My favourite Unconventional Bollywood movies

by rsthbu | created - 10 Nov 2012 | updated - 10 Nov 2012 | Public

Unconventional Bollywood movies you should not miss according to me.

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1. Pushpaka Vimana (1987)

125 min | Comedy, Drama

An unemployed graduate who coincidentally encounters a rich unconscious man, and takes over his lifestyle by keeping him a prisoner. However, he is in for a twist as a contract killer is after him, assuming him to be the affluent man.

Director: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao | Stars: Kamal Haasan, Amala Akkineni, Tinnu Anand, Narayana P.L.

Votes: 3,815

2. Dasvidaniya (2008)

113 min | Comedy, Drama

A man who loves to make "to-do lists" makes one last bucket list when he realizes he is about to die.

Director: Shashant Shah | Stars: Vinay Pathak, Sarita Joshi, Rajat Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla

Votes: 6,551

Before Dev D, it was Dasvidaniya. I found both the movie strikingly similar. But, for me, Dasvidaniya was far better than Dev D.

3. 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: 82,341

4. The Chess Players (1977)

Not Rated | 129 min | Comedy, Drama, History

In 1856, two obsessed noblemen ignore everything while playing chess and fail to notice British rule extending into their Indian province.

Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Shabana Azmi, Farida Jalal

Votes: 4,067

5. Mera Naam Joker (1970)

224 min | Comedy, Drama

Raju is a joker, a clown. It is what he is and what he always shall be. As his life story unfolds in three chapters, from his school days to the circus to the streets, he must always make ... See full summary »

Director: Raj Kapoor | Stars: Raj Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, Simi Garewal, Rishi Kapoor

Votes: 5,325

6. Salaam Bombay! (1988)

Not Rated | 113 min | Crime, Drama

78 Metascore

Young Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.

Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Shafiq Syed, Anjaan, Amrit Patel, Murari Sharma

Votes: 10,098 | Gross: $2.08M

7. The Blue Umbrella (2005)

90 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

In a small village when a little girl's prescious umbrella is stolen, things goes wrong for a greedy tea seller who was very much interested in buying that umbrella from her.

Director: Vishal Bhardwaj | Stars: Pankaj Kapur, Shreya Sharma, Deepak Dobriyal, Rahul Kumar

Votes: 2,200

8. 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: 47,417 | Gross: $0.01M

9. Peepli [Live] (2010)

Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama

69 Metascore

An impoverished farmer's threat to end his life invites attention from politicians and media.

Directors: Anusha Rizvi, Mahmood Farooqui | Stars: Onkar Das Manikpuri, Raghubir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa, Farrukh Jaffar

Votes: 12,775 | Gross: $0.75M

10. Antardwand (2008)

Not Rated | 114 min | Crime, Drama

A young man is kidnapped by a local strongman with the intention of forcing him to marry his daughter to secure a family alliance.

Director: Sushil Rajpal | Stars: Raj Singh Chaudhary, Raja Chaudhary, Swati Sen, Akhilendra Mishra

Votes: 730

11. Rui Ka Bojh (1997)

Not Rated | 117 min | Drama

Kishan Shah is a self-respecting, wise old man who has divided his property amongst his family and now lives with his youngest son, Ram Sharan. However he is not able to get along with him and his family for too long.

Director: Subhash Agrawal | Stars: V.M. Badola, Pankaj Kapur, Reema Lagoo, Shreechand Makhija

Votes: 268

12. Katha (1983)

141 min | Comedy, Drama

Secretly in love with his neighbor, a mild-mannered clerk is heartbroken when his much bolder, more charming friend wins her heart instead.

Director: Sai Paranjpye | Stars: Naseeruddin Shah, Farooq Shaikh, Deepti Naval, Hemu Adhikari

Votes: 1,330

13. Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984)

130 min | Drama

An old couple, Mohan Joshi (Bhisham Sahni) and his wife (Dina Pathak), sues their landlord (Amjad Khan) for not maintaining their 'collapsing' apartment building. For this, they hire two ... See full summary »

Director: Saeed Akhtar Mirza | Stars: Bhisham Sahni, Dina Pathak, Mohan Gokhale, Deepti Naval

Votes: 197

14. Rudaali (1993)

128 min | Drama

In a small village in Rajasthan, India, a woman named Shanichari was born - so named, as shortly after her birth her father died; & her mother, Peewli, ran away with a rich lover, the owner... See full summary »

Director: Kalpana Lajmi | Stars: Rakhee Gulzar, Dimple Kapadia, Raj Babbar, Raghubir Yadav

Votes: 586

15. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002)

120 min | Drama

50 Metascore

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

16. 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: 1,543

17. 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

18. Lamhe (1991)

Not Rated | 187 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

Yash Chopra's most cherished film with soul stirring music is a story of moments - moments of passion, of ecstasy and of life changing love.

Director: Yash Chopra | Stars: Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Anupam Kher, Waheeda Rehman

Votes: 3,191

19. Stanley Ka Dabba (2011)

Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

A school-teacher, who forces children to share their food with him, forbids one from entering the school until he brings his own Tiffin/Lunch-box.

Director: Amole Gupte | Stars: Partho A. Gupte, Numaan Sheikh, Abhishek Reddy, Sai Shara Shetty

Votes: 7,622

20. Stay Alert (1956)

153 min | Comedy, Drama

An innocent guy who has arrived from a village to Kolkata gets himself involved into trouble in search of water after he gets thirsty in the middle of the night.

Directors: Amit Mitra, Sombhu Mitra | Stars: Pradeep Kumar, Sumitra Devi, Smriti Biswas, Pahadi Sanyal

Votes: 1,068

21. Road to Ladakh (2003)

Not Rated | 50 min | Drama

Road to Ladakh is a romantic thriller set on the India-Pakistan border where an American journalist encounters a suspected Indian drug runner.

Director: Ashvin Kumar | Stars: Deepak, Rimpoche Dorje, Thuptan Gelek, Pankaj Gupta

Votes: 323

22. 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: 37,880 | Gross: $0.04M

23. Aamir (2008)

Not Rated | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A doctor of Indian origin returning to Mumbai from London is forced to participate in a terrorist plot.

Director: Raj Kumar Gupta | Stars: Rajeev Khandelwal, Mukesh Agrohari, Supavitra Babul, Vasan Bala

Votes: 11,609

24. Straight (II) (2009)

110 min | Comedy, Drama

After being rejected by women, a restaurant-owner attempts to deal with homosexuality.

Director: Parvati Balagopalan | Stars: Vinay Pathak, Gul Panag, Anuj Chaudhary, Sid Makkar

Votes: 378

25. The Bypass (2003)

17 min | Short, Crime

A bypass somewhere in Rajasthan, two violent muggers and a corrupt police officer but it seems there is something more to the story.

Director: Amit Kumar | Stars: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sundar Dan Detha, Irrfan Khan, Manorama Goswami

Votes: 979

26. Mirch Masala (1986)

Not Rated | 128 min | Drama, Thriller

In colonial India, subedars (tax collectors) went from village to village with soldiers, often demanding more than taxes. A subedar commands Sonbai, a beautiful and confident woman whose ... See full summary »

Director: Ketan Mehta | Stars: Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Ratna Pathak Shah

Votes: 1,555

27. Godhuli (1977)

Drama

Set in an underdeveloped village in the vast rural hinterland, the story opens with Public Works Department workers taking measurements for construction of a road that is to pass through ... See full summary »

Directors: B.V. Karanth, Girish Karnad | Stars: Sita Kadlekop, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, Paula Lindsay

Votes: 39

28. Bhumika (1977)

142 min | Drama

A girl learns music from her courtesan grandmother and breaks into the burgeoning show business industry of 1930s Bombay, which eventually leads to decades of superstardom as well as romantic entanglements.

Director: Shyam Benegal | Stars: Smita Patil, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin Shah, Amrish Puri

Votes: 711

29. Hyderabad Blues (1998)

85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

The protagonist of Hyderabad Blues is Varun, played by the director, Nagesh Kukunoor. The movie revolves around his visit home after 12 years in the USA and his resulting culture shock.

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor | Stars: Nagesh Kukunoor, Rajshri Nair, Vikram Inamdar, Elahe Hiptoola

Votes: 948

30. 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

31. Mixed Doubles (2006)

91 min | Comedy, Drama

To spice up his life, a husband asks his wife to swap him for another male, while he swaps her for the other male's wife.

Director: Rajat Kapoor | Stars: Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey, Koel Purie, Saurabh Shukla

Votes: 704

32. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

R | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

67 Metascore

A year after their father's funeral, three brothers travel across India by train in an attempt to bond with each other.

Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan

Votes: 217,060 | Gross: $11.90M

33. Amu (2005)

Not Rated | 102 min | Drama

54 Metascore

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

34. Kahaani (2012)

Not Rated | 122 min | Mystery, Thriller

A pregnant woman's search for her missing husband takes her from London to Kolkata, but everyone she questions denies having ever met him.

Director: Sujoy Ghosh | Stars: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Indraneil Sengupta, Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Votes: 65,919 | Gross: $1.04M

35. 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: 4,091

36. Fire (1996)

Unrated | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

64 Metascore

Two mentally unstable women who are abandoned by their husbands find love and solace in each other.

Director: Deepa Mehta | Stars: Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Karishma Jhalani, Ramanjeet Kaur

Votes: 6,365 | Gross: $0.40M

37. English, August (1994)

118 min | Drama, Comedy

Agastya Sen (Rahul Bose), nicknamed "English, August", speaks and thinks in English. A lover of poetry, he listens to Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, rock, and jazz, and reads Marcus Aurelius. He ... See full summary »

Director: Dev Benegal | Stars: Tanvi Azmi, Rahul Bose, Rupen Bose, Shivaji Satam

Votes: 157

38. 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: 32,262 | Gross: $0.01M

39. Page 3 (2005)

139 min | Drama

A look at Mumbai's socialite party circle world through the eyes of a Page 3 journalist.

Directors: Madhur Bhandarkar, Jay Dev Banerjee | Stars: Konkona Sen Sharma, Atul Kulkarni, Sandhya Mridul, Tara Sharma

Votes: 7,062

40. Zakhm (1998)

Not Rated | 125 min | Drama

Amidst religious riots, a son deals with his mother's life-threatening injuries, and her last request.

Director: Mahesh Bhatt | Stars: Ajay Devgn, Pooja Bhatt, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Sonali Bendre

Votes: 3,531



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