Watching local or foreign movies about a destination is essential to understand the local culture. The below selection of various local and foreign films about India is available in English or with English subtitles. Everybody knows Bollywood, the Mumbai-centered film industry that produces the most movies globally, even more than Hollywood. The dancing and singing elements are the particular features of a Bollywood movie, although several movies lack this feature lately. The below list contains Hollywood and British film, Bollywood productions, documentaries, and even a talk show that help you get connected to this incredible country.
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1. Delhi crime series (2019)
The Indian original Netflix series is based on the Delhi gang rape of 2012 that caused massive outrage in the country. Indian laws hardly protected women against rapes, and domestic violence was not a punishable act. On 16th December 2012, Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old student, traveled home on the bus from South Delhi, where she watched a movie in the cinema. The driver and his five friends gang-raped and brutally tortured the girl. Then, they pushed her with her boyfriend to the roadside. Despite later being transported to Singapore in a critical condition, the doctors could not save her life.
Three of the perpetrators were sentenced to death by hanging, one of them committed suicide in prison, and one juvenile got the maximum of three years in a rehabilitation facility.
The series focuses on the Deputy Commissioner of the Delhi police as she eagerly investigates the culprits until she finds them.
Celebrities, politicians, and other influential players openly expressed sympathy with the victim and demanded more severe punishment for sexual harassment.
2. Dangal (2016)
The only wish of a father from Haryana was to train his son to become an international wrestler. It came as a tragedy that he had two girls born. But the girls turned out to be very powerful who could even beat up their boyfriends. The father saw the opportunity to train his daughters, even if it is not customary for women to become wrestlers in India. He puts them on a strict diet, trains them hard, and even makes them cut their hair short. A woman in India with short hair is unusual. Despite all the hardships they have to go through, they are eager to become champions. After winning the National Championship, they must face the biggest challenge of their lives: The Commonwealth Games in 2010!
3. David Letterman’s interview with Shahrukh Khan
David Letterman, the host of the popular Netflix talk show, “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,” invited Shah Rukh Khan as his first Indian guest. The most famous Bollywood actor is a superstar in his country, where crowds of fans wait patiently in front of his house in Mumbai to see him for a few minutes. There are probably no other actors with as many fans as Shah Rukh Khan, although he is hardly known on the European and American continent. Shah Rukh Khan turns up as a highly witty and charming person in this interview. He makes you laugh, and at the same time, he makes impressive statements about life in India. It is definitely worth watching the interview with Shah Rukh Khan, known as SRK by the Indian people.
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4. Black Friday (2004)
On 12th March 1993, several places of interest, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Plaza Cinema, the Chatrapati Shivaji railway station, and the iconic Taj Hotel, were among the targets of the terrorist attack that took the lives of 257 people and left 144 injured. The 12 blasts occurred within only 2 hours.
The movie could only be released after the Supreme Court issued the verdict in 2007.
The bomb blast was the Muslim answer to the Hindu-Muslim riots of December 1992 and January 1993 after Hindu extremists demolished the Babri mosque in Ajodhya. It was probably the most tragic event in the modern history of India.
5. Hotel Mumbai (2018)
Hotel Mumbai is about the other dramatic terrorist attack committed by Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Islamist organization that wishes to merge Kashmir with Pakistan. The ten terrorists killed 174, including nine attackers, and more than 300 were wounded. The attack of 2008 lasted four days and shocked Mumbai again. One of the main targets was the iconic Hotel Mumbai, the Taj Palace Hotel. We get an insight into the tragic events through the eyes of a prominent guest, a waiter, and the terrorists.
During his official visit, American President Obama also chose to stay in the Taj Palace Hotel, the scene of the terrorist attack.
6. Taare Zameen Par (2007)
It is the story of the 8-year-old dyslexic child, Ishaan. His illness is unknown to his parents, who get disappointed by his poor school performance and his difficulties in reading and writing. The father decides to send him to a strict boarding school in the hope that Ishaan learns discipline. In this school, his art teacher recognizes the problem and pays extra attention to the boy. He also reveals the boy’s outstanding talent in drawing that leads him to win the school competition. Aamir Khan, one of the Bollywood stars, plays the teacher’s role.
7. I am Kalam (2010)
It is a touching story of an underprivileged boy, Kalam, who has to skip school classes to work and help his family survive despite his young age. He becomes friends with a boy from a high caste family who stays in the hotel where he works. But they have to keep it secret since the lower classes are still expected to keep distance from the society’s “superior” members. They can serve them but are not supposed to interact with them. Kalam took the name of the former Indian president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, whom he takes as his idol. He dreams about meeting him personally. One of the primary purposes of the movie is to inspire the poor to educate their children.
8. Chak de India (2008)
Chak de India (Let’s Go! India) is a cult film. It lacks the typical dancing and singing scenes and touches serious topics, such as the women’s role in Indian society, the India-Pakistan relation, and religious bigotry. Shahrukh Khan (SRK), the legend of the Bollywood film industry, is in the main role as the coach of the national women’s hockey team, Kabir Khan. The Indian Hockey Association was about to cut the financial support of the women’s team, saying that their role is to cook and clean anyway. Kabir Khan lost his reputation earlier as a player. He got a new chance as a coach to restore his image by leading the girls to the Hockey World Cup.
Read more about the obsession of cricket in India
9. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)
It is the true story of the successful athlete, Milkha Singh, also called the” Flying Sikh.” He was a national, Commonwealth, and Asian champion. He was also close to holding a world record in 400 m in the Olympics of 1956. The film became a super hit in India and abroad.
Bhaag Milka Bhaag means “Run Milkha Run,” which turns out to have been his father’s last word, who dies with his mother during the mass religious violence after the partition of India. He grows up in a refugee camp in Delhi and makes his living from stealing. The story of Milkha Sing is genuinely inspiring and one of the most impressive movies about India.
All you need to know about Sikh religion and culture in India
10. Akbar Jodha Bai (2008)
Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, two Bollywood icons star in the movie Akbar Jodha Bai. The most important ruler of Indian history, Akbar, conquered most of North and Central India and married Jodha Bai out of mere political considerations. Akbar, the Muslim ruler, was fond of his Hindu wife and allowed her to practice her religion in the Mughal Palace. There are legends about his attraction to Jodha Bai.
It is a fantastic story of the most famous royal couple in one of the best movies about Indian history.
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11. PK (2014)
PK, the alien, accidentally lands naked on the Earth that he was supposed to study when his remote control to the spaceship suddenly gets stolen. Once he is on Earth, he tries to integrate into the society and learns about the local culture, religion, and daily life. Jaggu, the journalist, bumps into the strange person and becomes eager to introduce his story to the public. Through the trials of the alien, we learn so much about the contradictions and oddity of the Indian culture. The alien even questions the instructions of a self-proclaimed godman who misleads the devotees that blindly follow him.
The movie is an entertaining comedy mixed with a love story that touches several important cultural and political aspects. The film does not lack the compulsory Bollywood dancing and singing elements but tells important messages simultaneously.
I’m very skeptical about movies with aliens and other fictions, but in the end, I found the movie entertaining and educative about India.
Aamir Khan, one of the most famous Bollywood icons, guarantees the movie’s success.
12. Padman
Padman is inspired by the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham (Lakshmi) from Tamil Nadu, who invents an affordable pad for the women of low-income families. After his marriage with Gayatri, Lakshmi gets upset that his wife isolates herself during her menstrual period, which comes as a surprise. He also catches his wife using a dirty rag that he would not even use for cleaning his car. It is all because the women of underprivileged families cannot afford to buy expensive pads. It pushes Lakshmi to start his experiments with a good quality pad for a lower price. All that out of love for his wife and to help all the women of India.
But his experiments fail despite his efforts. Since traditions are deeply enrooted in India, people condemn Lakshmi’s interest in feminine topics, and he becomes an embarrassment to his family. It goes so far that his wife makes him leave the house. But instead of giving up, Lakshmi goes to college to learn about cellulose fiber, the primary component of pads. He finally makes the pad-making machine that he presents at an innovation fair in Delhi. After winning the first prize, Lakshmi returns as a hero to his village.
Padman is an incredible true story and one of the best movies about India.
13. Toilet (2017)
This movie reveals the importance of toilets in India that derives from its deeply enrooted ancient customs. Several Indian homes still do not have a built-in bathroom in the countryside, forcing women to walk to nature every time. It also involves the risk of being subject to harassment.
Apart from that, the number of public toilets across India is insufficient. The “toilet and hygiene problem” of India got into the spotlight in 2014, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Clean India, Green India” (Swachh Bharat) sanitation program. Millions of toilets were installed to end “Open Defecation (ODF).”
It is an insightful movie about the Indian culture in the countryside.
14. Gandhi by Richard Attenborough (1982)
Gandhi’s story is a must-see for all those who want to understand India. Gandhi spent more than 20 years in South Africa, where he fought for the rights of Indian workers. He returned to India as a hero and became the leader of the independence movement. He lived a simple life, went on a hunger strike, and peacefully protested against the British. Gandhi played a crucial role in India gaining independence. But soon after, on 30th June 1948, he was assassinated.
The touching story of Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most well-known documentaries on India.
15. Water (2005)
The Canadian movie reveals the heartbreaking fate of widows in India in the 1930s when India was still under British occupation. Women who lost their husbands were expulsed from society, blaming them for carrying bad karma and attracting misfortune. Regardless of their age, widows had to move to ashrams, shave their heads and wear a white sari. They were considered a burden to society.
Water gives a unique insight into the hard life of Indian widows in the 1930s.
16. Slumdog millionaire
Latika and her two friends, Jamal and Salim, live in Dharavi, one of the largest slums in Asia. It covers an area of 2 km² and is perhaps home to a million people, a third of whom are Muslim. Due to the Hindu-Muslim clashes, the children lose their mothers and have no choice but to flee. Unfortunately, the three orphans get into the hand of child traffickers, who blinds the prospective beggars or cuts off one of their toes. Thus they can make more money out of the warm-hearted people. The children manage to escape, but later, Jamal gets separated from Latika and Salim. He never gives up on finding Latika.
Read the story of “Latika in Slumdog Millionaire”: a little girl’s way out of the slums of India onto the red carpet of Hollywood
Jamal finally tries his luck at the “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” quiz show as a contestant, hoping that she is watching that. The boy serving tea in a call center becomes suspicious as he knows the answer to every question. They are trying to pull the truth out of him with torture, but the truth is that Jamal did not commit any fraud. As he recalls his life to give the correct answers to the questions, we gain an insight into the harsh Indian reality.
“Slumdog Millionaire” was a blockbuster in 2009. Director Danny Boyle’s film got four Golden Globe awards, including the Best Film and eight Oscars!
17. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
The British comedy-drama is about British pensioners who decide to move to a retirement hotel in Jaipur, India. Sonny, the young enthusiastic hotel manager, does his best to welcome them in the best possible way. Still, it quickly turns out that the hotel is not exactly as advertised and disappointing the elderly guests. But magical India makes them deeply fall in love with the place instead of running away.
It is an adorable movie that will inspire you to go to India.
Why is India a love or hate thing?
18. 3 idiots
It is one of the most famous movies ever made in India. A worldwide hit that ranks among the top 10 high-grossing Bollywood movies internationally. It is about friends who struggle under the draconian strictness of the education system and its principle. After graduating, each of them takes a different path. Rancho, the smartest of them, abruptly leaves the inauguration ceremony without informing anyone. His friends finally find him at a remote corner of India, Ladakh, a major tourist attraction thanks to the movie.
19. Darjeeling limited (2007)
Three brothers go on a spiritual journey across India after the funeral of their fathers. During their trip, they also visit their mother, who lives as a nun in the Himalayas. The alienated brothers go through several adventures that help them rebuild their family bonds in India.
20. Lion (2016)
The Australian-British co-production is the true story of the 25-year-old Brierly, who accidentally lost his family when he got on a train in motion looking for his brother. The small boy arrived alone in Calcutta in India and could never find his way back to his home and family. He lives in the street and gets to an orphanage before an Australian couple adopts him. Despite having a stable family background, his memories come back several years later, and he decides to return to India to find his family.
21. Outsourced (2006)
An American company decides to outsource its call canter to India to reduce operation costs. The whole department is fired except Todd Anderson, who travels to India to train the new staff. He is frustrated by his entire mission in a country where he never wanted to go, and the local employees seem hopeless to get trained. He gets into embarrassing situations because he has no clue about Indian culture. Slowly, he gets familiar with this unique world and develops an affair in secret with an Indian girl. His local employees show that they can make incredible progress even if technical facilities and their understanding of the American system did not look promising initially.
It is a very entertaining Hollywood movie that imparts essential messages about India at the same time.
22. Lunchbox (2013)
The romantic movie is about Ila, who sends lunchboxes through the famous Mumbai “dabbawalas” to her husband. The dabbawalas are still working in Mumbai and deliver food from restaurants and homes to working people. They transport hundreds of thousands of lunch packets every year without using any computer system. Still, mistakes are rare. But Once Ila’s lunchbox mistakenly gets to Sajan, the widow who works as an accountant and prepares for his retirement. After the mishap, she sends a lunchbox with a small message to him, where the romantic story starts.
23. The Namesake (2006)
The Namesake introduces the story of Ashoke and Ashima, first-generation immigrants from Calcutta who settle down in the United States. Even in their new country, they try to keep the Indian traditions. But their son, Gogol, born in America, cannot connect to his parent’s homeland and customs. He often goes against the expectations of his parents. When Gogol’s father suddenly dies, he must go to India to fulfill his duty during the cremation rituals. This experience starts to change his mindset, and he discovers his Indian identity.
This movie reflects the struggles of many fellow Indians who try to keep their identity despite living in an entirely different culture.
Indians love watching local movies and movie stars, like Shahrukh Khan, have more fans than any Hollywood actor. If you travel to India, I recommend watching them both before and after your trip, when you already have an image of the country. Watching some documentaries, movies or interviews is essential to have meaningful travel.
by Agnes Simigh
I’m a passionate tour guide and travel writer, who is curious to discover places that seldom catch the attention of the media or that are misrepresented. My goal is to inspire you to choose off-the-beaten-track destinations by sharing objective and detailed information. I believe that it is mainly the lack of “intel” that keeps us away from incredible places. And that just shouldn’t be the case.