Excellent Indian Movies that Don't Necessarily Fit the Mold
by RRHowell41 | created - 22 Dec 2010 | updated - 02 Aug 2012 | PublicThese are movies that aren't quite standard Bollywood for one reason or another. Some are not made by Indian directors, but a movie about India made in Hindi or another Indian language seems to me to deserve consideration here. Some of these are closer, and others farther from the "Bollywood" masala model. All are movies that I consider excellent.
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1. Religion (2007)
105 min | Drama, History
When 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.
Director: Bhavna Talwar | Stars: Pankaj Kapur, Supriya Pathak, Pankaj Tripathi, Dayashankar Pandey
Votes: 1,175
A character study of a narrow but sincere Brahmin priest as he grapples with situations that stretch his understanding of his faith.
2. Dev (2004)
172 min | Drama
Joint Commissioner of Police Dev Pratap Singh, a duty-bound, self-righteous officer, and Special Commissioner Tejinder Khosla, the balancing force between the political interests of Chief ... See full summary »
Director: Govind Nihalani | Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Fardeen Khan, Kareena Kapoor
Votes: 1,491
A policeman grapples with truth and justice in the face of riots, political pressures and the memory of his son's death.
3. Firaaq (2008)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, History, Thriller
Chronicles the devastating impact on vulnerable Muslims in Gujarat after riots.
Director: Nandita Das | Stars: Inaamulhaq, Nassar, Shahana Goswami, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Votes: 2,585
A look at the aftermath of the Gujarati riots.
4. Amu (2005)
Not Rated | 102 min | Drama
Amu is the story of an Indian American woman who returns to India. The film takes a dark turn as Kaju learns that a horrifying genocide that took place twenty years ago turns out to hold the key to her mysterious origins.
Director: Shonali Bose | Stars: Konkona Sen Sharma, Yashpal Sharma, Brinda Karat, Ankur Khanna
Votes: 960 | Gross: $0.01M
An American college girl seeks her roots in India.
5. The Pool (I) (2007)
Unrated | 98 min | Drama
A boy in abject poverty works in a hotel and becomes obsessed with a swimming pool in the opulent hills of Panjim, Goa, India. His life gets turned upside-down when he attempts to meet the mysterious family who lives at the house.
Director: Chris Smith | Stars: Nana Patekar, Venkatesh Chavan, Jhangir Badshah, Ayesha Mohan
Votes: 899 | Gross: $0.09M
I came very close to not watching this movie, because the synopsis of the plot sounded somewhat boring, the picture was drab, and the movie was made by an American director who didn't even speak Hindi. This is a wonderful movie about friendship, poverty, dealing with tragedy and mentoring.
6. Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998)
186 min | Drama
Dibyanath Chatterji, his bank-employed wife, Sujata, and only child, a son, Brati, live a middle-class existence in Calcutta, West Bengal, India, circa early 1970s. Sujata is a quiet, ... See full summary »
Director: Govind Nihalani | Stars: Jaya Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Seema Biswas, Milind Gunaji
Votes: 304
A woman struggles to make sense of the death of her son.
7. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002)
120 min | Drama
During a bus journey, a devout Hindu Brahmin woman protects a Muslim man when communal rioting breaks out.
Director: Aparna Sen | Stars: Rahul Bose, Konkona Sen Sharma, Bhisham Sahni, Surekha Sikri
Votes: 4,941
An eventful bus trip.
8. Nizhalkkuthu (2002)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Kaliyappan, the last hangman of Travancore dynasty is dragging his remaining life by consuming alcohol and worshipping the Mother Goddess.
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Stars: Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Sukumari, Mallika, Thara Kalyan
Votes: 256
A hangman's life.
9. Gabhricha Paus (2009)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
Farmers held hostage by the weather often despair, and yet there is resilience to be found in the communities that depend on the damned rain.
Director: Satish Manwar | Stars: Girish Kulkarni, Sonali Kulkarni, Jyoti Subhash, Aman Attar
Votes: 263
A farmer struggling with life.
10. Pinjar (2003)
188 min | Drama
In 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.
Director: Chandra Prakash Dwivedi | Stars: Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee, Sanjay Suri, Sandali Sinha
Votes: 3,001
A movie about partition and the difficulties of kidnapped women.
I had a hard time with this movie, because at a number of points the tension got too high for me, and I couldn't believe I wanted to live with watching what would surely happen. Without spoiling anything, I think I can say I was very glad to have finished it, and that having finished it, I have wanted to watch it more than once.
11. Vanaprastham (1999)
119 min | Drama
An illicit relationship between a Kathakali dancer and a young woman from an upper caste family results in an illegitimate child. He faces hardships when she refuses to let him see their child.
Director: Shaji N. Karun | Stars: Mohanlal, Suhasini, Mattanoor Shankara Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi
Votes: 1,919
Amazing story about a Kathakali dancer. This is about the distinction between art and reality, on a number of levels.
It is very slow paced, but it also about Kathakali dances, which traditionally took all night to perform.
12. Ants (2004 Video)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama
''Ants'' follows the bus journey of 27 different passengers who each represent a different section of Indian society. They meet, move together, and a few even talk to each other, as they ... See full summary »
Director: Sunil Babbar | Stars: Sunil Babbar, Navtej, Karishma Randhawa, Vijay Vashisht
Votes: 19
Follows the stories of numerous people on a bus trip.
13. Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003)
120 min | Drama
Set in the backdrop of Indian Emergency 1975, the story revolves around 3 friends whose lives changes drastically after the turn of events.
Director: Sudhir Mishra | Stars: Kay Kay Menon, Shiney Ahuja, Chitrangda Singh, Ram Kapoor
Votes: 5,302
Powerful story set against political activism in India in the 1970's.
14. Mumbai Diaries (2010)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
The lives of four people intersect in Mumbai: a washer-man who wants to become an actor, a banker-turned-photographer, a painter looking for inspiration, and a newly-married immigrant who journals her experiences on home video.
Director: Kiran Rao | Stars: Prateik Patil Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Aamir Khan
Votes: 13,775 | Gross: $0.58M
Four lives interwoven, a loving view of poverty in Mumbai. Subtle and slow. I thought it was excellent.
15. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah, Vijay Raaz
Votes: 26,695 | Gross: $13.88M
A fun comedy/family drama that is perhaps also a subtle critique of some standard Bollywood blockbusters which have shown a more romanticized view of large Indian family weddings. Much more realism than your average commercial Indian movie.
16. I Did Not Kill Gandhi (2005)
100 min | Drama
An 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.
Director: Jahnu Barua | Stars: Anupam Kher, Urmila Matondkar, Parvin Dabas, Rajit Kapoor
Votes: 769
An elderly man whose grip on reality is fading becomes convinced that people are punishing him for killing Gandhi. His family struggles to cope and understand. Excellent performance by Anupam Kher, and a great movie that is a bit about the impact of Gandhi, and some about dealing with aging relatives.
17. Road, Movie (2009)
Not Rated | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A young man's journey across the mythic Indian landscape becomes a life-changing odyssey.
Director: Dev Benegal | Stars: Abhay Deol, Satish Kaushik, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Mohammed Faizal
Votes: 1,756
This is a very stange, somewhat surreal movie. About the power of movies, coming of age... Worth a watch.
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