Netflix has a sizable collection of Hindi films. However, most of the best Bollywood Hindi movies on Netflix are from this decade, and finding truly old, great titles from the golden era would be difficult.
However, the streaming service has done a fantastic job of amassing a collection of lesser-known but superb independent and original Hindi films.
You’ll also find a lot of Hindi box-office hits and timeless films that are never too old to see again. So, here’s a list of the best Bollywood movies on Netflix.
This includes ones you might have missed but should see and ones that could need a repeat.
1. Garbage
Garbage is a nasty and twisted, yet vital, story about how Indian society abuses women, and it is a product of Director Qaushiq Mukherjee’s (more often known as Q) imagination.
Besides, the plot centers on two main characters. A young woman who finds herself in a precarious situation after her sex film is leaked on the internet, and a taxi driver who covertly imprisons a tribal woman.
The two characters cross paths in the seaside city of Goa. The film juxtaposes their lives, leading viewers to an uncomfortable realization.
2. Black Friday
Black Friday, a film with equal parts startling and revelatory, is the latest addition to director Anurag Kashyap’s tremendous work. It is also one of the best Bollywood movies on Netflix.
It illuminates the devastating ramifications of the serial bombings in Mumbai in 1993, which took the country by surprise and rocked its foundations.
Furthermore, Black Friday is a ferocious attempt to display the opposing viewpoints of the perpetrators and law enforcement officials. And victims of the heinous incident.
3. Dear Zindagi
Investigating mental health as a subject in Bollywood is relatively new. However, the video analyzes a woman’s displeasure with how she’s living her life through a series of therapy sessions and focusing on depression in 21st-century India.
Additionally, it will tug at your heartstrings and force you to reconsider your life choices and ask yourself, “What exactly am I looking for?”
4. SONI
Ivan Ayr’s Soni was selected for the Netflix India Program after screening at numerous international film festivals in 2018.
Furthermore, it is also, without a doubt, one of the best Bollywood movies on Netflix. It’s a low-budget independent film about female-on-female violence.
Furthermore, Ivan Ayr avoids sensationalism and theatrics to address issues such as gender prejudice and sexual harassment. And the power imbalance between different strata that manipulate the law.
Using women police officers as a focal point, he conveys the powerlessness of women in Indian culture. Both within and outside the law, showing gender imbalance and stereotypes.
5. Rajma Chawal
Rajma Chawal is a comedy film starring Rishi Kapoor, Anirudh Tanwar, and Amyra Dastur named after the most popular North Indian cuisine.
The Netflix film examines a father-son connection following the death of the family’s grandmother. Rajma Chawal is also one of the best Bollywood movies on Netflix.
After Kabir’s mother’s death, Raj Mathur (Kapoor) and his son Kabir (Tanwar) return to their old family home.
Furthermore, the youngster resents his father’s decision and declines his Facebook friend request.
Raj assumed Tara’s (Dastur’s) identity to keep in touch with his kid and began interacting with him through the phony account. Besides, The events that follow are both hilarious and uplifting.
6. Kapoor & Son
One of the most mature films in Indian cinema is Kapoor & Sons. The plot centers around the Kapoor family’s messed-up family dynamics, a mishmash of individuals who fight with their own identities and those of their clan members.
The Hindi film’s plot also centers around two separated brothers who return home to their dysfunctional family after their grandfather becomes ill.
Things become more complicated as the two learn more about each other and their parents. The film’s cast includes Sidharth Malhotra, Rishi Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rajat Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Fawad Khan.
Furthermore, all of their performances are admirable and sincere. The picture is a breath of fresh air in an industry dominated by cliched song-and-dance musicals.
7. 3 Idiots
After faking a stroke aboard an Air India flight and excusing himself from his wife – trouserless – respectively, Farhan Qureshi and Raju Rastogi desire to reunite with their colleague collegian, Rancho. It is one of the best Bollywood Hindi movies on Netflix.
Furthermore, they see another former pupil, Chatur Ramalingam, a rich entrepreneur who reminds them of a bet they made ten years ago.
Besides, they reminisce about their escapades, including their run-ins with Viru Sahastrabudhe, Dean of Delhi’s Imperial College of Engineering.
The trio hurry to find Rancho at his last known home, unaware of the secret that has been kept hidden from them all this time.
8. Pink
Indians seem to have a thing for courtroom dramas, and Pink, released in 2016, filled that void with a smattering of current topics plaguing the country. Pink is one of the best Bollywood movies on Netflix of all time.
A group of young women comes into contact with a system of wicked entities who have sworn to destroy them.
Furthermore, they turn to a powerful retired lawyer, Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan), to save them from suffering.
9. Music Teacher
This Hindi film tells the narrative of an emotionally distressed music instructor who is allowed to reconcile his feelings for an estranged student and girlfriend.
Who is now a well-known celebrity singer? Music Teacher is one of the best Bollywood movies on Netflix.
However, he swears to reclaim all he’s ever lost, jeopardizing his current accomplishments and disregarding the approaches of his next-door neighbor, who happens to respect his talents more than anybody else.
Music Teacher is a superbly made picture that is well worth your time and attention, not just for its unique subject but also for its outstanding performances.
10. Ugly
Ugly, directed by Anurag Kashyap, is an exquisite gem of a psychological thriller.
Also, the film’s convoluted plot centers around the kidnapping of a girl. Which causes full mayhem, compromising relationships, and reigniting old animosities.
Furthermore, during the uproar, new actors appear with the sole goal of profiting from someone else’s misfortune.
11. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Rahul Khanna and Anjali Sharma were best friends at college. Anjali discovers she’s in love with Rahul, but it’s too late; Rahul has already fallen in love with Tina Malhotra. Heartbroken, Anjali flees the city.
Furthermore, Tina and Rahul marry, and Tina becomes pregnant soon after, giving birth to a daughter named Anjali.
Also, Tina dies because of problems during her pregnancy. Her father raised Anjali. Who allows her to read one of her mother’s letters yearly on her birthday.
Furthermore, she discovers from these letters that her mother (Tina) knew that another Anjali was in love with Rahul and promised to reunite them.
12. Paheli I Amol Palekar
The multi-talented Amol Palekar’s whimsical folklore film “Paheli” is one of Shahrukh Khan’s lesser-known films.
It’s an approved remake of Mani Kaul’s Duvidha, based on a short tale by Vijayadan Detha.
The film tackles an age-old question: whether a woman married to a man has any claim to her romantic yearning, which is typically overlooked in patriarchal societies.
Additionally, Rani Mukerji’s Lachchi is faced with the dilemma of accepting love as a ghost.
She receives it hesitantly and acts on her desire. In the film, the ghost represents an archetypal man.
Furthermore, Shah Rukh Khan’s ghost figure claims in one episode that he is in love. He has a place in every woman’s heart.
He does it literally as a metaphor for the woman’s heart and his everlasting, real-life romantic image.
13. Andhadhun
Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, and Radhika Apte star in key roles in Andhadhun, a 2018 crime thriller with a comic twist. Andhadhun is one of the best Bollywood movies of all time.
Additionally, a young man pretends to be blind to better his piano talents. But in doing so, he begins to exploit his apparent infirmity.
Furthermore, He unintentionally observes a murder one day, and chaos ensues because he isn’t meant to know anything about it.
14. Is Love Enough? Sir
Is Love Enough? is a forbidden love story. Sir deftly depicts India’s deep-seated class inequality. It is one of the best Bollywood Hindi movies on Netflix.
With her charming attitude and positive outlook on life, a wealthy, unmarried guy named Ashwin falls for his live-in domestic help, Ratna, who pulls him out of his emotional funk.
However, society frowns upon their connection, and Ratna is aware of this. On the other hand, despite their vast differences, Ashwin resists societal prejudice and pursues Ratna.
15. Dangal
A former professional wrestler longs to marry and raise a son who will follow in his footsteps. The first half of the equation is straightforward, but the trick comes in the second.
He only has daughters. However, It’s not simply a picture of female power. It’s also a heartwarming story of a father’s love for his kids.
16. Dii Se
The collaboration between Mani Ratnam and A. R. Rahman is a match made in heaven. Dil Se exemplifies their abilities.
It was duly recognized at the Berlin International Film Festival the following year.
The dramatization was handled with grace and honesty, and it addressed a problem that is still important today. Furthermore, the musical numbers and performances remain fresh.
The cherry on top is the great performances by the leads, particularly Koirala, whose sheer presence elicits all of the necessary emotions. This SRK film isn’t regarded as a classic for no reason.
17. Swades
It is one of the best Bollywood movies on Netflix in the twenty-first century. It also has one of Shah Rukh Khan’s most powerful performances.
Swades is a film that can evoke a sense of patriotism without resorting to a propagandistic approach.
Additionally, it honors its culture without the crutches of ethnocentrism and dares to break free from ignorance’s chains.
Furthermore, Swades’ ambitions to inculcate a scientific temperament in everyone make it a significant piece of cinema.
It seems especially pertinent today when people increasingly trade their rational, scientific temperament for a political one.
Swades is a character who embodies all emotions. Its fantastic music and aspects transport us to the abysses of our world.
18. Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai
What will you do if your house’s kitchen sink pipe starts spewing bundles of cash? That is exactly what happens to a Mumbai-based low-income family of three.
It is also one of the best Bollywood movies on Netflix. Sarita and Sushant Pillai are a married couple struggling to make ends meet when Sarita finds wads of cash emerging from a clogged drain under her kitchen sink one night.
Because she works in a bank, she gradually replaces the mystery bills with the bank’s actual currency.
Besides, she has no idea that democracy is on the horizon and that her plan will soon fall apart.
19. Talvar
Talvar is a Hindi film based on a true tale about the horrific and perplexing murder of 13-year-old Arushi Talwar.
Her parents became the major suspects in the case after the youngster was brutally murdered under unexplained circumstances.
Who is correct, and who is truly accountable? Additionally, Was the case adequately handled by the authorities? Find out by watching the film.
20. Skater Girl
This is the fascinating and wonderful story of a young girl from rural Rajasthan who discovers her love of skating. She defies all difficulties and social standards to attain her goals.
Additionally, Rachel Sanchita Gupta, a rookie, gives a standout performance in the Hindi film.
You should watch this film if you’re searching for something to brighten your day.
