Incredible India
Not the usual song and dance fare. Some are unusual song and dance fare but that's beside the point.
It is difficult to make a comprehensive list of great Indian films for many reasons:
1. Films are made in so many different languages
2. Not many come with subtitles
3. Quite a number of old films have either been lost to wear or have simply been lost.
4. Accessibility is still a major problem for non-mainstream films from before 2000.
I am as of now loath to include films like Pather Panchali or the rest of its Apu Trilogy brethren as they are so popular anyway. Maybe once this list goes close to a 100 films I'll do it. Of course, in no way does it mean they aren't great films.
Note: List not in any particular order
It is difficult to make a comprehensive list of great Indian films for many reasons:
1. Films are made in so many different languages
2. Not many come with subtitles
3. Quite a number of old films have either been lost to wear or have simply been lost.
4. Accessibility is still a major problem for non-mainstream films from before 2000.
I am as of now loath to include films like Pather Panchali or the rest of its Apu Trilogy brethren as they are so popular anyway. Maybe once this list goes close to a 100 films I'll do it. Of course, in no way does it mean they aren't great films.
Note: List not in any particular order
List activity
2.2K views
• 2 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
- 90 titles
- DirectorRaj B. ShettyStarsRaj B. ShettyRishab ShettyGopalkrishna DeshpandeSet in the backdrop of the coastal and cultural city of modern-day Mangaluru, Hari and his soulmate Shiva rise together to great heights only to face off as bitter enemies resulting to their own downfall and destruction.
- DirectorPa. RanjithStarsAryaPasupathyJohn KokkenWhen Sarpatta Parambarai is challenged to a do-or-die match, will Kabilan, a young labourer, put on the gloves himself and lead his clan to victory, or be dissuaded by his disapproving mother and dangerous politics?
- DirectorSenna HegdeStarsSunil C.K.Sajin CherukayilJimmy DannySet in Kanjahad, film narrates through the day before a traditional marriage engagement party Suja and Laxmikanth, fixed by Suja's father against her wishes.
- DirectorMahesh NarayananStarsFahadh FaasilNimisha SajayanVinay ForrtA past ridden with crime, death and pain is recounted to Freddy, a juvenile criminal, who has been assigned to eliminate his estranged uncle Sulaiman, an aging patriarch, while behind bars.
- DirectorKenny BasumataryStarsKenny BasumataryAmar Singh DeoriBonny DeoriLocal Kung Fu's plot revolves around Charlie, "an ordinary boy from Guwahati with a delicate stomach", his girlfriend and a number of madcap characters such as a wannabe local don and a thief who is rumoured to roam naked.Very funny action movie which seems to have been made with a cheap digital stills camera. A great example of low-budget, credible filmmaking.
- DirectorBhaskar HazarikaStarsSeema BiswasAdil HussainZerifa WahidFour folk tales from Assam re-imagined as a narrative about four mothers, each facing demons of her own.Four different stories, which could be seen either as social commentaries or fairy tales.
- DirectorC. RudraiyaaStarsSripriyaKamal HaasanRajinikanthThe film revolves around a solitary women, her plight and ordeal against evil society.The 70s was a cracking decade film-wise in India. Not just in Bengali and Malayalam, even Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and mainstream Hindi films were coming of age. Aval Appadithan featured two of the biggest stars of Tamil cinema in Rajinikant and Kamal Hassan, yet, in the late 70s, it was shot black and white, with what looks like an apology for a budget, but still blazed a trail of sorts with its feminist premise.
The scene that stands out is where the documentary filmmaker that is Kamal seems to be filming an actual documentary. This is right in the middle of the dramatic narrative of the film and doesn't seem one bit out of place. - DirectorRaam ReddyStarsThammegowda S.ChannegowdaAbhishek H.N.In a South Indian village, a centenarian's funeral brings together his free-spirited son, inheritance-hungry grandson and girl-crazy great-grandson.Three generations of fathers and sons and their many adventures leading up to a funeral.
- DirectorPawan KumarStarsSathish NeenasamSruthi HariharanAchyuth KumarA man suffering from insomnia is tricked into buying a drug, Lucia, that makes his desires come true in his dreams, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.A dream within a dream and all that... and a lot more. It is very much a great melodrama more than anything.
- DirectorNagraj ManjuleStarsRinku RajguruAkash ThosarArbaz ShaikhIn interior Maharashtra, a fisherman's son and a local politician's daughter fall in love against the restrictions of caste hierarchy.A charming love story which quietly turns into a ballsy examination of life on the run.
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsKay Kay MenonRaj Singh ChaudharyRaja ChaudharyA law student witnesses deception, homicide, and crime after being elected as General Secretary of his college.This is the sort of film Anurag Kashyap excels in. Small, complex and evidently consisting of elements from his own experience.
- DirectorSingeetam Srinivasa RaoStarsKamal HaasanAmala AkkineniTinnu AnandAn unemployed graduate who coincidentally encounters a rich unconscious man, and takes over his lifestyle by keeping him a prisoner. However, he is in for a twist as a contract killer is after him, assuming him to be the affluent man.A silent film in 1987, it is part homage to the troika of old comedy - Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd and part reinvention of romance in cinema. Also, features a lot of Bangalore from that era.
- DirectorFaiza Ahmad KhanStarsShakeel BharatiFarogh JafriAkram KhanCreative minds in Malegaon, India, transform their passion for movies into action as they craft their own version of Superman with minimal resources.The college I studied was an hour away from Malegaon, but unfortunately, I didn't know about the flourishing local film industry until I graduated out.
This is a poignant documentary about the same. - DirectorAdoor GopalakrishnanStarsOduvil UnnikrishnanSukumariMallikaKaliyappan, the last hangman of Travancore dynasty is dragging his remaining life by consuming alcohol and worshipping the Mother Goddess.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsJ.D. ChakravarthiManoj BajpayeeUrmila MatondkarAn innocent man is embroiled in the underworld after being falsely charged, and he sets out to punish the perpetrators who made his life miserable.A landmark gangster movie in which no character could feel safe enough to last till the end.
- DirectorShankar NagStarsAnant NagShankar NagAshok MandannaYoung man kills people sleeping on the footpath while driving under influence. Young man's influential father struggles to silence the police investigation and media coverage.Shankar Nag's best film, perhaps.
- DirectorKundan ShahStarsNaseeruddin ShahRavi BaswaniBhakti BarveTwo photographers, who are employed by a magazine editor to expose the scandalous activities of the rich, come across corruption by a builder and accidentally photograph a murder.Satirical black comedy that ages better with every passing year.
- DirectorRajeev RaviStarsDulquer SalmaanVinayakanShaun RomyKrishnan, who has been living away from his family and friends in Mumbai, gets a call from his friend Ganga in Kerala, out of the blue. He senses danger, and leaves for Kammattipadam, where both of them grew up.Story of two friends from slightly different social strata who grow up together into violence.
A beautifully shot film, this tends to go on forever. But there is merit in some of the aimlessness as you slowly begin to get a sense of the more common social narratives like friendship and love in this tough environment. - StarsChandra Prakash DwivediKurush DebooDinesh ShakulThis is a historical saga of establishing the Mauryan Empire in IndiaShowed up the inept productions of Ramayan and, to a lesser extent, Mahabharat, as Chandraprakash Dwivedi brought chaste Hindi and wordy dialogues to Sunday mornings.
- DirectorShyam BenegalStarsRajit KapoorRaghubir YadavSiraj AhmedOn a lazy afternoon, a man shares his memories of a storyteller friend who once narrated a convoluted love story with intertwined plots. As these plots unravel, reality mixes with fiction.
- DirectorKetan MehtaStarsSmita PatilNaseeruddin ShahMohan GokhaleThe atrocities on lower caste people displayed using folklore and ancient kingdom story. The digging of a step well in drought prone area and the exploitation of its lower caste people by the kingdom in a satirical manner.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsPradip MukherjeeRafique AhmedS. BagchiA bright and idealistic young man steels himself for the dog-eat-dog business world, only to flounder in a job market packed with thousands of other hopefuls.
- StarsVenkiAnant NagSudheendraBased on the works of R.K. Narayan, Malgudi Days chronicles the lives of people living in the fictitious town of Malgudi.Directed by Shankar Nag and made in Hindi, every bad Kannada film since his unfortunate passing is a cry of sadness.
- DirectorGitanjali RaoTrapped in the monotony of our lives, bounded by physical incapabilities, how many avenues can you count and count on to escape? What is a child? Why do you long to be one?
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsManoj BajpayeeNawazuddin SiddiquiTigmanshu DhuliaA clash between Sultan and Shahid Khan leads to the expulsion of Khan from Wasseypur, and ignites a deadly blood feud spanning three generations.Indian cinema's tribute to the Tarantinos and Ritchies of the world. The result is more colourful.
