India is known as a very productive film producing country. Not surprisingly, Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world, with more than 1,000 films released every year.
Not only is it big in terms of the number of films released, the quality of Indian films has increased in terms of storyline, cinematography and other aspects, which is commendable and makes the quality of these films surpass Bollywood standards and is on par with western films.
List of the Best and Most Popular Indian Films So, for those of you who need references for the best quality Indian films, here are 28 films that you must watch.
1. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
This best Indian film is very close to the hearts of Indonesian Bollywood fans because it was shown on the small screen. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham stars top actors such as Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in the main roles.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham tells the story of a conglomerate family living in Delhi, they have two sons named Rahul and Rohan. Rohan is the first child to be adopted, this is known to the entire extended family except Rohan.
One day, Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) who grows up meets a beautiful woman named Anjali Sharma (Kajol). The two of them fall in love, but they are not approved because Anjali comes from a poor family and has a different social status from Rahul's family.
2. Mohabbatein (2000)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
This film stars legendary Indian actors, namely Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, and Aishwarya Rai. Mohabbatein tells a love story that is complicated and full of struggles for each character. The story begins with three new students who enter the Gurukul school and love someone at the school.
However, Narayan (Amitabh Bachchan), the Gurukul owner, forbids his students from getting involved in love stories with any women. Then Raj Aryan (Shahrukh Khan) arrives and makes the three young men succeed in fighting for their love.
On the other hand, Raj Aryan is dating the beautiful daughter of the Gurukul owner, Megha (Aishwarya Rai). Of course, Narayan opposed their relationship, the daughter, who obeyed all her father's rules, chose to end her life.
3. Madam Chief Minister (2021)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
This film, made by director Subhash Kapoor, stars Richa Chadha, Akshay Oberoi, Saurabh Shukla, Manav Kaul, Shubhrajyoti and has a rating of 4.7/5 on IMDb
This film tells the story of Tara Roopram, a child who was born when her father was killed and almost poisoned by her grandmother because she was a woman. Tara's struggle to become a minister is not easy, but Tara dares to go against all traditions and rules for the sake of a prosperous people.
4. Mumbai Saga (2021)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
The film 'Mumbai Saga' is a film inspired by real events.
The Mumbai Saga stars John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi, Suniel Shetty, Gulshan Grover, Rohit Roy, Amole Gupre, Samir Soni, and Kajal Aggarwal.
This film tells the story of an ordinary person who turns into a gangster and ultimately succeeds in becoming the de facto ruler who controls the entire city of Mumbai.
5. A Wednesday (2008)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Awareness of the incident existed only in his mind and in the minds of several individuals involved.
6. 3 Idiots (2009)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
This best Indian film tells the story of two friends, Farhan Qureshi (played by R. Madhavan) and Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi) who are looking for their old relative, namely Rancho (Aamir Khan) who is very inspiring and never looks down on them.
This film, which has a back-and-forth plot, follows Farhan Qureshi and Raju Rastogi's journey to find their long-lost friend, Racho, while recalling events from their school years where they were often involved in hilarious crimes involving the notorious campus rector.
In this film, viewers will be presented with many lessons about values in life, how good deeds can leave an impression on people's lives and make meaningful changes.
7. Bodyguard (2011)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
8. Kahaani (2012)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
The woman fell deeper into a conspiracy involving the government and the police.
Gradually, she realized that she had to investigate an incident two years ago in order to find her husband.
9. The Lunch Box (2013)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Unfortunately, the lunch package gets lost and ends up in the hands of a widower named Saajan. Intrigued by her husband's silence, Ila adds a message to his lunch box the next day, starting an unusual friendship in which Saajan and Ila can share stories without ever meeting in person.
10. Dhoom 3 (2013)
Genre: Action, Thriller
Duration: 2 hours 52 minutes
This Indian film, which was broadcast in 2013, tells the story of Jai and Ali who return to catch a criminal named Sahir. Dhoom is the seventh most popular Indian film in the world because it managed to earn 35.6 million US dollars.
11. Queen (2014)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Queen tells the story of a Delhi girl from a conservative family who is abandoned by her fiancé a day before her wedding.
Shocked by this, he decided to go on his honeymoon alone to Paris and Amsterdam.
As he travels the world and meets new people, he gains new experiences and finds his own identity.
12. PK (2014)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Indian film fans must be familiar with the film PK, directed by Rajkumar Hirani.
Tells the story of an alien with a human body named PK (played by Aamir Khan) who comes to earth to conduct research.
When he arrived on earth, he lost the means to communicate with the spaceship that accompanied him.
In the process of searching for these tools and meeting many people, this film was able to raise the topic of religious dogma in a satirical manner and still entertain the audience.
13. Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is an Indian romantic comedy film which is a sequel to the 2011 film, Tanu Weds Manu.
Four years after their wedding, a husband and wife experience challenges that lead to the collapse of their marriage.
Her husband then develops feelings for a young student who looks like his wife.
14. Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
The next most popular Indian film is Bajrangi Bhaijaan, starring Salman Khan and Harshaali Malholtra.
This Indian film, which was broadcast in 2015, managed to become the fifth most popular film in history with earnings of 46.43 million US dollars.
15. Dangal (2016)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
The most popular Indian film currently is Dangal, released in 2016. Dangal tells the story of a former Dangal wrestler who trains his two children to become professional Dangal athletes. This film was able to earn revenues of 250 million US dollars.
16. Pink (2016)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Minal, Falak and Andrea meet Rajveer and his friends at a rock concert. They then decided to have dinner together after the concert.
Rajveer misinterprets this and tries to do something to Minal. Minal in an act of self-defense ends up hitting Rajveer. Rajveer and his friends report Minal for attempted murder.
This film shows the legal battle between Minal and her friends to prove their innocence.
This film also depicts the perception of Indian society towards women who do not follow cultural standards and societal morality.
17. Secret Superstar (2017)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Secret Superstar is an Indian film that was released in 2017 and managed to earn 140 million US dollars and became one of the most popular films with the biggest profit in history.
This film is directed by Aamir Khan and tells the story of a child's struggle to become a professional singer.
18. Vikram Vedha (2017)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
This film, directed by Gayatri and Pushkar, tells the story of a police officer named Vikram (played by Madhavan) and his colleague, Simon (Prem) who try to catch Vedha (Vijay Sethupathi) — a smuggler and murderer.
There is a lot of conflict in this action film and the storyline is also written very well. The audience will be presented with very good performances from all the actors who take part and also seem to be taking part in the conflict that occurs.
19. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
The Indian film Baahubali tells the story of past events in the Mahishmati kingdom where Shiva, the son of Baahubali learns about his heritage.
This Indian film succeeded in occupying the sixth most popular Indian film position in Bollywood history with earnings of 43.74 million US dollars.
20. Tumbbad (2018)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Tumbbad is a psychological horror film that tells the mystical story of a god who created the universe.
The visuals in this film, which premiered at the Venice film festival, are executed very well and the storyline is both tense and impressive.
The film Tumbbad is directed by Rahi Anil Barve and Anand Gandhi, and stars Sohum Shah, Jyoti Maishe, and Anita Date.
The value stored in the story of this film is very good, namely how humans can become "monsters" because of lust and greed.
21. Pariyerum Perumal (2018)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
This Indian film tells the story of a law student named Pariyerum Perumal (played by Kathir) who befriends Jothi Mahalakshmi (Anandhi) who comes from a higher caste.
The conflict in this film occurs when the Jothi family disputes the Pariyerum caste differences.
Directed by Mari Selvaraj and Prabunath, Parireyum Perumal successfully depicts social inequality in India which is based solely on a person's caste.
22. Ratsasan (2018)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Ratsasan is an Indian film that tells the story of Arun (played by Radha Ravi) who has a dream of becoming a filmmaker, but is faced with many rejections and prohibitions from his family.
Because of the struggles he faced, he finally gave up his dream and worked as a police officer.
Directed by Raum Kumar and lasting 169 minutes, this psycho-thriller film has a storyline that remains engaging for the audience and is not boring at all.
23. Mahanati (2018)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Mahanati is a biographical film that tells the story of the life of Savitri, an Indian actress who was successful in Telugu and Tamil films for two decades: 1950 to 1960s.
This film, directed by Naq Ashwin and played by Keerthi Suresh, is able to depict Savitri's life in her golden age beautifully.
24. Gully Boy (2019)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Gully Boy is a film directed by Zoya Akhtar and tells the story of street rappers in Mumbai.
The main character of this film is Ranveer Singh who plays Murad Ahmed, with the stage name Gully Boy.
This film is very relevant for young people who are involved in rap or art in general.
For teenagers who are going through the process of finding their identity and trying to succeed in their desired field, this film seems to represent the struggle that is being carried out.
25. Article 15 (2019)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
This best Indian film tells the story of an honest policeman who struggles to eradicate crimes caused by caste and discrimination.
In general, the film Article 15 raises issues that still occur among Indian society today.
This film, directed by Anubhav Sinha and starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Nassar, and Manoj Pahwa, is a crime-thriller film and is aimed at making Indian citizens aware of this problem that still exists.
26. Chichhore (2019)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
The film, which was just released this year, tells the story of the lives of a group of friends from their college days to middle age, which is full of conflict, and the fate that forces them to separate.
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Chhichhore is able to provide a sense of relevance to the audience who watch this film.
The performances of actors and actresses like Sushant Singh Rajput, Shraddha Kapoor, and Varun Sharma are also very good in their respective roles.
27. Thappad (2020)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Thappad tells the story of a husband and wife who have a relationship that looks smooth and happy. However, one unexpected slap changed everything.
One day, Vikram, Amrita's husband who was enjoying great success at the office, threw a party at their house.
Things turn ugly when he misdirects his anger over a sudden incident and ends up slapping his wife in front of all the guests.
Amrita then decides to defend her shattered self-esteem by choosing to leave her ‘loveless’ marriage.
28. Panga (2020)
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| Theatrical release poster/source:wikipedia.org |
Panga is an emotional roller coaster story about a middle class Indian woman who is a world kabaddi champion. This film tells the story of his triumphs and struggles in overcoming stereotypes.
In his life, he faced two conflicts between having to fulfill his responsibilities to his family and his love of sports.
So, those are the recommendations for the best and most popular Indian films that Bollywood film lovers should watch. Have you watched any of them, Toppers? So, to make your viewing experience even more exciting, make sure you watch the best Indian films on the latest smartphone or LED TV with quality speakers which will definitely make the sensation of watching Indian films even more intense.
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