Unconventional Indian cinema
by sweetnirvana | created - 19 Apr 2012 | updated - 08 Jun 2012 | PublicSome remarkable Indian films
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1. 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: 10,070 | Gross: $2.08M
A controversial film about life of street children and the people they encounter in everyday life in Mumbai.
2. 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: 3,805
3. Anjali (1990)
Not Rated | 150 min | Drama
After a few years, Chitra learns that her child, who was believed to be dead, is alive but is suffering from a mental illness. However, her family faces many challenges while looking after her child.
Director: Mani Ratnam | Stars: Shamili, Revathi, Raghuvaran, Tarun
Votes: 3,172
This beautifully made movie shows the struggle faced by a small middle class Indian family when an autistic child is born to the parents. The story revolves around how this child is first hated, then accepted and later loved by her siblings and a group of their friends.
4. Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007)
Not Rated | 143 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A comic thriller about two people who miss the last local train at 1:40 am and how missing of their train changes their course of life forever.
Director: Sanjay M. Khanduri | Stars: Abhay Deol, Neha Dhupia, Amit Mistry, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Votes: 5,463
5. Phas Gaye Re Obama (2010)
Not Rated | 108 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Om Shastri, a recession victim comes to India to sell his ancestors property to clear is debt. On reaching he comes to know that selling the property will make his family homeless in India. Later he is kidnapped by goons thinking a rich NRI.
Director: Subhash Kapoor | Stars: Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Sanjay Mishra, Manu Rishi Chadha
Votes: 5,850
6. Padamati Sandhya Ragam (1987)
142 min | Romance
The story of an Indian girl falling in love with an American in 80s USA.
Director: Jandhyala | Stars: Vijayshanti, Thomas Jane, Gummaluri Sastri, Sivamani
Votes: 334
7. Vedam (2010)
Not Rated | 135 min | Action, Drama
Stories of 5 people, an educated slum dweller, an aspiring rock star, an old villager, a prostitute and an ostracized Muslim man; all lead up to a night in a hospital filled with jeopardy.
Director: Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi | Stars: Allu Arjun, Anushka Shetty, Manoj Kumar Manchu, Manoj Bajpayee
Votes: 8,789
5 different people's lives and circumstances that bring them together on new year's eve.
8. Prahaar: The Final Attack (1991)
Not Rated | 151 min | Drama, Thriller, Action
Prahaar is the story of Major Chauhan, a tough and stern soldier, trained to destroy the enemy. He can see the enemy on our borders but is unaware of the invisible enemy within ourselves. ... See full summary »
Directors: Subhankar Ghosh, Nana Patekar | Stars: Nana Patekar, Dimple Kapadia, Gautam Joglekar, Madhuri Dixit
Votes: 2,170
9. Lakshya (2004)
Not Rated | 186 min | Action, Drama, Romance
An aimless, jobless, irresponsible grown man joins the army and matures into a battlefield hero.
Director: Farhan Akhtar | Stars: Hrithik Roshan, Preity G Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri
Votes: 25,466 | Gross: $0.75M
A young man with no aims or ambitions whiles away his time until some incidents dramatically change his view of life and he realizes his true purpose.
10. In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989 TV Movie)
112 min | Comedy
Annie struggles to to clear his bachelor's degree with one final hurdle-The Thesis. It's his final attempt to clear it. Can he?
Director: Pradip Krishen | Stars: Roshan Seth, Arjun Raina, Arundhati Roy, Rituraj
Votes: 1,386
A funny take on the trials and tribulations faced by a group of architecture students in the early 80's Delhi.
11. Sarfarosh (1999)
Not Rated | 174 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After his brother is killed and father severely injured by terrorists, a young med student quits his studies to join the Indian Police Service to wipe out the terrorists.
Director: John Mathew Matthan | Stars: Aamir Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Sonali Bendre, Mukesh Rishi
Votes: 26,838
12. Vamsa Vruksham (1980)
Drama
Director: Bapu | Stars: J.V. Somayajulu, Anil Kapoor, Jyothi, Mukkamala
Votes: 41
Story of a young widow who leads a meaningless life in a nondescript south Indian village until a young man falls in love with her and gives her hope in life.
13. Stanley Ka Dabba (2011)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A school-teacher, who forces children to share their food with him, forbids one from entering the school until he brings his own Tiffin/Lunch-box.
Director: Amole Gupte | Stars: Partho A. Gupte, Numaan Sheikh, Abhishek Reddy, Sai Shara Shetty
Votes: 7,598
14. A Wednesday (2008)
Not Rated | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A retiring police officer reminisces about the most astounding day of his career. About a case that was never filed but continues to haunt him in his memories - the case of a man and a Wednesday.
Director: Neeraj Pandey | Stars: Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Veerendra Saxena, Mahesh Kanual
Votes: 82,168
A story of how a common man reacts to the terrorist activities that threaten to destroy fabric of life on the city of Mumbai
15. Virumandi (2004)
Not Rated | 175 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A temperamental farmer gets embroiled in a bloody clan feud in a southern Tamil Nadu village.
Director: Kamal Haasan | Stars: Kamal Haasan, Abhirami, Pasupathy, Napolean
Votes: 7,738
16. Hyderabad Blues (1998)
85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The protagonist of Hyderabad Blues is Varun, played by the director, Nagesh Kukunoor. The movie revolves around his visit home after 12 years in the USA and his resulting culture shock.
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor | Stars: Nagesh Kukunoor, Rajshri Nair, Vikram Inamdar, Elahe Hiptoola
Votes: 945
A young NRI struggles to adjust to the life back home when he returns from USA after a gap of 8 years
17. Traffic Signal (2007)
130 min | Drama
Traffic Signal is a Madhur Bhandarkar movie that reveals the truth behind the multimillion dollar begging Industry in India.
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar | Stars: Kunal Kemmu, Nitu Chandra, Upendra Limaye, Ranvir Shorey
Votes: 1,758
18. Chandni Bar (2001)
Not Rated | 150 min | Crime, Drama
A displaced woman is forced to become a beer-bar dancer, and sire children of a gangster.
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar | Stars: Tabu, Atul Kulkarni, Rajpal Naurang Yadav, Shri Vallabh Vyas
Votes: 2,783
19. 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: 206,019 | Gross: $1.22M
20. Lajja (2001)
Not Rated | 202 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The lives of four women from different places are the victims of male chauvinism and marital abuse. They decide to fight for their rights and dignity against the social norms and injustice.
Director: Rajkumar Santoshi | Stars: Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit, Ajay Devgn
Votes: 2,899 | Gross: $0.38M
A young woman trapped in an unhappy marriage tries to escape from her husband and in the process encounters several people, not all of whom are friendly.
21. Kabul Express (2006)
Not Rated | 105 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A thrilling story spanning 48 hours of five individuals linked by hate and fear but brought together by fate to finally recognize each other.
Director: Kabir Khan | Stars: John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, Salman Shahid, Hanif Hum Ghum
Votes: 3,691 | Gross: $0.30M
22. Harishchandrachi Factory (2009)
Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1913 India's cinema industry is born from Dadasaheb Phalke's efforts to make Raja Harishchandra (1913), India's first feature-length B&W silent film.
Director: Paresh Mokashi | Stars: Nandu Madhav, Vibhawari Deshpande, Atharva Karve, Mohit Gokhale
Votes: 2,691
23. Ankuram (1993)
Not Rated | 131 min | Drama
The story of a woman trying to return the child of a naxalite to him.
Director: Uma Maheswara Rao | Stars: Revathi, Sarath Babu, Balaiah M., Om Puri
Votes: 68
24. Shor in the City (2010)
112 min | Crime, Drama
Various residents and career-criminals face challenges in crime-laden Mumbai.
Directors: Krishna D.K., Raj Nidimoru | Stars: Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Nikhil Dwivedi, Preeti Desai
Votes: 4,090
25. Flavors (2003)
118 min | Comedy
Flavors tells the stories of 13 different main characters in 5 parallel story lines.
Directors: Krishna D.K., Raj Nidimoru | Stars: Reef Karim, Anjan Srivastav, Bharti Achrekar, Pooja Kumar
Votes: 464 | Gross: $0.09M
26. Raakh (1989)
Not Rated | 153 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A poor, young man teams up with a burnt out cop to avenge the humiliation of his former girlfriend by a gang of goons.
Director: Aditya Bhattacharya | Stars: Aamir Khan, Supriya Pathak, Pankaj Kapur, Jagdeep
Votes: 1,206
27. Kshana Kshanam (1991)
158 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A high-profile bank robbery in the city wreaks havoc in the life of an unsuspecting regular young woman when she's caught in the line of fire between the villains and the police.
Director: Ram Gopal Varma | Stars: Sridevi, Venkatesh Daggubati, Paresh Rawal, Rami Reddy
Votes: 2,031
28. Manichithrathazhu (1993)
Not Rated | 169 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
When a forbidden room in an old bungalow is unbolted, the spirit of a vengeful dancer is unleashed.
Director: Fazil | Stars: Shobana, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Vinaya Prasad
Votes: 12,216
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