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mushairaandchill · 6 years

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hiii im interested in getting into bollywood and indian films, could you rec some of your faves and anywhere they might be with english subtitles? thank you

Hey there :D

Honestly, I lean more on the 'artsy' / parallel cinema side of things lol, but I'll try my best to make a balanced list. This is sort of semi-divided by theme/tone, director and genre but not rly organized. I'm providing the best links I can find, otherwise Netflix and Amazon might have these available to stream too.

Raavanan (a modern adaptation of the Ramayana that sort of reverses who is the protagonist and antagonist, but you don't really need to know that story for this to make sense. The wife of a cop is kidnapped by an anti-government tribal leader, and although she at first hates and fears him and his community, she begins to realize that her own husband and the police force he works for have done far worse.)

Vishal Bhardwaj's entire Shakespeare Trilogy:

Maqbool (adaptation of Macbeth, moves the story to Mumbai's criminal underworld)

Omkara (adaptation of Othello, moves the story to gangland Uttar Pradesh)

Haider (adaptation of Hamlet, moves the story to Kashmir during a period of extreme turmoil and violence under Indian occupation)

Kaminey (estranged twin brothers, each with a different speech impediment, live markedly different lives in Mumbai. One is a thug who dreams of running his own betting establishment, one is a college student and social worker who tries to live honestly but has gotten himself into trouble after impregnating a gangster's sister. Fate fucks with them so hard that their stories converge again)

7 Khoon Maaf (a woman marries, and then murders, seven men. They all deserved it)

Gangs of Wasseypur Part I and II (a rather graphic and relentlessly violent multi-generational saga of gangsters and politicians who are indistinguishable from another. In the 1940s, bandit and hired thug Shahid Khan starts a feud with the Qureshis and Ramadhir Singh that far outlasts him.)

Black Friday (a film that deals directly with real life events. After bomb blasts throughout Bombay kill hundreds of people, police begin a manhunt for those responsible. What they find is a rabbithole, full of gangster involvement, communal violence, religious extremism, and the greatest depths of human despair. It's a film that honestly emotionally disturbs me, so even tho I'm recommending it lol I'd say be careful if you watch it)

Ishqiya and Dedh Ishqiya (Two conmen/criminals, who happen to be uncle and nephew, steal money from their boss and go on the run. Along the way they run into rather dangerous women, fall in love, get in further trouble. The female characters in these movies are fuckin amazing)

Bajrangi Bhaijaan (an Indian man helps a little Pakistani girl find her way back to her country. It's a moving and incredibly heartwarming film omg)

3 Idiots (two college friends go on a roadtrip to find another college friend who mysteriously left during graduation and never contacted them again. Throughout it, they reminisce over college-era hijinks while getting into hijinks in the present day too)

Main Hoon Na (a profoundly campy film that nevertheless is one of the best films I've seen in my life. A soldier goes undercover as a student at his estranged half-brother's college to protect an army general's daughter. Along the way, he tries to connect with his brother and stepmother, without letting them know who he really is. He falls in love with a teacher who's actually his age so it's fine lmao There's a India-Pakistan plot going on, a rogue former army general is planning havoc, a million Hindi cinema tropes are lovingly lampooned as well as played straight. It's great)

Jab We Met (a straight laced, joyless man, depressed after being rejected by the girl he loved, boards a train intending to throw himself off it. A bubbly, extremely talkative woman saves him from doing so. They end up stranded after the train leaves without them. They go on a journey that changes them both. I LOVE this movie lol)

Mughal-e-Azam (the first sweeping epic of Hindi cinema, it's passed into legend in the decades since it first played in theatres. During the reign of Emperor Akbar, a dancing girl named Anarkali and the emperor's son, prince Salim, fall in love but their relationship is opposed by the Emperor, which leads to tensions and violence between father and son, threatening the very foundation of the Mughal Empire.)

Meera (a young woman faces great obstacles and scorn because of her deep spiritual love for and devotion to Lord Krishna. The story explores the various restrictions, responsibilities and burdens society places on a woman in the framework of spirituality and religious devotion.)

Baahubali Part I and II (AMAZING fantasy/action films set in ancient India about a young man who discovers that he's actually the heir to a kingdom that his uncle acquired through cheating, and who then sets out to reclaim it and avenge the wrong done to his family. Completely shattered box office records in India when it came out)

Jodhaa-Akbar (another film that takes place during Emperor Akbar's reign, but this time focuses on Akbar's relationship with Jodhaa Bai (irl Maryam-uz-Zamaani), Salim's mother and a Hindu Rajput princess. Their marriage is arranged for political reasons, but they eventually take a liking to each other. Unfortunately, many obstacles stand in their way to happiness)

Bajirao Mastani (a Maratha general and a Muslim princess fall in love, even though the general is already married. She's hated and discriminated against because of her religion by his household, but she pursues the relationship anyway. It's an indescribably beautiful movie - visually. But plot-wise there's a lot left to be desired lmao)

Devdas (from the same director as BM but with a slightly better script lmao. A man devolves into alcoholism after his childhood love is married off to someone else. A courtesan falls for him, but he can't forget his first love. It's one of the most visually stunning films ever made.)

Here's some older movies that I really love but idk if them being old would be off-putting:

Pyaasa (Honestly one of the best films ever made, and that's really a widely held opinion among both critics and viewers. A poet struggles in a world that devalues his work and his humanity. The only person who understands him and appreciates his poetry is a prostitute, herself an outcast in society. The film examines the world through the lens of an idealist whose worldview crumbles with every blow he's dealt. I'm terrible at describing it lmao it really needs to be watched to be understood)

Kaagaz Ke Phool (a sort of spiritual successor to Pyaasa, this film is about a director who falls from grace as his personal life disintegrates. It also sort of defies easy description ;v;)

Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (a country boy newly arrived to the city begins an unlikely friendship with the sad, neglected wife of a land-owning aristocrat and has to watch as she is slowly to lost to her despair and alcoholism)

Guide (a tour guide falls in love with a married dancer and throws himself into building her career, but gradually becomes hedonistic, self-absorbed and jealous as she becomes a star.)

Shree 420 (an honest and idealistic young man is lured into a world of gambling, conning and exploitation after he comes to the city and finds it difficult to get by on his values and education. This movie is socialist propaganda and I love it)

Mandi (centers on the inhabitants of a brothel as they're caught up in puritanical political outbursts against their profession and an effort by the state to evict them from their home. Sounds dramatic but is actually mad satirical and a dark comedy)

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (two hapless photographers get caught up in a tangled web of real estate corruption and politics after they accidentally photograph a murder)

Aandhi (a politician runs into her ex-husband and it opens a floodgate of memories for them both. A really good depiction of a woman's struggle to reconcile her career with all the expectations and responsibilities foisted on her as a wife and mother.)

Rajnigandha (a young woman is torn between her fiancee and her college boyfriend after she reconnects with the latter during a trip to Bombay. Honestly one of the most poignant films I’ve ever seen.)

I’m gonna end this here bc I’ve gone on waaay longer than I intended to lmao ;_; Sorry that this got so longwinded! Anyway, I hope this helped you, I tried to provide concise summaries so you could decide whether the premise appeals to you but I might just have made things more confusing? xD I hope not!

#indian cinema #bollywood #recs #i should really make a masterlist of my fave films w/links sometime #Anonymous

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