Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt and others: The biggest stars of 2022, who sent cash registers ringing at the BO

The last two years have been slow and drab for Bollywood. The industry, marred by the Covid pandemic struggled to first release a movie in the theatre, followed by dealing with the audiences scepticism in actually visiting one. After a long wait, the drought finally came to an end and amidst all the negativity, some recent movies made their presence felt and raked in the moolah. And one of the biggest contributors to their success were the stars that made the movie popular. Here were some of the biggest stars of the year (almost) gone by...

How far would you go to protect your loved ones? For Goa based cable TV agency (and later theatre) owner Vijay Salgaonkar played by the brilliant Ajay, this question decides his whole fate, when an accidental murder threatens to disrupt his quiet family life. How he meticulously plans a cover up forms the crux of this sequel. Co-starring Tabu, the second outing of the movie saw Akshaye Khanna join the cast and was directed by Abhishek Pathak. The edge of the seat thriller is still drawing the crowds at the theatres.

One of the few films that landed on its feet in the sequel too, this one was lapped up by the audience for being funny and scary at the same time. Starring Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu, this was the story of Ruhan who agrees to escort Reet back home to her ancestral house. Once there, he pretends to be a ghostbuster in front of her family since they all believe that Reet is dead. Meanwhile, the spirit of Manjulika is back to haunt one and all. Directed by Anees Bazmee, this one was lauded for Kartik's comic timing.

PS: Kartik's OTT release Freddy too garnered rave reviews and the actor was praised for his performance.

From personal to professional, Alia was on a golden run this year. She started off the year with Gangubai Kathiawadi where her eponymous portrayal of Gangubai won her rave reviews. She then starred in Ayan Mukerji's magnum opus Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, that turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the year. Her OTT movie Darlings too did brisk businesss, and Alia was appreciated for the range of characters that she portrayed on screen.

Alia's better half, actor Ranbir Kapoor wasn't far behind too, as he starred in the author backed role of Shiva in Ayan Mukherji's parallel sci-fi universe movie Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva. Hugely applauded for its VFX and the visually stunning astraverse that Ayan created, the movie finally ended Bollywood's dry run and sent cash registers ringing at the BO.

The controversial flick, The Kashmir Files had veteran actor Anupam Kher leading from the front. Claiming to factually portray one of the biggest genocides in the world, the movie is about a college student Krishna, who while trying to uncover the reason behind his parents' killing in Kashmir, discovers a web of blood, deceit and political mud slinging as the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits becomes one of the most brutal and heartbreaking chapters of Indian history. Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the movie co-starred Pallavi Joshi and Darshan Kumar amongst others.