers.
Alia Bhatt
Alia Bhatt is the reigning queen of 2022. She produced her maiden production in the form of dark comedy drama Darlings that released on Netflix. She starred as the main lead along with Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma and Rosshan Matthews.
Kumar Mangat Pathak
Kumar Mangat Pathak had a winner on his hands with Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran and Akshaye Khanna starrer Drishyam 2. The film is going great guns on the box office and has already garnered Rs 200 crore. The murder mystery directed by Mangat’s son Abhishek Pathak has become one of the top grosser of the year.
Hombale Films and Excel Entertainment
Hombale Productions and Excel Entertainment got the cash registers ringing in the early part of the year with Yash’s KGF: Chapter 2 which became a pan-India hit as well as Rishab Shetty’s Kantara. Hombale Films is founded by Vijay Kiragandur and he joined hands with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment to produce KGF: Chapter 2.
Vipul Amrutlal Shah (Human)
Vipul Amrutlal Shah produced the medical drama Human for OTT this year. The series featured Shefali Shah and Kirti Kulhari in the lead and was one of the top-most shows this year.
