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The Best Bollywood Films
Sholay (Flames, 1975): “There has never been a more defining film on the Indian screen,” director Shekhar Kapur said of Sholay, “Indian film history can be divided into Sholay BC and Sholay AD.” Labeled a "Curry Western," Sholay is the story of two small-time thieves who are hired by a landowner to capture the dreaded dacoit Gabbar Singh, who has massacred the landowner’s family. With its rugged landscapes, rousing action sequences and rough-hewn textures, the film echoes Sergio Leone and Akira Kurosawa. But these borrowed elements are skillfully blended with the required Hindi movie tropes: high emotion, supersize characters, and songs. Sholay ran consecutively for five years in one Mumbai theater. Even today, it is Bollywood’s gold standard.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (The Braveheart Shall Take the Bride, 1995): DDLJ, as it is widely known, is the is the longest-running film in Indian cinema—14 years after release, it is still playing at a theater in Mumbai. DDLJ is the story of two second-generation Indians in London, who fall in love over a month-long trip on the Eurail. The hitch—the girl is already engaged to a boy in India. But her tenacious new suitor follows her home, stays in her village under a false identity and eventually, after many tears and some blood has been shed, convinces her family that he is worthy. DDLJ, a heady cocktail of European locations and rustic Indian traditions, upholds family authority and affirms that idea that Westernization need not affect an essential Indian identity. It captured the zeitgeist of an India booming after economic reform and became a monster hit.
Lagaan—Once Upon a Time in India (Land Tax, 2001): Lagaan, an exhilarating epic set in British India, was the third Indian film to earn an Oscar nomination. Lagaan pits a group of feisty villagers against their tyrannical British rulers. The villagers accept a wager to play a game of cricket against the British. If they lose, they will pay extra land tax, but if they win, they will be excused from the tax for three years. In a rousing climactic match, the self-taught cricket players take on their ruthless masters and win. With a running time of three hours and 42 minutes, Lagaan is a marathon to watch, but the propulsive narrative, peppered with A. R. Rahman’s thumping soundtrack, doesn’t sag. Lagaan is new Bollywood at its best.
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Slumdog Comedian
Anupama Chopra is a film critic with New Delhi Television (NDTV 24/7). She is the author of King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema and also writes about Hindi films for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Vogue India.
politicalmom
Good list Ms Chopra.. but the following should also be added/considered -
Silsila
Umrao Jaan
Masoom
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
manojn
Dilwale Dulhania among the top five Hindi movies! You must be joking. Or is Mrs Chopra plugging her family business
z--bra
Yes! Sholay is one of the most entertaining films I have ever seen! The music is fantastic, Mehbooba Mehbooba in particular, has an almost Animal Collective-like sound.
jay1309
YOU GUYS FORGOT ABOUT;
SUN SAJNA
KRANTI
KARAN ARJUNE
LOVE STORY
SHARAABI
YEH VAADA RAHA
MarineLtCol
Ha. I get it. Slumdog Millionaire was a good movie and generated a lot of interest in the U.S. So, naturally, there is now the assumption that if Americans liked that, then they'll naturally love all the other Bollywood movies. Problem is, Americans don't get it. The weird singing, entire cast dance numbers, etc. etc. We've had access to these movies forever on cable. We usually watch them for laughs.
jay1309
HEY, YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THAT ONE AMERICANS DON'T GET THE HUMOUR IN INDIAN FLIMS. SOME OF THEM THINKS THAT INDIAN MOVIES ARE POORLY MADE, POOR DIRECTING AND CHEREOGRAPHY. AND SOME OF THEM MAKE FUN OF THE MUSIC. I TELL YOU IN THIS WORLD TODAY MOST PEOPLE ARE RACIST.
pthalomarie
I would recommend:
Devdas (their Romeo and Juliet, and my all-time favorite movie.)
Khakee (good cop thriller)
Yahaan (wartime love story)
Ek Hasina Thi (interesting thriller with a feminist twist)
Salaam Namaste (lighthearted comedy)
Sarkar (sort of a Godfather remake)
Bluffmaster (lighthearted con man story a la Ocean's Eleven)
Guru (good biopic)
for non-musical Indian movies, I would recommend:
Black (inspired by the Miracleworker)
Earth (historical love story)
Chokher Bali (a much more mature love story than one normally sees in Indian cinema)
Raincoat (great character study. probably the only movie i've seen with just 5 characters in it.)
The Terrorist (gripping political movie. John Malkovich helped with it, but its an Indian movie)
Mangal Pandey (historical drama. if you watched PBS's India series, they showed a clip from this movie in the last episode.)
Bollywood and Indian movies are like any other countries' movies. If you don't know what to look for, there's a good chance you might come away thinking they are all bad. If those awful monster movies the Sci-Fi channel churns out were your first and only exposure to science fiction, you might come away thing America has no good science fiction movies.
Vanbean
Speak for yourself (MarineLtCol).
Rdschenkel
Why do you have to hate Marine? So what's the worst that can happen, people expand their movie horrizons for a little bit. It's a good thing.
voteforgoat
what? No Disco Dancer?
voteforgoat
This list makes me want to watch movies instead of working!
MarineLtCol
Just telling it like it is.
TheFreeLance
MarineLTCol -- You can speak for your section of the cultural world, but, believe me, there are lots and lots of non-Indians in the US who find Bollywood movies interesting, not as a steady diet, perhaps, but occasionally, like any other genre. CDR,USN(ret)
Stancher
MarineLtCol IS telling it like it is. This isn't about what should happen, it's about what will happen... or in this case, what won't happen.
Americans are never going to flock to Bollywood because of all the reasons mentioned. "Slumdog Millionaire" itself is a British film anyway, the same way Attonborough's "Gandhi" was British. The same way "United 93" was British.
This is a non-issue from front to back.
TetrisWinnerNo1
Yea Disco Dancer! Put it on the list!
TetrisWinnerNo1
Americans may not flock to pure Bollywood movies, Marine, but the genre will influence American cinema. It badly needs a makeover.
desidiva
Majority of Americans likely won't watch Hindi movies for the simple reason of language and context. But for the few who do watch Rang De Basanti and Dor (both are fantastic examples of Hindi cinema that translate across cultural lines gracefully with universal themes).
evelyntu
This American watches and loves Hindi movies. For those who clicked with Slumdog, I'd also suggest (in addition to the distinguised list above) a few more modern and a-bit-gritty Bollywood movies, including:
Omkara
Luck By Chance (on DVD soon)
Black Friday
Dev.D (on DVD soon)
Aamir
Parzania
There are too many more great examples to mention.
Thank you.
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