New to Bollywood? Here are 20 movies you should watch.
When I first started dating my husband, he had never seen a Hindi-language (Bollywood) movie before.
I knew I had to start him off on movies that did two things —
1. showcased how fun Hindi cinema could be (with songs and all), AND
2. were modern enough to be interesting to him (and have themes that made sense in today’s day & age).
You might not want to start a newbie off with Devdas. They won’t be able to appreciate it just yet — ease them in first!
So here is my list of Bollywood movies for someone who has never seen one before.
The list includes all genres. Give yourself/your friend a chance to see that Bollywood movies aren’t just “man & woman fall in love, but family disapproves" — but it contains multitudes, including thrillers, dramas, and straight-up comedies.
Let me know which ones you watch and what you think!
In case you were wondering, my husband’s first Bollywood movie was DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge). Maybe a little cliche, but definitely a classic that can’t be beat.
Jab We Met
Make it stand out
A mix of Bollywood masala and a modern love story. This light romantic comedy has a talkative Karina Kapoor meeting a calm, stoic Shahid Kapoor.
The two travel through India on trains, buses and rickshaws to reunite her with her family. The movie is fun, playful, set to amazing music and will show off various locations around India.
2. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" is a 1998 Bollywood romantic drama that was an instant super-duper hit. Featuring the classic romantic pair Kajol & Shah Rukh Khan (from DDLJ) this was also Karan Johar directorial debut.
This movie was revered for its modern lavish style, heartfelt performances and comedy. The story revolves around two college best friends, Rahul Khanna (played by Shah Rukh Khan) and Anjali Sharma (played by Kajol), who drift apart after Rahul falls in love with Tina Malhotra (played by Rani Mukerji). Told in flashback, this movie has a fantastice soundtrack too.
3. Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani
"Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" is a 2013 Bollywood coming-of-age romantic comedy film.
It follows the story of four friends - who reunite after several years to attend their friend's wedding. During the wedding festivities, the two leads, Kabir and Naina rekindle their friendship and reminisce about their college days.
4. DDLJ
A cult classic love story! When Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) and Simran (Kajol) first met on an inter-rail holiday in Europe, it wasn't exactly love at first sight but when Simran is taken back to India for an arranged marriage, things change. Encouraged by his father Dharamvir (Anupam Kher), Raj decides to fly down from London to not just win his bride but her whole family and the blessings of her father Baldev Singh (Amrish Puri).
5. Raazi
Set in the 1970s, before the Indo-Pak war, this movie follows Sehmat (Alia Bhatt) an Indian spy in Pakistan.
Sehmat’s father wishes to make his 20-year-old daughter Sehmat an agent and continue the family tradition of being in service to the country. She is hastily trained by senior RAW officer, and then married to the son of a high-ranking Pakistani Brigadier.
Sehmat quickly settles into her married life in Pakistan, and even falls in love with her husband. But everything quickly starts to get complicated and out of hand.
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6. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham
An epic super-hit Bollywood movie, that has it all — comedy, romance, family and drama!
Yashwardhan Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan) is a man who has always followed tradition. He believes that the parents make the best decisions for their children. So when his adopted son Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) falls in love with a bubbly middle class girl Anjali (Kajol), Yashwardhan disowns him.
This creates a rift between the two men. Rahul marries Anjali and moves to London with her and her younger sister Pooja (Kareena Kapoor).
Years later, Rahul's younger brother Rohan (Hrithik Roshan) arrives in London, determined to reunite his family.
7. Barfi!
Set in the 1970s in a pretty corner of India, Barfi is the story of three young people who learn that love can neither be defined nor contained by society's norms of normal and abnormal.
Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor), a hearing and speech impaired boy falls in love with Shruti (Ileana D’Cruz). In spite of her deep affection for Barfi, Shruti gives into societal and parental pressure to marry and lead a 'normal' life.
Many years later their paths cross once again when Barfi, now in love with Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), is on the run from the police. Barfi is desperately seeking Jhilmil, who has gone missing.
8. Piku
In this lighthearted and sweet movie, a cab driver (Irrfan Khan) is caught between a dysfunctional father (Amitabh Bachchan) and daughter (Deepika Padukone) as he drives them to Calcutta.
This one is a wonderful, quirky comedy about the relationship between a daughter and her aging father — whose eccentricities drive everyone crazy.
9. Aisha
Based on Jane Austen’s Emma — “Aisha” is India’s “Clueless.” And it does not fail to impress!
After successfully arranging the marriage of her Delhi-based aunt Chitra to Colonel Raghuvendra Singh, self-styled 'Event Manager' Aisha (Sonam Kapoor) decides to turn matchmaker.
She is convinced that she can find the right match for anyone, including Bahadurgarh-based naive, innocent Shefali.
Chaos and bitterness result after Aisha decides to convert Shefali into a fashionable Delhi socialite and concludes that only she can find the ideal groom for her.
10. Dabangg
Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan) is a young boy who lives with his mother Naini, stepfather Prajapati, and younger half-brother Makkhi. Chulbul is constantly angry that his step-father is always partial towards his own biological son.
Twenty years later, Chulbul is a rowdy, mischievous, and sometimes crooked cop, who refers to himself as "Robin Hood." He does everything in his own indomitable way; whether it's dealing with corrupt politician and thug Chedi Singh, fighting a family feud, or romancing stunning Rajo.
11. Secret Superstar
Insia (Zaira Wasim) is very passionate about singing but she belongs to a very conservative family. Her father doesn't let her develop her talent but her mother secretly lets her follow her passion for singing.
She begins anonymously posting her songs over the internet and gains nationwide fame including people from the music industry.
The movie shows her journey to break free and follow her dream of being a singer.
12. Dangal
Dangal is a story based on real-life fighter Mahavir Singh Phogat who trained his daughters to become World Class Wrestlers.
A former wrestler, Mahavir (Aamir Khan) hopes to make his dreams of getting a Gold Medal come true by having sons — but instead he has 4 daughters.
He quickly realizes, that his girls too can become wrestlers. So he takes on the responsibility (to his village’s chagrin) to train his young daughters Geeta and Babita, and prove to the world that they are no less than male athletes.
13. Kahaani
Kolkata is abuzz with the preparations for the annual Durga Puja festival, as seven months pregnant Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan) steps off the airplane from London.
Her first stop is the local police station to file a missing person report. Weeks ago, her husband Arnab arrived in India for a job assignment. The first two weeks, they talked daily on the phone, and then without explanation, his calls stopped.
Everywhere Vidya turns, no one can remember Arnab. There is no trace of him at the guest house or his workplace. But Vidya will not give up her search. Somewhere in Kolkata she will discover the dangerous truth.
14. Gully Boy
Gully Boy almost made it to the Oscars! The film is about 22-year-old Murad (Ranveer Singh) from the streets of Mumbai.
The son of a driver, his parents worked hard to get him educated so that he could have a white collar job.
Meanwhile, Murad feels his true calling is to be a rapper, his love for rap makes him chase his dream regardless of his class. His life changes drastically when he meets a local rapper, Shrikant AKA MC Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi).
15. Queen
A fun woman lead film. Rani (Kangana Ranaut) is a Delhi girl from a conservative family who is ditched by her fiancé just before her wedding.
Shocked by this, she still decides to set out on the planned honeymoon alone. As she travels the world and meets new people, she gains new experiences and discovers her own identity.
16. Parineeta
Lolita (Vidya Balan) lives with her financially strapped uncle. Since childhood, she has been in love with her next-door neighbor, Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan), whose father, Navinchandra (Sabyasachi Chakraborty), is a wealthy but heartless businessman.
When Lolita discovers Navinchandra's plan to seize her uncle's home and turn it into a hotel, she decides to seek help from the wealthy Girish (Sanjay Dutt).
Shekhar, however, suspects romantic motives are behind Lolita's entreaty which threatens to tear them apart.
17. Munna Bhai MBBS
Feared gangster Munna bhai (Sanjay Dutt) cons his parents into believing that he is a doctor.
When his parents come to visit, they set up his marriage to a doctor's daughter. The marriage is arranged, but before the engagement, the bride's father finds out the truth about Munna, and cancels the marriage.
Munna’s family is humiliated, leaving Munna with a strong desire to not only marry the girl, but also become a doctor.
What follows is a hilarious set of events, where Munna attends medical school, but decides on helping people, Patch-Adams style, instead.
18. 3 Idiots
The film flashes back and forth between present day, and the characters' time in college where they get up to many shenanigans. Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman Joshi) form a great bond with Rancho (Aamir Khan) due to his positive and refreshing outlook to life. However after the last day of graduation Rancho disappears.
Years later, a bet gives them a chance to look for their long-lost friend. A coming of age comedy which explores the pressures of college life. This one tickles the heart and reminds us to place one hand on the heart and tell it “All Is Well”.
19. Hum Aapke Hain Kaun!
A 90’s classic, this movie broke all box office records with its family centric plot, big songs and depiction of a traditional Indian joint-family.
The story follows the romance between Prem (Salman Khan) and Nisha (Madhuri Dixit), who fall in love at their older siblings’ wedding. We follow their romance through family events, celebrations and sad times.
20. Chak De! India
A fantastic sports movie about the Women’s Indian Field Hockey team, starring Shah Rukh Khan as the coach.
The movie has a band of amazing sports women, with large entertaining personalities, all from different backgrounds coming together and working as a team.
A true underdog story, the team goes from no hope of winning to the playoffs!