Recent Bollywood Movies 2014

Lead actors Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif permanently looked like they had just stepped out of a salon in the Bollywood remake of Knight and Day. Critics may have scoffed at the film's wafer-thin plot centred around rootop chases, exotic locales and a diamond stolen from the Tower of London, but that didn't stop it pulling in the rupees when it released in October.

One of the few Indian actresses who can open a movie with her name at the top of the poster, Vidya Balan headlines in this small story with a big heart. Set in the back lanes of Old Hyderabad, we see Balan progress from amateur sleuth to big league private investigator, donning a range of disguises over 121 minutes.

After jumping on (and falling off) the action hero bandwagon with 2013's Phata Poster Nikhla Hero and R... Rajkumar, we were happy to see the hot - but appalling Twitter speller - Kapoor return to form in this Bollywood adaptation of Hamlet. Kudos to Kapoor for sinking his acting chops into Shakespeare and getting his career right back on track.

After debuting with the campus candy floss of Karan Johar's Student of the Year, Bhatt opted for a surprise sophomore by signing up to play a Stockholm syndrome kidnap victim for Imtiaz Ali with this hit road movie.

5. Gunday

Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh spend most of the movie shirtless - or with shirts about to fall off - in this period bromance. When not playing with their guns, they argue over who gets the girl (Priyanka Chopra) in Yash Raj Films' stylised homosocial landscape of 1970s Kolkata.

Deepika Padukone and Arjun Kapoor are bookended by veteran actors Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapoor in this character-driven tale of lost romance. Filmed in secret sleepy corners of Goa rarely seen by tourists, what starts as a tale of dysfunctional love transcends into something a lot darker.