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Indian Films at its best..

by rinky-sen • Created 10 years ago • Modified 10 years ago
This is not Bollywood - that apes the Hollywood. This is a list of all those films that were made to show the world that India does not lack talent as it might seem. Art for arts sake - they hardly make them anymore.
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  • 94 titles
  • Rekha, Shashi Kapoor, and Raj Babbar in Kalyug (1981)

    1. Kalyug

    19812h 32m
    7.8 (621)
    This movie tells story of fierce and total competition of two related business families in the days of license raaj India. The overall plot is based on Mahabharat. This movie shows that how the pursuit of self serving ideals even legitimizes killing of family members.
    DirectorShyam BenegalStarsShashi KapoorRekhaRaj Babbar
  • Saaransh (1984)

    2. Saaransh

    19842h 17mNot Rated
    8.1 (2.1K)
    An old couple lend a room on rent after recent death of the bread earner of the family, their only son. A budding actress starts living with them, who is in love with a local politician's only son. The movie shows what later ensues.
    DirectorMahesh BhattStarsAnupam KherRohini HattangadiSoni Razdan
  • The World of Apu (1959)

    3. The World of Apu

    19591h 45mNot Rated
    8.4 (18K)
    This final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.
    DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeSharmila TagoreAlok Chakravarty
  • Uttam Kumar and Madhavi Mukherjee in Agnishwar (1975)

    4. Agnishwar

    19751h 2m
    8.6 (154)
    A patriotic doctor lends moral backbone to the broken society of Bengal.
    DirectorArabinda MukhopadhyayStarsUttam KumarMadhavi MukherjeeAsitbaran
  • Shafiq Syed in Salaam Bombay! (1988)

    5. Salaam Bombay!

    19881h 53mNot Rated78Metascore
    7.9 (11K)
    Young Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.
    DirectorMira NairStarsShafiq SyedAnjaanAmrit Patel
  • Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Shafi Inamdar, Smita Patil, Amrish Puri, and Om Puri in Ardh Satya (1983)

    6. Ardh Satya

    19832h 10m
    8.1 (2.3K)
    A newly appointed police rookie deals with corruption, romance, and brutality.
    DirectorGovind NihalaniStarsOm PuriSmita PatilAmrish Puri
  • Shabana Azmi in Ankur (1974)

    7. Ankur

    19742h 11m
    7.8 (1.8K)
    Belonging to a lower caste, Lakshmi and her deaf-mute husband Kishtayya serve the landlord's son, Surya. When Surya's young wife finds out about his affair with Lakshmi, they all find themselves at crossroads.
    DirectorShyam BenegalStarsShabana AzmiSadhu MeherAnant Nag
  • Smita Patil in Mirch Masala (1986)

    8. Mirch Masala

    19862h 8mNot Rated
    7.7 (1.6K)
    In colonial India, subedars (tax collectors) went from village to village with soldiers, often demanding more than taxes. A subedar commands Sonbai, a beautiful and confident woman whose husband is away in the city, to sleep with him. She slaps him and flees for safety to a spice factory where women grind chillies into fine powder. The aged factory guard, Abu Mian, locks the door behind her, refusing to open it to the soldiers, to the cowardly village men led by the mayor, and to the subedar himself. The town's teacher, who follows Gandhi, and a few women, led by the mayor's wife, protest ineffectually against this village-approved rape. The stage is set for a final confrontation.
    DirectorKetan MehtaStarsSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahOm Puri
  • The Cloud-Capped Star (1960)

    9. The Cloud-Capped Star

    19602h 6mNot Rated
    7.8 (3.5K)
    A selfless young woman (Supriya Choudhury) sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
    DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsSupriya ChoudhuryAnil ChatterjeeGyanesh Mukherjee
  • Three Daughters (1961)

    10. Three Daughters

    19611h 54mPassed
    7.9 (1.8K)
    Based on popular Indian stories of the great writer Rabindranath Tagore, these short films reveal definitive moments in the lives of three young girls.
    DirectorSatyajit RayStarsAnil ChatterjeeChandana BanerjeeAparna Sen
  • Chiranjit, Roopa Ganguly, and Kirron Kher in Bariwali (2000)

    11. Bariwali

    20002h 30m
    7.7 (494)
    A lonely middle-aged woman is forced by circumstance to let out her house to a film crew. She is attracted to the charming director and he exploits this fact to suit his purposes.
    DirectorRituparno GhoshStarsKirron KherChiranjitSudipta Chakraborty
  • Thirst (1957)

    12. Thirst

    19572h 26mNot Rated
    8.3 (7.8K)
    Vijay, a talented but indigent poet, struggles for love and recognition in this selfish world.
    DirectorGuru DuttStarsGuru DuttWaheeda RehmanMala Sinha
  • The Lonely Wife (1964)

    13. The Lonely Wife

    19641h 57mNot Rated
    8.1 (7.7K)
    The lonely wife of a newspaper editor falls in love with her visiting cousin-in-law, who shares her love for literature.
    DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeShailen Mukherjee
  • Ship of Theseus (2012)

    14. Ship of Theseus

    20122h 20mNot Rated
    8.0 (8.1K)
    The film explores questions of identity, justice, beauty, meaning and death through an experimental photographer, an ailing monk and a young stockbroker.
    DirectorAnand GandhiStarsAydah El-KashefYogesh ShahFaraz Khan
  • Gulaal (2009)

    15. Gulaal

    20092h 20m
    8.0 (17K)
    A law student witnesses deception, homicide, and crime after being elected as General Secretary of his college.
    DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsKay Kay MenonRaj Singh ChaudharyRaja Chaudhary
  • Smaran Ghosal in The Unvanquished (1956)

    16. The Unvanquished

    19561h 50mNot Rated
    8.2 (17K)
    Following his father's death, a boy leaves home to study in Calcutta, while his mother must face a life alone.
    DirectorSatyajit RayStarsPinaki SenguptaSmaran GhosalKamala Adhikari
  • The Stranger (1991)

    17. The Stranger

    19911h 37mNot Rated
    8.0 (4.6K)
    A well-off family is paid an unexpected, and rather unwanted, visit by a man claiming to be the woman's long-lost uncle. The initial suspicion with which they greet the man slowly dissolves as he regales them with stories of his travels.
    DirectorSatyajit RayStarsUtpal DuttDipankar DeyMamata Shankar
  • The Goddess (1960)

    18. The Goddess

    19601h 33mNot Rated
    7.7 (3.1K)
    A young woman is deemed a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal land-lord, has a dream envisioning her as an avatar of Kali.
    DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSharmila TagoreSoumitra ChatterjeeChhabi Biswas
  • Soumitra Chatterjee, Simi Garewal, and Sharmila Tagore in Days and Nights in the Forest (1970)

    19. Days and Nights in the Forest

    19701h 55m
    8.1 (3.1K)
    Four carefree, jaded middle-class bachelors from Calcutta head out for a holiday in the wilderness. Before long, each man undergoes their own journey of self-discovery.
    DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSharmila TagoreKaberi BoseSimi Garewal
  • Aparna Sen and Victor Banerjee in Pikoor Diary (1981)

    20. Pikoor Diary

    198126mTV Movie
    7.5 (345)
    A day in the life of a six year old child Pikoo in Calcutta.
    DirectorSatyajit RayStarsVictor BanerjeeArjun Guha-ThakurtaSoven Lahiri
  • Uski Roti (1970)

    21. Uski Roti

    19701h 50mNot Rated
    6.9 (588)
    A woman waits for her truck driver husband, everyday, with his daily bread. Her concern for their dying relationship and her sister grows fast as she starts to doubt his loyalty.
    DirectorMani KaulStarsGurdeep SinghGarimaSavita Bajaj
  • Main, Meri Patni... Aur Woh! (2005)

    22. Main, Meri Patni... Aur Woh!

    20052h 9m
    7.3 (2.7K)
    A short, nondescript man, Mithilesh Shukla marries a tall and beautiful woman. Now jealousy and Mithilesh's own insecurities threaten to wreck his happy home.
    DirectorChandan AroraStarsRajpal Naurang YadavRituparna SenguptaNaseeruddin Shah
  • Supriya Pathak, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, and Farooq Shaikh in Bazaar (1982)

    23. Bazaar

    19822hNot Rated
    7.4 (652)
    A young man challenges traditional customs by standing up to the father of the woman he loves, who has promised her to a wealthy expatriate.
    DirectorSagar SarhadiStarsFarooq ShaikhSmita PatilNaseeruddin Shah
  • Monsoon Wedding (2001)

    24. Monsoon Wedding

    20011h 54mR77Metascore
    7.3 (27K)
    A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.
    DirectorMira NairStarsNaseeruddin ShahLillete DubeyShefali Shah
  • Guddi (1971)

    25. Guddi

    19712h 1mNot Rated
    7.2 (1.2K)
    A teenage girl will not accept her family's attempt to arrange a marriage for her, as her heart is currently too full of love for the movies and heartthrob actor "Dharmendra."
    DirectorHrishikesh MukherjeeStarsDharmendraJaya BachchanSumita Sanyal

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