Bollywood for Beginners
This is a list for people who've never seen Bollywood films, in particular for people who are not from the Indian subcontinent and aren't familiar with the culture. So I kept to the fairly modern films, because since 2000 the films have started to keep the international markets in mind and the technical execution is more polished. The good: The Indian film industry excels at doing films that celebrate emotions and are not afraid to get all vulnerable, shouty, lovey-dovey, etc. The bad: It can veer into melodrama. Things to remember: accept the song-and-dance number! At some point you might get to love it like most fans.
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- DirectorImtiaz AliStarsShahid KapoorKareena KapoorTarun AroraA depressed wealthy businessman finds his life changing after he meets a spunky and care-free young woman.
- DirectorVishal BhardwajStarsShahid KapoorPriyanka Chopra JonasDeb MukherjeeThe desperate lives of two estranged twin brothers converge over missing drugs, politics, racial prejudice, corrupt cops and an unplanned pregnancy.
- DirectorVishal BhardwajStarsAjay DevgnKareena KapoorSaif Ali KhanA politically-minded enforcer's misguided trust in his lieutenant leads him to suspect his wife of infidelity in this adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Othello'.
- DirectorVishal BhardwajStarsIrrfan KhanTabuPankaj KapurThe intrigue of the Shakespearean tragedy 'Macbeth' is transposed to the Mumbai underworld.
- DirectorSujoy GhoshStarsVidya BalanParambrata ChattopadhyayIndraneil SenguptaA pregnant woman's search for her missing husband takes her from London to Kolkata, but everyone she questions denies having ever met him.
- DirectorMilan LuthriaStarsVidya BalanEmraan HashmiTusshar KapoorThe love story between an actress and a director, inspired by the life of the late south Indian actress Silk Smitha.
- DirectorRaj Kumar GuptaStarsRani MukerjiVidya BalanMyra KarnA journalist, who is more of an activist teams up with the sister of a murdered model, as she gets interested in the case and wants to bring justice to her case.
- DirectorR. BalkiStarsAmitabh BachchanAbhishek BachchanVidya BalanA father tries to help his son cope with a rare condition that causes the young boy to age beyond his years.
- DirectorAamir KhanAmole GupteStarsDarsheel SafaryAamir KhanTisca ChopraAn 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.
- DirectorRakeysh Omprakash MehraStarsAamir KhanSoha Ali KhanSiddharthThe 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.
- DirectorAshutosh GowarikerStarsAamir KhanRaghubir YadavGracy SinghThe people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.
- DirectorKetan MehtaStarsAamir KhanRani MukerjiToby StephensThis is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsAamir KhanNandita DasRahul KhannaIt's 1947 and the borderlines between India and Pakistan are being drawn. A young girl witnesses tragedy as her ayah (nanny) is caught between the love of two men and the rising tide of political and religious violence.
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsShabana AzmiNandita DasKarishma JhalaniTwo women who are abandoned by their husbands find love and solace in each other.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorReema KagtiStarsAbhay DeolMinissha LambaBoman IraniSix newly-married, diverse, honeymooning couples face marital bliss and discord, finding out more about themselves, their significant others and life in this happy-go-lucky, quirky drama.
- DirectorZoya AkhtarStarsHrithik RoshanFarhan AkhtarAbhay DeolThree friends decide to turn their fantasy vacation into reality after one of their friends gets engaged.
- DirectorZoya AkhtarStarsFarhan AkhtarKonkona Sen SharmaRishi KapoorWhen Vikram gets tapped to play the male lead in a Bollywood film, he can't believe his luck. But it may ruin his relationship with his girlfriend.
- DirectorAbhishek KapoorStarsArjun RampalFarhan AkhtarLuke KennyFour friends reunite to relive their moments of glory as a rock band.
- DirectorPriyadarshanStarsIrrfan KhanLara DuttaOm PuriIn an Indian village, a struggling barber sees his luck begin to turn when residents learn that a famous actor he once knew is coming to town.
- DirectorAditya ChopraStarsShah Rukh KhanAnushka SharmaVinay PathakA breathtaking, goose flesh igniting, awe inspiring love journey of an ordinary man Suri and his 'total opposite' love Taani.
- DirectorShimit AminStarsShah Rukh KhanVidya MalvadeSagarika GhatgeKabir Khan, the coach of the Indian Women's National Hockey Team, dreams of making his all-girls team emerge victorious against all odds.
- DirectorAmol PalekarStarsShah Rukh KhanRani MukerjiAnupam KherA folk tale - supernatural love story about a ghost who falls in love with a newlywed woman.
- DirectorAshutosh GowarikerStarsShah Rukh KhanGayatri JoshiKishori BallalA successful Indian scientist returns to an Indian village to take his nanny to America with him and in the process rediscovers his roots.