A survey of Bollywood
by yooogi | created - 04 Oct 2012 | updated - 06 Oct 2012 | PublicIconic movies which define Bollywood. The list is not in any specific order.
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1. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983)
Not Rated | 132 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two photographers, who are employed by a magazine editor to expose the scandalous activities of the rich, come across corruption by a builder and accidentally photograph a murder.
Director: Kundan Shah | Stars: Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Bhakti Barve, Satish Shah
Votes: 14,717
Irony
2. Sholay (1975)
Not Rated | 162 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After his family is murdered by a notorious and ruthless bandit, a former police officer enlists the services of two outlaws to capture the bandit.
Director: Ramesh Sippy | Stars: Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Amjad Khan
Votes: 58,691
Action, drama, romance, tragedy. The complete Bollywood package.
3. Pushpaka Vimana (1987)
125 min | Comedy, Drama
An unemployed graduate who coincidentally encounters a rich unconscious man, and takes over his lifestyle by keeping him a prisoner. However, he is in for a twist as a contract killer is after him, assuming him to be the affluent man.
Director: Singeetam Srinivasa Rao | Stars: Kamal Haasan, Amala Akkineni, Tinnu Anand, Narayana P.L.
Votes: 3,809
Although this movie has no dialogs, you will not miss them.
4. Enthiran (2010)
Not Rated | 174 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A brilliant scientist creates a humanoid robot to protect mankind, but things go awry when human emotions are programmed and inner turmoil causes the robot to switch sides.
Director: S. Shankar | Stars: Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam
Votes: 29,995 | Gross: $4.37M
Sci-Fi done right.
5. Salaam Bombay! (1988)
Not Rated | 113 min | Crime, Drama
Young Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Shafiq Syed, Anjaan, Amrit Patel, Murari Sharma
Votes: 10,086 | Gross: $2.08M
The original Slumdog Millionaire
6. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, History
Two female friends become sexual rivals at maturity.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Naveen Andrews, Sarita Choudhury, Indira Varma, Ramon Tikaram
Votes: 11,353 | Gross: $4.11M
jealousies
7. Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
PG | 224 min | Drama, Musical, Sport
The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker | Stars: Aamir Khan, Raghubir Yadav, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley
Votes: 120,622 | Gross: $0.91M
independence
8. Guide (1965)
Not Rated | 183 min | Drama, Romance
When mistaken to be a sage by some villagers, an ex-tour guide reflects on his past and lost love to search for spiritual wisdom to guide the villagers.
Director: Vijay Anand | Stars: Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Leela Chitnis, Anwar Hussain
Votes: 8,590
acceptance
9. Bawarchi (1972)
Not Rated | 130 min | Comedy, Musical, Drama
A dysfunctional middle-class family is transformed due to the influence of their new multi-talented household servant - but he might be too good to be true.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Stars: Rajesh Khanna, Jaya Bachchan, Usha Kiran, Harindranath Chattopadhyay
Votes: 4,406
goodness
10. Disco Dancer (1982)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
After years of honest work a talented amateur singer becomes a famous professional, but an old enemy of his family is envious of his success.
Director: Babbar Subhash | Stars: Mithun Chakraborty, Kim, Kalpana Iyer, Om Puri
Votes: 1,682
cheesy dance
11. Anand (1971)
Not Rated | 122 min | Drama, Musical
The story of a terminally ill man who wishes to live life to the fullest before the inevitable occurs, as told by his best friend.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Stars: Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Sumita Sanyal, Ramesh Deo
Votes: 35,296
Drama
12. Gol Maal (1979)
Not Rated | 120 min | Comedy, Romance
A man's simple lie to secure his job escalates into more complex lies when his orthodox boss gets suspicious.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Stars: Amol Palekar, Bindiya Goswami, Deven Verma, Shobha Khote
Votes: 20,058
Comedy
13. Don (1978)
Not Rated | 166 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Don, a wanted criminal, dies in a police chase. DSP D'Silva is the only one who knows about his death, and to get hold of the gang he trains Don-lookalike Vijay. But Vijay faces danger from the police and from within the gang.
Director: Chandra Barot | Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Pran Sikand, Iftekhar
Votes: 12,749
Amitabh Bachchan. Enough said.
14. Like Stars on Earth (2007)
PG | 162 min | Drama, Family
An 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.
Directors: Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte | Stars: Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma
Votes: 206,505 | Gross: $1.22M
story of a Dyslexic kid in India
15. Haré Rama Haré Krishna (1971)
149 min | Drama, Musical
In the background of the rise of the International Hare Krishna movement in the 1970s, is a Montreal-based family of the Jaiswals, consisting of mom, dad, son, Prashant, and daughter, ... See full summary »
Director: Dev Anand | Stars: Zeenat Aman, Dev Anand, Mumtaz Askari, Baby Guddi
Votes: 870
16. Pakeezah (1972)
147 min | Musical, Romance, Drama
In Lucknow at the turn of the century, a dancer and courtesan believes that her pure soul and body will enable her to find true love and honor.
Director: Kamal Amrohi | Stars: Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar, Veena
Votes: 1,807
17. Bombay Boys (1998)
105 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three men from Western origins are embroiled in gang wars, homosexuality and love after arriving in Mumbai with their own motives.
Director: Kaizad Gustad | Stars: Naveen Andrews, Rahul Bose, Alexander Gifford, Naseeruddin Shah
Votes: 624
only in Bombay.
18. Satya (1998)
Not Rated | 170 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An innocent man is embroiled in underworld after being falsely charged and sets out to punish the perpetrators who subjected his life to misery.
Director: Ram Gopal Varma | Stars: J.D. Chakravarthi, Manoj Bajpayee, Urmila Matondkar, Paresh Rawal
Votes: 16,681
gang wars of Bombay
19. Sharaabi (1984)
180 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A workaholic businessman neglects his only son after his wife's death. The son grows up to be a rebellious alcoholic.
Director: Prakash Mehra | Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Prada, Ranjeet Bedi, Pran Sikand
Votes: 3,115
Alcoholics aren't so bad.
20. Peepli [Live] (2010)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
An impoverished farmer's threat to end his life invites attention from politicians and media.
Directors: Anusha Rizvi, Mahmood Farooqui | Stars: Onkar Das Manikpuri, Raghubir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa, Farrukh Jaffar
Votes: 12,756 | Gross: $0.75M
Dark comedy making fun of the overactive, yet completely useless news media.
21. Mirch Masala (1986)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama, Thriller
In colonial India, subedars (tax collectors) went from village to village with soldiers, often demanding more than taxes. A subedar commands Sonbai, a beautiful and confident woman whose ... See full summary »
Director: Ketan Mehta | Stars: Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Ratna Pathak Shah
Votes: 1,554
taking a stance
22. Aalavandhan (2001)
Not Rated | 177 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Nandu and Vijay are brothers, who were abused by their stepmother during their younger days. Nandhu, who is mentally ill, decides to kill Vijay's fiancee as he visualizes her as his stepmother.
Director: Suresh Krishna | Stars: Kamal Haasan, Raveena Tandon, Manisha Koirala, Kitu Gidwani
Votes: 2,975
drugs and hallucinations
23. Andaz Apna Apna (1994)
Not Rated | 160 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
Two slackers competing for the affections of an heiress inadvertently become her protectors from an evil criminal.
Director: Rajkumar Santoshi | Stars: Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor
Votes: 55,251
humor
24. 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: 2,027
So many remakes of the original 1936 movie, all of which are great.
25. Deewaar (1975)
Not Rated | 174 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Vijay struggles as a dockworker and eventually becomes a leading figure of the underworld, while his younger brother Ravi is an educated, upright policeman. This divide causes problems in their relationship.
Director: Yash Chopra | Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi
Votes: 11,708
the popular, and now cliched, brother vs brother storyline.
26. Valley of Flowers (2006)
155 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A great Asian love story, an unforgettable tale about passion, death and reincarnation. A mesmerizing Himalayan epic that spans two centuries, from the Silk Route of the early 19th century to the bustling metropolis of modern-day Tokyo.
Director: Pan Nalin | Stars: Milind Soman, Mylène Jampanoï, Naseeruddin Shah, Jampa Kalsang Tamang
Votes: 1,913
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