Find something to watch for every mood. Browse 4,480 of the best films ever made — voted on by the world's critics in the Sight & Sound poll — each with a trailer and up-to-date streaming options. Filter by genre, decade, country, language, runtime, or director, or explore our hand-curated film collections.
Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his wife, Sarbojaya, looks after her rebellious daughter, Durga, and her young son, Apu, as well as Harihar's elderly aunt Indir. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them.
Pyaasa (1957)
Guru Dutt · 19 critic votes
Vijay, a destitute poet, searches for true love while attempting to get his work published. With the assistance of two women in his life, his dream comes true - but at a cost that causes Vijay to rethink his worldview.
Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)
Ritwik Ghatak · 19 critic votes
A selfless young woman, the daughter of a middle-class refugee family from East Pakistan, sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
Charulata (1964)
Satyajit Ray · 18 critic votes
In 1870s India, Charulata is an isolated, artistically inclined woman who sees little of her busy journalist husband, Bhupati. Realizing that his wife is alienated and unhappy, he convinces his cousin, Amal, to spend time with Charulata and nourish her creative impulses. Amal is a fledgling poet himself, and he and Charulata bond over their shared love of art.
Subarnarekha (1965)
Ritwik Ghatak · 9 critic votes
After an old college friend offers him a job at an iron foundry, the upright and honest Ishwar leaves a shanty town on the outskirts of Calcutta where he lives with a group of refugees from East Bengal. With plans to forge a solid living for himself, sister Sita and Abhiram, an orphaned boy he offers a home to, Ishwar is accused of selling out and deserting his people.
Jalsaghar (1958)
Satyajit Ray · 7 critic votes
An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.
Apur Sansar (1959)
Satyajit Ray · 7 critic votes
Apu, now a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer, is invited to join an old college friend on a trip up-country to a village wedding.
Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
Guru Dutt · 7 critic votes
The film tells, in flashback, the story of Suresh Sinha, a famous film director and his relationship with an aspiring actress.
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
Mira Nair · 7 critic votes
A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.
Aparajito (1956)
Satyajit Ray · 6 critic votes
Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.
Duvidha (1973)
Mani Kaul · 6 critic votes
A newly-married merchant’s son is sent away for business. A ghost, who laid eyes on the bride, falls madly in love with her and takes the form of the husband and begins living with her.
Sholay (1975)
Ramesh Sippy · 5 critic votes
After his family is slain by notorious bandit Gabbar Singh, former Inspector Thakur Baldev Singh enlists low-level outlaws Jai and Veeru to capture Gabbar and seek revenge.
Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)
Anurag Kashyap · 5 critic votes
In 1970s India, Sardar Khan vows to take revenge on the man who killed his father decades earlier.
Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
K. Asif · 4 critic votes
In the 16th century, when Prince Salim falls in love with a beautiful courtesan named Anarkali, Emperor Akbar's disapproval leads to a battle between father and son.
Mahanagar (1963)
Satyajit Ray · 4 critic votes
Arati takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman in Calcutta's wealthy neighbourhoods, in defiance of her traditionally-minded husband, Subrata, and his live-in parents. Emulating her Anglo-Indian friend Edith, who speaks equal to the men she encounters on the job, Arati quickly becomes her firm's top salesperson. When Subrata loses his job, the power dynamic begins to shift.
Om Shanti Om (2007)
Farah Khan · 4 critic votes
Reincarnated 30 years after being killed in a suspicious on-set fire, a small-time actor is determined to punish the person who ignited the blaze.
Mother India (1957)
Mehboob Khan · 3 critic votes
A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.
Uski Roti (1969)
Mani Kaul · 3 critic votes
The film depicts the life of a truck driver Sucha Singh and his wife Balo. Balo has to get Sucha Singh's food ready every day, walk a long distance through the fields and wait for him on the highway as he drives past the village. He leads an independent life, playing cards with his friends and spending time with his mistress, and comes home only once a week. However, he expects his wife to play the traditional role of a devoted wife. One day Balo gets late, trying to save her sister from the advances of a lecherous villager. Sucha Singh is angry, and drives away without his food. She decides to wait for him until nightfall.
Pakeezah (1972)
Kamal Amrohi · 3 critic votes
A beautiful courtesan is unable to break away from the cycle of prostitution until a forest ranger falls in love with her. Unfortunately, his wealthy parents oppose the union.
Bogeyman (1979)
G. Aravindan · 3 critic votes
A stranger who may be the trickster magician Kummatty comes to a village in Malabar, India.
Dil Se.. (1998)
Mani Ratnam · 3 critic votes
Journalist Amar falls for a mysterious woman on an assignment, but she does not reciprocate his feelings. However, when Amar is about to get married, the woman shows up at his doorstep asking for help.
A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021)
Payal Kapadia · 3 critic votes
L, a student in India witness to the government's violent response to university protests, writes letters to her estranged lover while he is away.
All We Imagine as Light (2024)
Payal Kapadia · 3 critic votes
In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend. A trip to a beach town allows them to find a space for their desires to manifest.
Maya Bazaar (1957)
Kadiri Venkata Reddy · 2 critic votes
Balarama promises Subhadra that he'll marry his daughter to her son. But when the Pandavas lose their kingdom to the Kauravas, Balarama breaks his promise.
Kanchanjangha (1962)
Satyajit Ray · 2 critic votes
Played out in real time, several complex family dramas intersect in the landscape of the Himalayan foothills, allowing the Bengali auteur to examine the class and generational differences of postcolonial India while celebrating the hopes of a society in transition.
Days and Nights in the Forest (1970)
Satyajit Ray · 2 critic votes
Four friends from Calcutta who have very different personalities make a holiday excursion into the country, to a tiny village in the state of Bihar where they set themselves up in a bungalow. A series of minor events, all connected to their respective reactions to their new environment, reveals their characters more deeply.
Interview (1971)
Mrinal Sen · 2 critic votes
A young Indian man has been assured by an uncle that all he needs to land a lucrative job is to show up to the interview in a Western style suit, but the morning of the interview is fraught with unexpected difficulties.
Garm Hava (1973)
M. S. Sathyu · 2 critic votes
In post-Partition India, a Muslim businessman and his family struggle for their rights in a country which was once their own.
Jukti Takko Aar Gappo (1974)
Ritwik Ghatak · 2 critic votes
Four men, each peculiar in his own way, embark on a quest to reason with the estranged wife of the protagonist. This is considered to be Ghatak's autobiographical film.
The Chess Players (1977)
Satyajit Ray · 2 critic votes
In the year 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is the King of Awadh, one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British intend to control this rich land and send General Outram to clear way for an annexation. Pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political maneuvers, but the Nawab whiles away his time in pursuit of pleasure and religious practice. The court is of no help either — noblemen Mir and Mirza ignore all duties and spend their days playing endless games of chess.
36 Chowringhee Lane (1981)
Aparna Sen · 2 critic votes
After the marriage of her niece, an Anglo-Indian school-teacher, Violet Stoneham, lives a lonely life in her single room flat located at 36 Chowringhee Lane in Calcutta. When a former student starts visiting her with her boyfriend, Violet welcomes them eagerly.
Elippathayam (1981)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan · 2 critic votes
Unni is the last male heir of a decaying feudal family in rural Kerala. His inability to accept the socio-economic changes of a new society causes him to gradually withdraw into isolation and paranoia.
Amma Ariyan (1986)
John Abraham · 2 critic votes
Purushan, a student on his way to Delhi, becomes obsessed with the tragic suicide of a young drummer. He collects many people to go with him to tell the boy’s mother.
Nayakan (1987)
Mani Ratnam · 2 critic votes
Velu Naicker, who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, kills a corrupt policeman and escapes to Mumbai, only to become a gangster.
Siddheshwari (1989)
Mani Kaul · 2 critic votes
An impressionistic biographical look at Siddheshwari Devi (1908–1977), the classical Indian singer whose voice was appreciated by the maharajas and public alike.
Devdas (2002)
Sanjay Leela Bhansali · 2 critic votes
In 1900s India, Calcuttan zamindar Devdas Mukherjee — unable to marry his lover — takes up alcohol and the company of a courtesan to alleviate the pain.
Tins for India (1941)
Bimal Roy · 1 critic vote
Documenting the production of kerosene tins and their reuse in rural India, this early short by Bimal Roy observes industrial labor and everyday life with a restrained, humanist perspective.
Chandralekha (1948)
S. S. Vasan · 1 critic vote
Brothers Veer and Shashank fall in love with Chandralekha. Shashank kidnaps her and forces her to marry him. She requests a special drum dance prior to the wedding. The drums, however, hold a secret.
Andaz (1949)
Mehboob Khan · 1 critic vote
Nina is a rich and spoiled girl. Dilip accidentally meets her and starts liking her, not knowing that she is already engaged.
Parasakthi (1952)
R. Krishnan, S. Panju · 1 critic vote
Set against the backdrop of World War II, three brothers are separated by war while their sister Kalyani faces immense struggles after being widowed and left destitute. As each sibling endures hardship and societal injustice, their paths cross in unexpected ways, culminating in a dramatic courtroom trial that exposes the harsh realities of their world and sets the stage for a powerful family reunion.
Do Bigha Zamin (1953)
Bimal Roy · 1 critic vote
An impoverished man and his young son travel to Calcutta and look for work, in order to make money that'll save their ancestral land from being seized by a corporation.
Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955)
Guru Dutt · 1 critic vote
A young, naive heiress is forced into a 'marriage of convenience' with an unemployed cartoonist in an attempt to save her millions - a move orchestrated by the scheming aunt.
Ajantrik (1958)
Ritwik Ghatak · 1 critic vote
Bimal is a taxi-driver in a small provincial town. He lives alone, his taxi (an old 1920 Chevrolet jalopy which he named Jagaddal) is his only companion and, although very battered, it is the apple of Bimal's eye.
Devi (1960)
Satyajit Ray · 1 critic vote
A devout upper-class Hindu has a vision in a dream that his daughter-in-law is the human incarnation of the Goddess Kali and begins worshipping her.
Guide (1965)
Vijay Anand · 1 critic vote
A tourist guide meets an unhappy married woman who wants to take up dancing. With his motivation, she becomes a successful dancer but success corrupts the man's mind.
Nayak (1966)
Satyajit Ray · 1 critic vote
Arindam, a matinee idol, is going by train to collect an acting award. On the train, he is confronted by Aditi, a journalist who somewhat unwillingly starts to take his interview. Arindam, won over by Aditi's naivete, starts to disclose his past, his fears and his secrets.
Titash Ekti Nadir Naam (1973)
Ritwik Ghatak · 1 critic vote
An in-depth look at the lives and struggles of a fishing community living by the River Titas in Bangladesh after the Partition of India in 1947.
Ankur (1974)
Shyam Benegal · 1 critic vote
In a small Indian village, a destitute woman's barren, alcoholic husband absconds after stealing toddy. Alone to fend for herself, she ends up relying on the affections of her landlord's to-be-married son who recently returned to look after the estate.
Deewaar (1975)
Yash Chopra · 1 critic vote
Haunted by the past, Vijay turns to crime, while Ravi, his brother, becomes an honest police officer. Fate pits them against each other when Ravi is sent to nab Vijay.
Ghatashraddha (1977)
Girish Kasaravalli · 1 critic vote
A young brahmin boy studying in a village away from home and a young widow isolated by her condition form a bond.
Oka Oori Katha (1977)
Mrinal Sen · 1 critic vote
A father living on the fringes of a village believes that working is a fool's errand, for the lord takes what little the workers make. When a young woman enters their home, tensions begin to rise and their idle life is threatened. The film is based on the story ‘Kafan’ by Munshi Premchand
Thampu (1978)
G. Aravindan · 1 critic vote
The arrival of a travelling circus sends ripples through the inhabitants of a remote Keralan village.
Tobacco Embers (1978)
Yugantar Film Collective · 1 critic vote
TAMBAKU CHAAKILA OOB ALI documents, re-enacts, and takes forward one of the largest movements of unorganized labor of its time and context, which sparked unionizing processes across India throughout the 1980s. In the spirit of mobilizing for the leftist labor and the women’s movements the Yugantar collective spent four months with female tobacco factory workers in Nipani, Karnataka in India, listening to their accounts of exploitative working conditions, discussing strategies for unionizing and steps to broaden solidarities for strike actions, and filming previously unseen circumstances inside the factories.
Uthiripookkal (1979)
Mahendran · 1 critic vote
Sundaravadivelu is a wealthy, sadistic and authoritative man who disregards and manipulates everyone within his reach. Through his ruthless deeds, he makes life miserable for everyone in his village, including his ailing wife and two children.
Esthappan (1980)
G. Aravindan · 1 critic vote
Esthappan is a fisherman, who lives in a seashore colony. His story unfolds through narrations by other fishermen about his miraculous acts. Through the contradictory statements of these people, a mystical figure of Esthappan unfolds.
Andhaa Kaanoon (1983)
Tatineni Rama Rao · 1 critic vote
When his parents are killed by three men, Amar, Akbar and Anthony, Vijay teams up with a forest officer who was framed in a murder case to avenge their deaths.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983)
Kundan Shah · 1 critic vote
Two zanies open a photography studio. They score a partnership with a gossip magazine that suddenly thrusts them into a world of corruption, murder, and hijinks.
Past, Present, Future (1986)
Shyam Benegal · 1 critic vote
What Has Happened to This City? (1986)
Deepa Dhanraj · 1 critic vote
Explores the processes of political maneuvering which led to the Hyderabad communal riots in 1984. The city’s history, the provocative speeches of its politicians and the instrumentalisation of religious processions stands next to the testimonies and the striking visual accounts of the Old City’s working class – those who lose their livelihoods through violent attacks and long periods of imposed curfew.
Anantaram (1987)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan · 1 critic vote
A young man narrates two conflicting accounts of his life, changing the details and incidents in both, as he slowly approaches madness.
Geetanjali (1989)
Mani Ratnam · 1 critic vote
Prakash, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and Geethanjali, an equally ill patient, fall in love with each other. However, when she learns about his illness, she decides to move out of his life.
Mathilukal (1989)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan · 1 critic vote
Mathilukal ('Walls') is a free adaptation of the novelette of the same name, written by the celebrated Malayalam writer, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. Autobiographical in character, it is set against the background of India’s freedom struggle in the ’40s when he was serving a term of imprisonment in the Trivandrum Central Jail. When the film opens, we see Basheer in a police lock-up, quite at home in the company of a few petty criminals. He has been languishing there for more than a year now without a trial.
Time Addiction (1989)
Amitabh Chakraborty · 1 critic vote
A man retreats into isolation as he becomes pathologically obsessed with the passage of time and the looming reality of death. Confined within a house and maintaining minimal contact with the outside world, he attempts to manipulate his perception of reality. By focusing intensely on the physical sensation of each passing second, he seeks a state of psychological stasis to escape his own mortality.
Something Like a War (1991)
Deepa Dhanraj · 1 critic vote
An examination of India’s family planning program from the point of view of the women who are its primary targets. It traces the history of the family planning program and exposes the cynicism, corruption and brutality which characterizes its implementation. As the women themselves discuss their status, sexuality, fertility control and health, it is clear that their perceptions are in conflict with those of the program.
Eleven Miles (1992)
Ruchir Joshi · 1 critic vote
Tradition and contemporary practice of Bauls, Bengali mystic minstrels, are explored in Calcutta filmmaker and author Ruchir Joshi’s essay film.
Vidheyan (1993)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan · 1 critic vote
Thommy is the loyal servant of Bhaskara Pattelar, a ruthless tyrant. He struggles between obedience and morality.
Bandit Queen (1994)
Shekhar Kapur · 1 critic vote
Born a lower-caste girl in rural India's patriarchal society, "married" at 11, repeatedly raped and brutalized, Phoolan Devi finds freedom only as an avenging warrior, the eponymous Bandit Queen. Devi becomes a kind a bloody Robin Hood; this extraordinary biographical film offers both a vivid portrait of a driven woman and a savage critique of the society that made her.
Bombay (1995)
Mani Ratnam · 1 critic vote
A 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.
Truth (1998)
Ram Gopal Verma · 1 critic vote
The Truth deals with an investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) involving the murder of the Chief Minister of Kerala in bomb blast.
Final Solution (2003)
Rakesh Sharma · 1 critic vote
This award-winning documentary explores the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 Gujarat Riots. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscent of the Nazi Germany of early 1930s. Final Solution is anti-hate/violence, as 'those who forget history are condemned to relive it'.
Maqbool (2003)
Vishal Bhardwaj · 1 critic vote
The Scottish tragedy 'Macbeth' set in the contemporary underworld of India's commercial capital; two corrupt, fortune telling policemen take the roles of the weird sisters, and "Duncan" is Abbaji, the head of a crime family.
Kattradhu Thamizh (2007)
Ram · 1 critic vote
A young Tamil-postgraduate, frustrated with the circumstances and futility of his job, slowly loses his mental balance and becomes a sociopath.
3 Idiots (2009)
Rajkumar Hirani · 1 critic vote
Three engineering students navigate the pressures of an elite Indian university, where one free-spirited classmate challenges the system’s obsession with grades, conformity, and success.
Gulaal (2009)
Anurag Kashyap · 1 critic vote
A law student witnesses the struggles of the Rajputs, deception, homicide and crime after being elected as General Secretary of his college.
Between the Waves (2012)
Tejal Shah · 1 critic vote
A surreal five channel film installation where unicorn women collect plastic and communicate through a mirror within a lunar setting. The film tackles issues such as sexuality, body, kinship and productiveness while blurring boundaries and categories.
Eega (2012)
S. S. Rajamouli · 1 critic vote
Nani is a flower decorator, madly in love with his neighbor Bindhu. He gets killed by the baddie, Sudeep, a powerful businessman. Nani comes back as a housefly to get his revenge.
Ship of Theseus (2012)
Anand Gandhi · 1 critic vote
Three stories about persons forced to think about the ethics and moral issues raised by medical advances.
Supermen of Malegaon (2012)
Faiza Ahmad Khan · 1 critic vote
Malegaon, a small town tucked away near the heart of India geographically, is fraught with communal tension and under severe economic depression. To escape the harsh reality of their world, its people seek refuge in the fantastical world of cinema. This passion for cinema has spurred a group of cinema enthusiasts to make their own films-quirky, low budget, socially aware and notoriously funny spoofs of Bollywood films.
Bakita Byaktigato (2013)
Pradipta Bhattacharyya · 1 critic vote
While shooting a documentary on true love, Pramit learns of a mysterious village named Mohini where anyone who enters will fall in love. He and his camerman decide to seek out this strange place.
Fandry (2013)
Nagraj Manjule · 1 critic vote
Set in contemporary times, Fandry ('Pig') tells the story of teenager Jabya and his family, who are Dalits. While Jabya is struggling in his love life, having fallen for Shalu, a rich upper caste girl in his class, his family is on the lookout for a way to hunt down a wild pig to earn some money.
The Lunchbox (2013)
Ritesh Batra · 1 critic vote
A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system (Mumbai's Dabbawallahs) connects a young housewife to a stranger in the dusk of his life. They build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox. Gradually, this fantasy threatens to overwhelm their reality.
Court (2014)
Chaitanya Tamhane · 1 critic vote
A sewerage worker's dead body is found inside a manhole in Mumbai. An ageing folk singer is tried in court on charges of abetment of suicide. He is accused of performing an inflammatory song which might have incited the worker to commit the act. As the trial unfolds, the personal lives of the lawyers and the judge involved in the case are observed outside the court.
Ee.Ma.Yau (2018)
Lijo Jose Pellissery · 1 critic vote
Set in Chellanam, Kochi, the story revolves around the death of Vavachan Mesthiri in a coastal village. It showcases the events that unfold between two evenings and looks at death from different perspectives.
Taking the Horse to Eat Jalebis (2018)
Anamika Haksar · 1 critic vote
Fusing documentary-realism with magic-realism, and true and fictionalised stories with poetry and dreams, Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon is a love letter to the syncretic culture of Old Delhi, to its history which is slowly losing itself amid concrete and smog
Tumbbad (2018)
Rahi Barve, Anand Gandhi · 1 critic vote
India, 1918. On the outskirts of Tumbbad, a cursed village where it always rains, Vinayak, along with his mother and his brother, care of a mysterious old woman who keeps the secret of an ancestral treasure that Vinayak gets obsessed with.
The Home and the World (2019)
Aparna Sen · 1 critic vote
In the early 1900s, Nikhilesh, a wealthy Westernized Hindu in colonial East Bengal, feels compelled to test the love of his wife, Bimala. He introduces her to his friend Sandip, a politician agitating against British rule, and Bimala is equally taken with both Sandip's anti-colonial fervor and the man himself. Personal and political tensions subsequently flare as the now assertive Bimala has to make a crucial decision.
Bulbbul (2020)
Anvita Dutt · 1 critic vote
A child bride grows up to be an enigmatic woman presiding over her household, harboring a painful past as supernatural murders of men plague her village.
RRR (2022)
S. S. Rajamouli · 1 critic vote
A fictional history of two legendary revolutionaries' journey away from home before they began fighting for their country in the 1920s.
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