Hollywood/English movies depicting India
I am creating a list where India is shown in a Hollywood/English movie. I plan to show the Indian actors in the movie as well as where it was shot in India. My aim will be to not add the movies that are made by Hollywood directors but are based only in India. So movies like Salaam Bomday and Slumdog Millionaire are not part of this list. Please take a look and provide comments.
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- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreMaud AdamsLouis JourdanA fake Fabergé egg recovered from the body of a fellow agent leads James Bond to uncover a jewel smuggling operation led by the mysterious Octopussy, and a plot to blow up a NATO air base.This was the movie that brought Bond (Roger Moore) to India. No Indian heroine in the movie but Vijay Amritraj playing the side kick and Kabir Bedi playing the chief henchman. Movie shows Rajasthan and some beautiful scenery. Movie didn't depict India very well but was not mean to India either.
- DirectorBrad BirdStarsTom CruiseJeremy RennerSimon PeggThe IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.Mission impossible team goes to India to get their hands on an aging Russian satellite. Anil Kapoor is featured in the movie as a horny owner of the above satellite. Not a whole lot of shots of India but shows some busy roads and a new parking lot of India.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonFranka PotenteJoan AllenWhen Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive.Movie opens in Goa with Jason Bourne trying to stay away from his ex-employers. A Russian assassin arrives and kills Jason's wife and that forces him to leave India. Some good shots of Goa and good scenes of a key bridge there. Overall a good movie.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.Indiana Jones goes to some part of India. One of the most horrible stereo typical depiction of India. Our own Amrish Puri is the chief villain. They show people eating monkey brain and human sacrifice. I don't think they really went to India for this movie as there were no outside shots. Overall a pretty bad movie made by Spielberg.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsJudy DavisVictor BanerjeePeggy AshcroftCultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.This is a movie based on a novel by E M Forster. Movie is pretty good and depicts a short lived friendship between an English girl and an Indian intelligentsia. Movies takes these two characters from a local town to Malabar caves. Overall a good movie which had many Indian characters including Saeed Jaffrie and Victor Bannerjee. Good movie if you haven't seen it.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsHelen MirrenOm PuriManish DayalThe Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.An Indian family settles in France and the young son goes on to become a big chef. Movie does show a scene in India with Juhi Chawla buying vegetables. It didn't have any outdoor shots worth remembering. Om puri gave an excellent performance.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsPatrick SwayzePauline CollinsOm PuriAn American doctor, a British nurse, and an illiterate Indian farmer unite to transform a Calcutta ghetto in this uplifting, inspirational movie starring Patrick Swayze and Pauline Collins.Patrick Swayze is a doctor and he somehow finds himself in Calcutta, India. He befriends local people which include Bihari migrants Om Puri and Shabana Azmi. Movie showed both beauty and ugly portions of India. It didn't patronize and I really liked it. A beautiful movie if you haven't seen it.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsJudi DenchBill NighyMaggie SmithBritish retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than advertised, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.A bunch of British folks decide to retire in India. They end up in Jaipur at an old hotel named above. Movie tries not to patronize but in my opinion does show a big gulf between the local India and British retirees. Movie shows Dev Patel of Slumdog millionaire and some big names from England including Judy Dench. Good movie with ample outdoor shooting in Jaipur.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsJudi DenchMaggie SmithBill NighyAs the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has only a single remaining vacancy, posing a rooming predicament for two fresh arrivals, Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) pursues his expansionist dream of opening a second hotel.Continuation of the first movie. This movie has Richard Gere and a love interest between him and mother of hero! Also has some scenes of Bombay in this movie. I personally thought that western moralities were shoved down Indians in this movie.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsJulie ChristieGreta ScacchiChristopher CazenoveAnne is investigating the life of her grand-aunt Olivia, whose destiny has always been shrouded with scandal. As Anne delves into the history of her grand-aunt, she is led to reconsider her own life.I saw this movie long ago when I was a teenager and I remember it had Shashi Kapoor and Zakir Hussain in it. The movie was shown late at night as it had rear nudity! Shashi Kapoor and Zakir Hussain fall for British girls in two different eras and also get lucky. The scene I remember is one in which Zakir teaches this English girl how to ride a scooter. There were some outdoor scenes but I don't remember them now.
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsMartin HendersonAishwarya Rai BachchanNadira BabbarA modern adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, that features the lives of four unmarried daughters in an Indian family.Pride and Prejudice based in India! I have only seen bits and pieces of this movie but I know it is based in Amritsar and has Aishwarya Rai in it as the main heroine. Will watch it and add more.
- DirectorCraig GillespieStarsJon HammAasif MandviAlan ArkinA sports agent stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.Main hero who is a sports agent decides to go to India to find a next baseball pitcher. Movies has quite a few shots of India including those of Taj Mahal. Two young actors are chosen and brought to LA. Movie shows how they adjust to life in US. They go on to become minor success in real life. Movie is based on real life.
- DirectorSantosh SivanStarsLinus RoacheRahul BoseNandita DasA English spice baron settles in South India during the waning years of the Raj.Saw part of this movie on Netflix. It is based in beautiful Kerala during the fading years of British Raj. Nandita Das is a housemaid who falls for the Gora Babu. Her husband finds out and gets killed and Nandita gets implicated for her murder. Rahul Bose enters the picture and then they are on run. Couldn't finish the movie and will have to go back! Will get back and finish.
- 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.Richard Attenborough's magnum opus. Main role of Gandhi was played by Ben Kingsley but lot of roles for Indian Actors. Movie has lots of outdoor shots of India. I saw it long time ago and I remember it to be a good movie. I especially remember watching the hindi translation where Gandhi's voice was provided by Pankaj Kapoor. Good movie if you haven't seen it.
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsParminder NagraKeira KnightleyJonathan Rhys MeyersTwo ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.I am not sure if I should add this movie in this list as it has not scenes in India. However it has most true depiction of and Indian household. Parminder Nagra is growing up in a Sikh household in England and she has the passion and skill for playing football. Her mother would rather she studied and learnt how to make round chapatis. A beautiful movie with excellent music. Kiera Knightley got her big break from this movie. Movie also has Anupam Kher as dad and Jonathan Rhys Mevers as the love interest and coach of Parminder.
- DirectorMira NairStarsDenzel WashingtonSarita ChoudhuryRoshan SethAn ethnic Indian family is expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back. The grown daughter falls in love with a Black man.Again there are not shots of India but it does depict an Indian family in US. The movie exposes some of racist undertones of Indians. Nandita Das falls in love with Denzel Washington and her Gujrati family that was forced to move out of Uganda doesn't like it. Movie does have some excellent performances from Sharmila Tagore and Roshan Seth. Denzel looks good as usual.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsKate WinsletHarvey KeitelJulie HamiltonRuth's been brainwashed by a guru in Delhi, India. Her parents in Sydney hire a specialist in reversing this. Ruth is tricked to return to Australia and is isolated in an outback cabin with the specialist. It gets messy.Kate Winslet goes to India and wants to convert to Hinduism. Her Australian family doesn't like it and they hire Harvey Keitel to exorcise her out of it. He doesn't succeed as Kate manages to seduce him. Movies has few shots of Rishikesh and some ashram but noting else Indian. No Indian actors but you can see Kate Winslet in a Sari.
- DirectorJoss WhedonStarsRobert Downey Jr.Chris EvansScarlett JohanssonEarth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.Hulk is hiding somewhere in India and Black widow goes to get him. No outdoor shots of India so I am really not sure if anyone went to India in this movie. No Indian actors either!
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsSeth RogenJames FrancoGary ColeA process server and his marijuana dealer wind up on the run from hitmen and a corrupt police officer after he witnesses his dealer's boss murder a competitor while trying to serve papers on him.Our three heroes are travelling in Pineapple express across India. Brought back memories of train travel in India for me. Good movie if you haven't seen it.
- DirectorGarth DavisStarsDev PatelNicole KidmanRooney MaraA five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.Some great shots of Indian railway stations, towns and Kolkata. Hero is our Dev Patel who is the face of all Indians in movies made by non desis! The two kids acted really well. Worth a look if you haven't seen it.