My favorite Indian films.
I can't make a list of the greatest Indian films of all time, maybe no one can, because I haven't seen anywhere near all of the Indian films ever made, not even most of the good ones. Most of the ones I've seen were made in Hindi, but there's multiple film industries in India in different regions and languages. Also, these are MY PERSONAL FAVORITES, so you will see a mix of critically acclaimed films as well as movies that are close to my heart that never got any accolades, or were even critically panned and were commercial flops (often very unfairly, in my opinion). Out of Indian languages, I only understand Hindi and Punjabi, so films in other languages I have to watch with subtitles.
List activity
27 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
114 titles
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsKanu BannerjeeKaruna BannerjeeSubir BanerjeeImpoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsKay Kay MenonPawan MalhotraAditya SrivastavA film about the investigations following the 1993 serial Bombay bomb blasts, told through the different stories of the people involved --police, conspirators, victims, middlemen.
- DirectorBhavna TalwarStarsPankaj KapurSupriya PathakPankaj TripathiWhen a priest's wife brings home an orphan boy, her husband is against it. Over time, he develops a connection with him, but is shocked when he finds out the boy's religion.Nice to see that one of the greatest films ever made was not only made by a woman but was also made in India. Unfortunately, neither she nor her film got accolades or deserved recognition, from inside or outside India.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.I DONT CARE IF IT'S A BRITISH FILM. This movie is one of the greatest films about India, Indians, and Indian history ever made.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsAamir KhanUrmila MatondkarJackie ShroffA middle-class young woman who dreams of Bollywood fame is caught in a love triangle between her childhood friend and a famous actor.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsAjay DevgnMohanlalManisha KoiralaA small-time gangster named Chandu teams up with Malik, a low-level enforcer for a criminal syndicate. Together they eliminate all their enemies, becoming the most feared gangsters in Mumbai.
- DirectorChandra Prakash DwivediStarsUrmila MatondkarManoj BajpayeeSanjay SuriIn the days leading up to Partition, a Hindu woman is abducted by a Muslim man. Soon, she finds herself not only forced into marriage, but living in a new country as the borders between India and Pakistan are drawn.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeDhritiman ChatterjeeDipankar DeyIn this adaption of the Ibsen stage play, an idealistic physician discovers that the town's temple waters are dangerously contaminated. But with the community relying on the holy attraction for tourist dollars, his warnings go unheeded.
- DirectorSriram RaghavanStarsSaif Ali KhanUrmila MatondkarSeema BiswasA woman falls for a charming and mysterious businessman. The whirlwind romance turns sour when she is framed for his underworld crimes. Now, finally out of prison she is ready for sweet revenge.
- DirectorMukul AnandStarsJackie ShroffAnil KapoorShah Rukh KhanAfter being framed, a policewoman languishing in prison hopes that her three sons will deliver justice and restore her honor.I still remember being 7 years old and seeing the commercials and trailers for this movie on the multicultural TV channels, during shows like Eye on Asia, and it was the first time I was ever hyped for an Indian movie, or any movie for that matter! I kept asking my parents if we could see it in theaters and I think we actually did! I loved this movie. Even now, the direction and background music stick with me. I loved watching how the brothers grow up from kids to adults and reunite after getting separated. I asked an older cousin from India why the movie didn't become a huge hit and she speculated that this kind of movie was already overdone by the time Trimurti was made. It's too bad, because this is the best film of its kind, period. This movie also made me an early fan of SRK and Anil Kapoor, though I'd be less of a fan of SRK in the 2000s.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsUrmila MatondkarManoj BajpayeeSushant SinghWhile alone in the house, a woman hears news of serial killer on the loose. And then a stranger rings the doorbell...
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsLisa RayJohn AbrahamSeema BiswasSet in colonial India against Gandhi's rise to power, it's the story of 8-year-old Chuyia, who is widowed and sent to a home to live in penitence; once there, Chuyia's feisty presence deeply affects the lives of the other residents.
- DirectorRaj Kumar GuptaStarsRajeev KhandelwalMukesh AgrohariSupavitra BabulA doctor of Indian origin returning to Mumbai from London is forced to participate in a terrorist plot.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSharmila TagoreSoumitra ChatterjeeChhabi BiswasA 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.
- DirectorSujay DahakeStarsOm BhutkarAnita Date-KelkarChinmay KulkarniA farmland leopard, who is the subject of a research project ventures out in the wild, successfully completing a journey of around one hundred and twenty kilometers from Malshej Ghat to Mumbai.
- 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.
- DirectorJahnu BaruaStarsAnupam KherUrmila MatondkarParvin DabasAn ordinary man is struggling with the onset of Alzheimer's. His daughter fights to save her father from a descent into dementia, and to tries to understand the strange guilt that haunts him - that he is responsible for Gandhi's death.
- DirectorPrakash MehraStarsAmitabh BachchanJaya BachchanPran SikandA tough and honest police officer clashes with a crime boss who, unbeknownst to him, happens to be his parents' murderer.
- DirectorRajkumar SantoshiStarsAamir KhanSalman KhanRaveena TandonTwo slackers competing for the affections of an heiress inadvertently become her protectors from an evil criminal.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsAnil ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeJaya BachchanLife at home changes when a house-wife from a middle-class, conservative family in Calcutta gets a job as a saleswoman.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsNaseeruddin ShahShabana AzmiJugal HansrajA happy family goes through turbulent times because of a big mistake by one of the family members.
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsJohn AbrahamAyesha TakiaParesh RawalA heavily addicted smoker is unprepared for the true price he must pay when he asks a guru's help to kick the habit.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsJ.D. ChakravarthiManoj BajpayeeUrmila MatondkarAn innocent man is embroiled in underworld after being falsely charged and sets out to punish the perpetrators who subjected his life to misery.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsSanjay DuttUrmila MatondkarParesh RawalNandu, a small-time thief, is assigned to smuggle an unknown packet for a petty amount. With the police pursuing him, Nandu has to elude them and deliver the packet on time.
- DirectorPrawaal RamanStarsTusshar KapoorAntara MaliRaghubir YadavA neglected young man wishes to be invisible and the wish comes true. However in an attempt to get his ladylove, he gets in the bad books of police who wants him dead.Not only the best Indian superhero film, but one of the best superhero films in the world, period! It's a realistic take on what would happen if a modern teenager or young adult male who is lonely, nerdy, and a bullied social outcast was given invisibility powers. It's an actual interesting character development arc where the "hero" has to decide if he will let his absolute power corrupt him or if he will grow as a person and do the right things. It's also really funny, and the music is also AMAZING. The low reviews make ZERO sense. I thin it's just because people don't like the actors or the connection to RGV.