35 Films from the Golden Age of Indian Cinema
by Dibyayan_Chakravorty | created - 02 Feb 2017 | updated - 06 May 2017 | PublicFollowing India's independence, the period from the late 1940s to the 1960s are regarded by film historians as the 'Golden Age' of Indian cinema. Some of the most critically acclaimed Indian films of all time were produced during this period.
These are the top 35 most popular films from the Golden Age of Indian Cinema. Which one is your favorite? If you haven't seen any, then which one would you most like to discover first?
After voting, you may discuss the poll here.
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1. Pather Panchali (1955)
PG | 125 min | Drama
Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Banerjee, Chunibala Devi
Votes: 21,528 | Gross: $0.54M
Nominated for Best Film at the 1958 BAFTA Awards.
Nominated for Best Human Document Award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.
The 'Apu' trilogy is included in "Greatest Films of All Time" lists published by Sight & Sound, British Film Institute's (BFI), Time Out, Rolling Stone etc.
The Academy Film Archive preserved the entire 'Apu' trilogy in 1996.
2. Aparajito (1956)
PG | 110 min | Drama
Following his father's death, a boy leaves home to study in Calcutta, while his mother must face a life alone.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Pinaki Sengupta, Smaran Ghosal, Kamala Adhikari, Lalchand Banerjee
Votes: 10,767 | Gross: $0.17M
Nominated for Best Film and Best Foreign Actress (Karuna Bannerjee) at the 1959 BAFTA Awards.
3. Apur Sansar (1959)
PG | 105 min | Drama
This final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty, Swapan Mukherjee
Votes: 11,064 | Gross: $0.02M
Nominated for Best Film at the 1962 BAFTA Awards.
4. Mother India (1957)
PG | 172 min | Drama, Musical, Family
In this melodrama, a poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.
Director: Mehboob Khan | Stars: Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar
Votes: 8,217
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1958 Oscars.
The film is included in "Greatest Films of All Time" list published by Empire magazine.
5. Mughal-E-Azam (1960)
197 min | Drama, Romance, War
A 16th century prince falls in love with a court dancer and battles with his emperor father.
Director: K. Asif | Stars: Prithviraj Kapoor, Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Durga Khote
Votes: 6,964 | Gross: $0.16M
6. Pyaasa (1957)
146 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A talented but indigent poet Vijay struggles for love and recognition in this selfish world.
Director: Guru Dutt | Stars: Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha, Rehman
Votes: 5,128
The film is included in "Greatest Films of All Time" lists published by Sight & Sound and TIME magazine.
7. Jalsaghar (1958)
100 min | Drama, Music
Depicts the end days of a decadent zamindar (landlord) in Bengal, and his efforts to uphold his family prestige even when faced with economic adversity.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Chhabi Biswas, Sardar Akhtar, Gangapada Basu, Bismillah Khan
Votes: 4,890 | Gross: $0.09M
8. Awaara (1951)
193 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A poor young man named Raj joins a criminal gang to feed his mother. But when he falls in love with Rita, he decides to reform himself for her.
Director: Raj Kapoor | Stars: Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Prithviraj Kapoor, K.N. Singh
Votes: 3,459
Nominated for Grand Prize at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.
The film is included in "Greatest Films of All Time" list published by TIME magazine.
9. Shree 420 (1955)
168 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
When a young man from a small town decides to make it big in a city, he faces several challenges.
Director: Raj Kapoor | Stars: Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Nadira, Nemo
Votes: 2,401
10. The Cloud-Capped Star (1960)
126 min | Drama, Musical
A selfless young woman (Supriya Choudhury) sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
Director: Ritwik Ghatak | Stars: Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Gyanesh Mukherjee, Bijon Bhattacharya
Votes: 2,230
11. Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
148 min | Romance
Suresh Sinha, a famous director, discovers star potential in Shanti, a woman he stumbled into one rainy evening, and casts her as the lead in a film. In a twist of fate, Shanti becomes a superstar and Suresh faces a decline in his career.
Director: Guru Dutt | Stars: Waheeda Rehman, Guru Dutt, Kumari Naaz, Johnny Walker
Votes: 1,931
The film is included in "Greatest Films of All Time" list published by Sight & Sound.
12. Devdas (1955)
159 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
The scion of a wealthy landowner family turns to alcohol and self-pity and slowly self-destructs after class differences force him to break off his relationship with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Bimal Roy | Stars: Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Vyjayanthimala, Motilal
Votes: 1,624
13. Devi (1960)
93 min | Drama
A young woman is deemed a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal land-lord, has a dream envisioning her as an avatar of Kali.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Sharmila Tagore, Soumitra Chatterjee, Chhabi Biswas, Karuna Bannerjee
Votes: 1,788 | Gross: $0.09M
Nominated for Golden Palm at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.
14. Do Ankhen Barah Haath (1957)
143 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Progressive, reform-minded young warden gets permission to take six surly murderers from prison to dilapidated country farm, to rehabilitate it and themselves through hard work and kindly guidance.
Director: Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre | Stars: Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre, Sandhya, Ulhas, B.M. Vyas
Votes: 1,606
15. Maya Bazaar (1957)
192 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Balarama promises Subhadra to get his daughter married to her son. But when the Pandavas loses their kingdom to the Kaurava's, Balarama breaks his promise.
Director: Kadiri Venkata Reddy | Stars: Taraka Rama Rao Nandamuri, S.V. Ranga Rao, Savitri, Gemini Ganesan
Votes: 3,738
16. Do Bigha Zamin (1953)
131 min | Drama
In the hope of earning enough money to pay off his debts and save his land, a poor farmer becomes a rickshaw puller in the Calcutta and faces many difficulties.
Director: Bimal Roy | Stars: Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Rattan Kumar, Murad
Votes: 1,673
Won International Prize and nominated for Grand Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival.
17. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958)
173 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Three woman-hating brothers face changes in their respective lifestyles when two of them fall in love.
Director: Satyen Bose | Stars: Ashok Kumar, Madhubala, Anoop Kumar, Kishore Kumar
Votes: 1,352
18. Madhumati (1958)
110 min | Fantasy, Musical, Mystery
A young man takes shelter in a mansion when a landslide blocks his route to the railway station. Then, he finds the mansion familiar and soon learns about the story of his previous birth.
Director: Bimal Roy | Stars: Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Johnny Walker, Pran
Votes: 1,152
19. Naya Daur (1957)
173 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
When the son of a landlord decides to modernize his business by replacing the horse carts with buses, a horse cart rider decides to challenge him.
Director: B.R. Chopra | Stars: Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Ajit, Chand Usmani
Votes: 1,018
20. Parash Pathar (1958)
111 min | Comedy
An underpaid middle-aged clerk finds a 'parash pathar', a stone that changes iron to gold on touch.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Tulsi Chakraborty, Kali Bannerjee, Ranibala, Gangapada Basu
Votes: 958
Nominated for Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival.
21. Jagte Raho (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: 816
22. Boot Polish (1954)
149 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Preteen brother and sister, abandoned by their father to care of an abusive prostitute aunt, survive life in an Indian squatters' camp, aided by a friendly cripple, by learning to shine shoes instead of begging.
Director: Prakash Arora | Stars: Kumari Naaz, Rattan Kumar, David Abraham, Chand Burke
Votes: 694
Nominated for Special Mention to a Child Actress (Kumari Naaz) at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.
23. Anari (1959)
166 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A poor young man gets employed by a rich man admiring his honesty. But when he gets suspected in a lady's murder case, he need to prove his innocence.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Stars: Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Lalita Pawar, Shubha Khote
Votes: 656
24. C.I.D. (1956)
146 min | Action, Crime, Musical
A newspaper editor gets murdered when he was about to expose the underworld links of a rich person. So, a C.I.D inspector gets assigned to investigate the murder case.
Director: Raj Khosla | Stars: Dev Anand, Shakila, Johnny Walker, K.N. Singh
Votes: 588
25. Barsaat (1949)
171 min | Drama, Romance, Musical
Pran and Gopal fall in love with village girls while on a holiday. After returning home, Gopal continues to flirt with other girls. But Pran realizes that he has truly fallen in love.
Director: Raj Kapoor | Stars: Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Prem Nath, K.N. Singh
Votes: 524
26. Pathala Bhairavi (1951)
192 min | Action, Adventure, Family
A poor man, in love with a princess, is persuaded by an evil sorcerer to help him get the blessing of a Goddess.
Director: Kadiri Venkata Reddy | Stars: Taraka Rama Rao Nandamuri, S.V. Ranga Rao, Malathi K., Seeta Rama Anjaneyulu Chilakalapudi
Votes: 594
27. Missamma (1955)
181 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Two unemployed college graduates from Madras, Rao and Mary act as if they are a married couple to get a job as school teachers in a small village called Appapuram. The story unfolds into an... See full summary »
Director: L.V. Prasad | Stars: Taraka Rama Rao Nandamuri, Savitri, Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, S.V. Ranga Rao
Votes: 758
28. Chori Chori (1956)
158 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A spoiled rich girl on the run travels with a reporter looking for a news scoop.
Director: Anant Thakur | Stars: Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Gope, Master Bhagwan
Votes: 437
29. Ajantrik (1958)
102 min | Drama
Bimal is a taxi-driver in a small town. His taxi is his only companion and, although very battered, it is the apple of Bimal's eye. The film shows the love of taxi driver Bimal and his pathetic vehicle Jagaddal.
Director: Ritwik Ghatak | Stars: Kali Bannerjee, Gangapada Basu, Satindra Bhattacharya, Tulsi Chakraborty
Votes: 478
30. Andaz (1949)
148 min | Musical, Drama, Crime
Dilip loves Neena, but she treats him only as a friend. Later she gets married to Rajan. When he comes to know that Dilip once loved Neena, he misunderstands them and things change a lot then.
Director: Mehboob Khan | Stars: Nargis, Dilip Kumar, V.H. Desai, Cuckoo
Votes: 447
31. Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960)
167 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A simple-minded small-time singer joins a group of bandits and becomes the cause for their moral transformation and turnaround.
Director: Radhu Karmakar | Stars: Raj Kapoor, Padmini, Pran, Chanchal
Votes: 400
32. Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955)
157 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A young, naive heiress, in custody of a martinet and flamingly feminist aunt is forced into a 'marriage of convenience' with an unemployed cartoonist in an attempt to save her millions - a ... See full summary »
Director: Guru Dutt | Stars: Madhubala, Guru Dutt, Lalita Pawar, Johnny Walker
Votes: 429
33. Aag (1948)
138 min | Musical, Romance
Failing to move on from his loss of childhood love, a man turns to his passion for theater.
Director: Raj Kapoor | Stars: Nargis, Kamini Kaushal, Nigar Sultana, Kamal Kapoor
Votes: 333
34. Mahal (1949)
165 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A young lawyer is involved with a ghostly woman in his new house, where the builder and his fiancée died shortly after it was built.
Director: Kamal Amrohi | Stars: Ashok Kumar, Madhubala, M. Kumar, Vijayalaxmi
Votes: 354
35. Baiju Bawra (1952)
165 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A young singer, in the time of Emperor Akbar the Great, sets out to avenge his father, killed in a disturbance near the house of a member of the Court.
Director: Vijay Bhatt | Stars: Meena Kumari, Bharat Bhushan, Surendra, Kuldip Kaur
Votes: 315
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