Sanju, Padmaavat, Badhaai Ho, the 7 best movie trailers of 2018

In 2018, content was really the king in Bollywood films. We watched some amazing movie trailers that took us from our mobile screens to the movie theatres. The year had some big-ticket movies releasing, and there was also a significant rise in the ‘modest-on-budget-but-brave-on-concept’ films. But no matter how great a film you have made, a poorly cut trailer can tank the film at the Box Office.

2018’s trailers ranged from drama, thriller, comedy, romance to horror. While Sanju’s trailer focused on the personal struggle of Sanjay Dutt, Stree’s horror-comedy trailer showed societal trouble. In a way, 2018 was a year of personal films. Raazi’s trailer showed the patriotic tension as well as the personal conflict of Alia Bhatt’s character Sehmat; whereas the October trailer took everyone by surprise to see a mellowed down Varun Dhawan dealing with an inner conflict. While the Padmaavat trailer was all about grandeur and beauty, a beautiful small town romantic comedy about a middle-aged pregnant couple unfolded in Badhaai Ho. We list down our favorite trailers of the movies released in 2018 (in no particular order). The list is based purely on the trailers. The film’s Box Office success or critical acclaim were not considerations whilst making this list.

SANJU

What we liked about this trailer was the way actor Ranbir Kapoor transformed himself into Sanjay Dutt’s character on screen. The mastery that filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani has in manipulating human emotions (that’s what storytellers aim to achieve in their careers), taking the audience on a roller-coaster ride of laughter and tears, sets the tone of the film in this trailer. Leaving aside all the controversies and criticism on Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 Mumbai Blasts case, this trailer as a standalone piece of creative work was lovable.

PADMAAVAT

Each and every frame of this magnum opus’ 3-minute long trailer is a gem; you’re humbled by the grandeur and you marvel at the detailing (even though the detailing or the lack of it in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films creates controversies). What we liked about this trailer is the visual spectacle that it is. In spite of the controversies and bans that this trailer invited, the film eventually managed to garner critics’ and audience’s love and acceptance.

ANDHADHUN / RAAZI

It was a good year for the thriller lovers. Two thrilling trailers took social media by storm. While Alia Bhatt intrigued us as a spy in the Raazi trailer, the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Andhadhun trailer left us wanting to know more about the movie’s plot. Both trailers had their background score – a critical element in thrillers – composed to perfection. We enjoyed the thrilling rides.

BADHAAI HO

This was arguably the best movie trailer of 2018. Ayushmann Khurrana wowed us yet again as a small-town guy dealing with ‘delicate’ romantic problems. Nina Gupta and Gajrao Rao played a cute, romantic, awkward and pregnant couple, delivering laughs and emotions. The ‘unique’ situation, quirky dialogue, relatable Delhi milieu and weird characters made it a fun 3-minute trailer.

OCTOBER

Nothing over-the-top, nothing melodramatic; that’s a rare case in a film starring Varun Dhawan. Although, not really giving out a lot about the story, the trailer was visually and emotionally captivating. In spite of having a backdrop of an accident and a hospital, the trailer came as a breath of a fresh air (just like the white flower in the film) amidst the usual masala potboilers that Varun has starred in most of his career.

STREE

A ‘phenomenal’ trailer. Filmmakers Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK have always made peculiar films and experimented with genres. This time, they co-wrote and co-produced a horror-comedy (the film turned out to be a clever commentary on the position and treatment of women in our society). We liked this speedy trailer for its one-liners, chemistry between the actors, and for the sheer uniqueness of narrative and mix of genres.

Other notable mentions

Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Mukkabaaz’, Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer ‘Manto’, Sohum Shah starrer ‘Tumbbad’, SRK’s ‘Zero’, Rohit Shetty’s ‘Simmba’,  Sara Ali Khan’s debut ‘Kedarnath, and director Vinod Kapri’s ‘Pihu’.

What were your favorite trailers of 2018? Do let us know in the comments section below.