No, it wasn’t a great year for the Hindi film industry; it has undoubtedly seen better. Unlike 2013, which gave us gems like Kai Po Che!, The Lunchbox, Shahid, Lootera and Ram Leela, this year there was only so much to look back at and marvel. After starting on an optimistic note — young guns making their presence felt and setting the box office coffers ringing — the Bollywood juggernaut took a disappointing turn in 2014’s second half, shocking cinegoers, trade analysts and the industry itself. But of the 200-odd releases, there was a smattering of brilliant films that salvaged the BO’s annual report card. hitlist picks some of the best and worst films of this year...

Highway

One of the finest road movies to come out of Bollywood, Imtiaz Ali sensitively takes us through the story of a sexually-abused child girl belonging to the ‘high society’ teaming up with a man of the street, a ‘criminal’ truck driver. Even while telling us the heart rending story of a girl seeking escape from her own family, Ali attempts to break the stereotypical image that we have of the people belonging to certain sections of the society.