My Favorite Indian Movies
by kharaudkulminder | created - 05 Dec 2018 | updated - 05 Dec 2018 | PublicBollywood, the staple entertainment diet of thousand of Indians has often been criticized for churning out mindless movies wrapped in item songs placing little or no importance on sensitivity or storytelling. Following are the movies which in my opinion dared to transcend the Bollywood masala tradition.
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1. No Smoking (2007)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A heavily addicted smoker is unprepared for the true price he must pay when he asks a guru's help to kick the habit.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Paresh Rawal, Ranvir Shorey
Votes: 8,869
2. Dev.D (2009)
Not Rated | 144 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After breaking up with his childhood sweetheart, a young man finds solace in drugs. Meanwhile, a teenage girl is caught in the world of prostitution. Will they be destroyed, or will they find redemption?
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill, Kalki Koechlin, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Votes: 32,261 | Gross: $0.01M
3. Ugly (2013)
Not Rated | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The case of a missing girl takes us through a journey of human greed and brushes upon the egos and repressed emotions of the characters.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Vineet Kumar Singh
Votes: 23,520
4. Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)
Not Rated | 321 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A clash between Sultan and Shahid Khan leads to the expulsion of Khan from Wasseypur, and ignites a deadly blood feud spanning three generations.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Richa Chadha
Votes: 103,896
5. That Girl in Yellow Boots (2010)
Not Rated | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A British woman faces challenges while attempting to locate her father in India.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Kalki Koechlin, Prashant Prakash, Naseeruddin Shah, Gulshan Devaiah
Votes: 4,090
6. Gulaal (2009)
Not Rated | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A law student witnesses deception, homicide, and crime after being elected as General Secretary of his college.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Kay Kay Menon, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Raja Chaudhary, Jesse Randhawa
Votes: 15,915
7. The Lunchbox (2013)
PG | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an older man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox.
Director: Ritesh Batra | Stars: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Lillete Dubey
Votes: 60,894 | Gross: $4.23M
8. Black Friday (2004)
Not Rated | 143 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A film about the investigations following the 1993 serial Bombay bomb blasts, told through the different stories of the people involved --police, conspirators, victims, middlemen.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Kay Kay Menon, Pawan Malhotra, Aditya Srivastav, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Votes: 22,004 | Gross: $0.03M
9. Like Stars on Earth (2007)
PG | 162 min | Drama, Family
An eight-year-old boy is thought to be a lazy trouble-maker, until the new art teacher has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind his struggles in school.
Directors: Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte | Stars: Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma
Votes: 206,804 | Gross: $1.22M
10. Masoom (1983)
Not Rated | 165 min | Drama, Family
A happy family goes through turbulent times because of a big mistake by one of the family members.
Director: Shekhar Kapur | Stars: Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Jugal Hansraj, Urmila Matondkar
Votes: 4,404
11. Guide (1965)
Not Rated | 183 min | Drama, Romance
When mistaken to be a sage by some villagers, an ex-tour guide reflects on his past and lost love to search for spiritual wisdom to guide the villagers.
Director: Vijay Anand | Stars: Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Leela Chitnis, Anwar Hussain
Votes: 8,594
12. Rang De Basanti (2006)
Not Rated | 167 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
The story of six young Indians who assist an English woman to film a documentary on the freedom fighters from their past, and the events that lead them to relive the long-forgotten saga of freedom.
Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Stars: Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi
Votes: 122,376 | Gross: $2.20M
13. Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
Not Rated | 183 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Three inseparable childhood friends are just out of college. Nothing comes between them - until they each fall in love, and their wildly different approaches to relationships creates tension.
Director: Farhan Akhtar | Stars: Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity G Zinta
Votes: 75,831 | Gross: $0.30M
14. Thirst (1957)
Not Rated | 146 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Vijay, a talented but indigent poet, struggles for love and recognition in this selfish world.
Director: Guru Dutt | Stars: Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha, Rehman Khan
Votes: 7,280
15. A Wednesday (2008)
Not Rated | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A retiring police officer reminisces about the most astounding day of his career. About a case that was never filed but continues to haunt him in his memories - the case of a man and a Wednesday.
Director: Neeraj Pandey | Stars: Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Veerendra Saxena, Mahesh Kanual
Votes: 82,335
16. Udaan (2010)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama
Expelled from his school, a 16-year old boy returns home to his abusive and oppressive father.
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane | Stars: Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Manjot Singh, Ram Kapoor
Votes: 47,416 | Gross: $0.01M
17. Omkara (2006)
Not Rated | 155 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A politically-minded enforcer's misguided trust in his lieutenant leads him to suspect his wife of infidelity in this adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Othello'.
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj | Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma
Votes: 22,116 | Gross: $0.79M
18. Maachis (1996)
Not Rated | 160 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A realistic, hard-hitting portrayal of terrorism and youth in the Punjab after the 1984 riots.
Director: Gulzar | Stars: Om Puri, Tabu, Chandrachur Singh, Kanwaljeet Singh
Votes: 2,440
19. Haider (2014)
Not Rated | 160 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man returns to Kashmir after his father's disappearance to confront his uncle, whom he suspects of playing a role in his father's fate.
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj | Stars: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon
Votes: 57,914 | Gross: $0.90M
20. Paan Singh Tomar (2012)
Not Rated | 135 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The story of Paan Singh Tomar, an Indian athlete and seven-time national steeplechase champion who becomes one of the most feared dacoits in Chambal Valley after his retirement.
Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia | Stars: Irrfan Khan, Mahie Gill, Rajesh Abhay, Hemendra Dandotiya
Votes: 37,875 | Gross: $0.04M
21. Queen (2013)
Not Rated | 146 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A Delhi girl from a traditional family sets out on a solo honeymoon after her marriage gets cancelled.
Director: Vikas Bahl | Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa Haydon, Jeffrey Ho
Votes: 68,353 | Gross: $1.43M
22. The Touch (1980)
145 min | Drama, Romance
Anirudh Parmar is blind, but he does not let this impairment bind him down. He runs a school for the blind as a Principal. He meets with social worker, Kavita. Kavita is attracted to him, ... See full summary »
Director: Sai Paranjpye | Stars: Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Sudha Chopra, Mohan Gokhale
Votes: 951
23. Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990)
Not Rated | 122 min | Biography, Drama
After years of painstaking research at the cost of his domestic pleasure, Dr. Dipankar Roy discovers a vaccine for leprosy. The news is flashed over television and overnight, an ... See full summary »
Director: Tapan Sinha | Stars: Shabana Azmi, Pankaj Kapur, Irrfan Khan, Deepa Sahi
Votes: 1,542
24. Ek Hasina Thi (2004)
Not Rated | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Sriram Raghavan | Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Urmila Matondkar, Seema Biswas, Aditya Srivastav
Votes: 7,863
25. Water (I) (2005)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
Set 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.
Director: Deepa Mehta | Stars: Lisa Ray, John Abraham, Seema Biswas, Sarala Kariyawasam
Votes: 15,359 | Gross: $3.22M
26. Saaransh (1984)
Not Rated | 137 min | Drama
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.
Director: Mahesh Bhatt | Stars: Anupam Kher, Rohini Hattangadi, Soni Razdan, Madan Jain
Votes: 2,035
27. Vicky Donor (2012)
Not Rated | 126 min | Comedy, Romance
A man is brought in by an infertility doctor to supply him with his sperm, where he becomes the biggest sperm donor for his clinic.
Director: Shoojit Sircar | Stars: Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam, Annu Kapoor, Dolly Ahluwalia
Votes: 45,346 | Gross: $0.17M
28. Pink (III) (2016)
Not Rated | 136 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When three young women are implicated in a crime, a retired lawyer steps forward to help them clear their names.
Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury | Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang
Votes: 48,296 | Gross: $1.24M
29. Newton (2017)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Drama
A government clerk on election duty in the conflict ridden jungle of Central India tries his best to conduct free and fair voting despite the apathy of security forces and the looming fear of guerrilla attacks by communist rebels.
Director: Amit Masurkar | Stars: Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, Raghubir Yadav
Votes: 21,221
30. Neerja (2016)
Not Rated | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
The story of courageous Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers on Pan Am Flight 73 in 1986 when it was hijacked by a terrorist organization.
Director: Ram Madhvani | Stars: Sonam Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tikku, Abrar Zahoor
Votes: 23,769 | Gross: $1.54M
31. Paanch (2003)
Not Rated | 130 min | Crime, Thriller
Kidnapping plot gone wrong when four friends plans to kidnap their own friend who accidentally got killed.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastav, Joy Fernandes, Vijay Maurya
Votes: 2,476
32. Psycho Raman (2016)
Not Rated | 133 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Ramanna, a maniac murderer, finds a soulmate in Raghavan, a policeman, who inspects his murder cases. He tries to make Raghavan realize how they both are similar.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal, Sobhita Dhulipala, Mukesh Chhabra
Votes: 15,948
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