57 excellent modern Indian films
Most people think that Indian films are just elaborate love stories with song and dance sequences. Here are some movies that break that mould and are a lot more than just that. These are some MUST SEE modern Indian films, including both Commercial as well as Arthouse films.
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- DirectorSudhir MishraStarsKay Kay MenonShiney AhujaChitrangda SinghSet in the backdrop of Indian Emergency 1975, the story revolves around 3 friends whose lives changes drastically after the turn of events.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsJ.D. ChakravarthiManoj BajpayeeUrmila MatondkarAn innocent man is embroiled in underworld after being falsely charged and sets out to punish the perpetrators who subjected his life to misery.
- DirectorMahesh MathaiStarsKay Kay MenonNethra RaghuramanZeenat AmanA newlywed couple's lives are changed during the lethal gas tragedy in Bhopal, India in 1984.
- DirectorVishal BhardwajStarsIrrfan KhanTabuPankaj KapurThe intrigue of the Shakespearean tragedy 'Macbeth' is transposed to the Mumbai underworld.
- DirectorVidhu Vinod ChopraStarsJackie ShroffAnil KapoorNana PatekarA man's friend, a police officer, is assassinated by gangsters in broad daylight. He discovers that his elder brother works in the same gang and decides to avenge his friend's death by infiltrating the gang.
- DirectorDibakar BanerjeeStarsNushrratt BharucchaAnshuman JhaNeha ChauhanA video camcorder, a store security camera, and concealed cameras candidly expose lives in three loosely-linked tales.
- DirectorFarhan AkhtarStarsAamir KhanSaif Ali KhanAkshaye KhannaThree inseparable childhood friends are just out of college. Nothing comes between them - until they each fall in love, and their wildly different approaches to relationships creates tension.
- DirectorDibakar BanerjeeStarsAbhay DeolParesh RawalNitu ChandraLovinder Singh, a thief now in custody and facing trial, reflects on his life of crime while the press reflect on how he managed to get away with so much before being arrested.
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsAbhay DeolMahie GillKalki KoechlinAfter 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?
- DirectorVikramaditya MotwaneStarsRajat BarmechaRonit RoyManjot SinghExpelled from his school, a 16-year old boy returns home to his abusive and oppressive father.
- DirectorMani RatnamStarsKamal HaasanSaranya PonvannanDelhi GaneshA common man's struggles against a corrupt police force put him on the wrong side of the law. He becomes a don, who is loved and respected by many, but his growing power and influence exact a heavy toll.
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsKay Kay MenonPawan MalhotraAditya SrivastavA film about the investigations following the 1993 serial Bombay bomb blasts, told through the different stories of the people involved --police, conspirators, victims, middlemen.
- DirectorGovind NihalaniStarsOm PuriNaseeruddin ShahMita VashishtRiveting suspense thriller about a dedicated cop who leads an under-cover squad against a group of terrorists. He manages to capture their leader, but finds himself and his family mentally and physically manipulated by the wily terrorist and his followers.
- 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'.
- DirectorBharathanStarsKamal HaasanShivaji GanesanNassarThe urbane son of a village chieftain struggles between his personal aspirations and those of his family.
- DirectorSundar C.StarsKamal HaasanMadhavanKiran RathodTwo men, one young and arrogant, the other damaged - physically but not spiritually - by life, are thrown together by circumstances, and find that they are in some ways bound together by fate.
- 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.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsSeema BiswasNirmal PandeyRajesh VivekThe story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1994.
- DirectorMani RatnamStarsArvind SwamyManisha KoiralaNassarA Hindu man and a Muslim woman fall in love in a small village and move to Mumbai, where they have two children. However, growing religious tensions and erupting riots threaten to tear the family apart.
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsJohn AbrahamAyesha TakiaParesh RawalA heavily addicted smoker is unprepared for the true price he must pay when he asks a guru's help to kick the habit.
- DirectorMani RatnamStarsMohanlalAishwarya Rai BachchanPrakash RajA struggling actor and a writer-politician become friends as young men and rise to great heights in cinema and politics respectively. But when both become contenders for the top political post in the state, a rift develops between them.
- DirectorAmole GupteStarsPartho A. GupteNumaan SheikhAbhishek ReddyA 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.
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsShabana AzmiNandita DasKarishma JhalaniTwo mentally unstable women who are abandoned by their husbands find love and solace in each other.
- DirectorMani RatnamStarsKeerthana ParthiepanSimranMadhavanA little girl is told by her parents that she is adopted. Determined to find her real mother, she begs to be taken to Sri Lanka, where her mother works with a militant group of activists.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsUrmila MatondkarManoj BajpayeeSushant SinghWhile alone in the house, a woman hears news of serial killer on the loose. And then a stranger rings the doorbell...
- DirectorAyan MukerjiStarsRanbir KapoorKonkona Sen SharmaSupriya PathakThe story of a lazy Mumbai college student who does absolutely nothing, with a turn of events will Sid realize his potential in this world and become a success in the fast-paced life of Mumbai.
- DirectorZoya AkhtarStarsHrithik RoshanFarhan AkhtarAbhay DeolThree friends decide to turn their fantasy vacation into reality after one of their friends gets engaged.
- 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.
- DirectorRaj Kumar GuptaStarsRajeev KhandelwalMukesh AgrohariSupavitra BabulA doctor of Indian origin returning to Mumbai from London is forced to participate in a terrorist plot.
- 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.
- DirectorDibakar BanerjeePravin E. BirjeStarsAnupam KherBoman IraniParvin DabasA Delhi-based retired middle-class man tries half-heartedly to get his land back from a swindling property dealer with the help of his sons and their friends.
- DirectorFazilStarsShobanaMohanlalSuresh GopiWhen a forbidden room in an old bungalow is unbolted, the spirit of a vengeful dancer is unleashed.
- DirectorEeshwar NivasStarsManoj BajpayeeRaveena TandonSayaji ShindeA tale of an honest cop set against the backdrop of the brutal, lawless system prevailing in the Indian state of Bihar, and the endless suffering he tolerates before all hell breaks loose.
- DirectorUmesh Vinayak KulkarniStarsMohan AgasheMadan DeodharGirish KulkarniSameer and Nachiket are relatives and friends. Nachiket, who is the more mature of the two, wants to escape his stifling surroundings. Sameer does not understand this. Then one day, Nachiket drowns in a pool where they often swam together. His death takes over Sameer's life, as he becomes lost in the fear and meaning of death. No one comes to his help. He must search to learn the meaning of life, however vaguely, on his own.
- 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.
- DirectorAnusha RizviMahmood FarooquiStarsOnkar Das ManikpuriRaghubir YadavShalini VatsaAn impoverished farmer's threat to end his life invites attention from politicians and media.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsAjay DevgnMohanlalManisha KoiralaA small-time gangster named Chandu teams up with Malik, a low-level enforcer for a criminal syndicate. Together they eliminate all their enemies, becoming the most feared gangsters in Mumbai.
- 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.
- DirectorShimit AminStarsRanbir KapoorPrem ChopraMukesh S. BhattA story of a fresh graduate trying to find a balance between the maddening demands of the 'professional' way, and the way of his heart.
- 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.
- DirectorNavdeep SinghStarsAbhay DeolGul PanagRaima SenManorama, wife of an irrigation minister, tasks Satyaveer to find if her husband is cheating. As Satyaveer starts investigating, he gets trapped in a web of lies and must uncover the entire truth.
- DirectorAbhinay DeoAkshat VermaStarsImran KhanVir DasKunaal Roy KapurThree struggling room-mates unknowingly become potential prey of a ruthless gangster.
- DirectorSanjay Leela BhansaliStarsManisha KoiralaNana PatekarSalman KhanThe daughter of deaf-mute parents seeks their understanding when she discovers a love for music.
- DirectorPriyadarshanStarsMohanlalAmrish PuriPrabhuGovardhan, a doctor by profession, is wrongly accused of bombing a train and is jailed by the British in Cellular Jail, also known as Kala Pani, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He witnesses the sufferings of hundreds of Indian prisoners there.
- DirectorAbhishek ChaubeyStarsVidya BalanNaseeruddin ShahArshad WarsiWhile on the run from goons, a man and his nephew fall for a kidnapper's seductive widow.
- DirectorImtiaz AliStarsShahid KapoorKareena KapoorTarun AroraA depressed wealthy businessman finds his life changing after he meets a spunky and care-free young woman.
- DirectorVasan BalaStarsGulshan DevaiahKriti MalhotraSiddharth MenonPeddlers tells the story of a young drug peddler (Siddharth Menon), a young immigrant mother facing a fatal disease (Kriti Malhotra) and a corrupt cop (Gulshan Devaiah).
- DirectorSanjay Leela BhansaliStarsAmitabh BachchanRani MukerjiShernaz PatelThe cathartic tale of a young woman who can't see, hear, or speak, and the teacher who brings a ray of light into her dark world.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorKrishna D.K.Raj NidimoruStarsTusshar KapoorSendhil RamamurthyNikhil DwivediVarious residents and career-criminals face challenges in crime-laden Mumbai.
- DirectorChandan AroraStarsSiddharthAnkur VikalAnupam KherAmidst strictly enforced curfew by Bombay Police during December 1992 following Hindu-Muslim riots, Suryakant - one of four siblings from Malad's Malvani slums, heads home. While doing so, he reflects on his childhood; his sisters: Devi and Rajni; brother Chandrakant; his dad, Shashikant, as well his mother; his expertise with the Carrom-board; run-ins with extortionist-goon, Jaleel Khan; his friendship with Zaid Khan; his crush on Noorie as well as his plans to find employment in Dubai; why he could not attend Devi's marriage, as well as the tragedy that awaits him.
- DirectorShimit AminStarsNana PatekarRevathiYashpal SharmaAn honest encounter specialist's life begins to change with the arrival of a new police commissioner who has ties with a local don.
- DirectorImtiaz AliStarsSaif Ali KhanDeepika PadukoneRishi KapoorAn old-fashioned romantic tells his personal love story to a modern man who has just broken up with his girlfriend. Has love really ever changed?