Best films · Asia
10 Best Indian Movies to Watch First
Treat Indian cinema as a network of language industries and traditions, balancing popular filmmaking, parallel cinema, regional landmarks, and modern independent work.
Compare this list
Compare the route at a glance
Runtime, mood, and entry level help narrow the list without replacing the editorial ranking.
| Film | Runtime | Genre | Mood | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Idiots | 171 min | Drama · Comedy | funny · thoughtful · uplifting | first visit · a lighter route |
| My Name Is Khan | 165 min | Drama · Romance | romantic · thoughtful · dark | first visit |
| Taare Zameen Par | 162 min | Drama | thoughtful · dreamlike | first visit |
| RRR | 187 min | Action · History · Drama | thoughtful · dark · uplifting | character-driven drama |
| PK | 153 min | Comedy · Drama · Science Fiction | funny · thoughtful · dark | a lighter route |
| Baahubali: The Beginning | 159 min | Action · Drama | thoughtful · dreamlike · dark | character-driven drama |
| Dangal | 161 min | Drama · Family · Comedy | funny · thoughtful · dark | a lighter route |
| Devdas | 185 min | Drama · Romance | romantic · thoughtful · uplifting | character-driven drama |
| Kuch Kuch Hota Hai | 185 min | Romance · Drama · Comedy | funny · romantic · thoughtful | a lighter route |
| Lagaan | 233 min | Adventure · Drama · History | thoughtful · uplifting · adventurous | character-driven drama |
10 Essential Indian Films
Ranked native cinema in India’s own creative voice.
-
1. 3 Idiots
At India's most cut-throat engineering college, a free-spirited, brilliant student upends the pressure-cooker system and inspires his two anxious friends to think for themselves — a friendship they retrace years later. A hugely beloved Bollywood comedy-drama.
Why & details
Curator’s note: Choose 3 Idiots for first visit: an adventurous drama/comedy in 171 minutes.
- Runtime
- 171 min
- Genre
- Drama · Comedy
- Mood
- funny · thoughtful · uplifting
- Best for
- first visit · a lighter route
-
2. My Name Is Khan
After anti-Muslim prejudice tears apart his family in post-9/11 America, Rizwan Khan sets out across the country to tell the president that his name and faith do not make him a terrorist. His journey becomes a test of grief, persistence, and belonging.
Details
- Runtime
- 165 min
- Genre
- Drama · Romance
- Mood
- romantic · thoughtful · dark
- Best for
- first visit
-
3. Taare Zameen Par
A dreamy, artistic eight-year-old dismissed as lazy and troublesome is packed off to boarding school, until a compassionate art teacher recognizes his dyslexia and his gifts and fights to reach him. A moving, tender drama.
Details
- Runtime
- 162 min
- Genre
- Drama
- Mood
- thoughtful · dreamlike
- Best for
- first visit
-
4. RRR
In 1920s colonial India, two real-life revolutionaries — one hunting for a girl abducted by the British, the other an undercover officer — become fast friends unaware of each other's true mission, before their paths violently diverge. S. S. Rajamouli's delirious action epic.
Why & details
Curator’s note: Choose RRR for character-driven drama: an adventurous action/history in 187 minutes.
- Runtime
- 187 min
- Genre
- Action · History · Drama
- Mood
- thoughtful · dark · uplifting
- Best for
- character-driven drama
Content notes: war or political violence · violence or threat
-
5. PK
A wide-eyed stranger wandering Delhi asks disarmingly innocent questions about God and religion that expose the absurdities of human belief, all in a quest to recover a lost possession. Rajkumar Hirani's warm, satirical fable.
Details
- Runtime
- 153 min
- Genre
- Comedy · Drama · Science Fiction
- Mood
- funny · thoughtful · dark
- Best for
- a lighter route
Content notes: war or political violence
-
6. Baahubali: The Beginning
Raised by villagers unaware of his royal blood, a young man of extraordinary strength climbs a colossal waterfall and discovers his destiny is bound up with a captive queen and a usurped kingdom. The first half of a spectacular mythic action epic.
Details
- Runtime
- 159 min
- Genre
- Action · Drama
- Mood
- thoughtful · dreamlike · dark
- Best for
- character-driven drama
Content notes: war or political violence
-
7. Dangal
Based on a true story, a former wrestler in rural India defies convention by training his two daughters to become champion wrestlers, pushing them toward world-class glory against a society that doubts them. A rousing, crowd-pleasing sports drama.
Details
- Runtime
- 161 min
- Genre
- Drama · Family · Comedy
- Mood
- funny · thoughtful · dark
- Best for
- a lighter route
Content notes: war or political violence
-
8. Devdas
In turn-of-the-century Bengal, a wealthy young man forbidden from marrying his childhood sweetheart spirals into drink and the arms of a courtesan, destroying himself for love. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's opulent, tragic musical romance.
Why & details
Curator’s note: Choose Devdas for character-driven drama: an adventurous drama/romance in 185 minutes.
- Runtime
- 185 min
- Genre
- Drama · Romance
- Mood
- romantic · thoughtful · uplifting
- Best for
- character-driven drama
-
9. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Fulfilling her late mother's wish, a young girl schemes to reunite her widowed father with the college best friend who once loved him in secret. A beloved Bollywood romance of friendship and second chances.
Why & details
Curator’s note: Choose Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for a lighter route: an adventurous romance/drama in 185 minutes.
- Runtime
- 185 min
- Genre
- Romance · Drama · Comedy
- Mood
- funny · romantic · thoughtful
- Best for
- a lighter route
-
10. Lagaan
In 1893, the villagers of a drought-stricken corner of British India, crushed by a cruel colonial land tax, accept an arrogant officer's wager: beat the British at a game of cricket they barely understand, or pay triple. A rousing, Oscar-nominated epic.
Why & details
Curator’s note: A globally recognized Indian epic about colonialism, sport, and resistance.
- Runtime
- 233 min
- Genre
- Adventure · Drama · History
- Mood
- thoughtful · uplifting · adventurous
- Best for
- character-driven drama
The view from outside
10 Best Movies Set in or About India
Follow outside perspectives on colonial history, travel, poverty, spirituality, and diaspora while keeping India’s role as subject—not backdrop—visible.
- Lion 2015
- Life of Pi 2012
- After the Wedding 2006
Selected by the FilmsAroundThe.World editorial desk
Ranked for craft, enduring reputation, influence, and importance within India cinema. Decision labels are concise editorial aids, and content notes are non-exhaustive. Read the methodology.
Editorial review: 2026-07-13
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