Best of Indian Cinema on Netflix Right Now
In its ever-growing search for new content, and new markets to expand into, Netflix has been reaching beyond Western cinema and television to include a might wider range of diverse titles in recent years.
The streaming service is already garnering some attention for its inclusion of well regarded Japanese and South Korean titles, such as Samurai Gourmet and Kingdom but Netflix has continued to expand, purchasing and commissioning a number of titles in Hindi from Indian producers.
In this article, we’ll be looking at some of the best Hindi movies currently available on Netflix.
Contents
3 Idiots
A satire of the pressure that young people face in the Indian education system, 3 Idiots, filmed in 2009 and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, follows the friendships of three engineering students as they make their way through engineering college.
The film is set in two parallel timelines, one in the present, where the characters Farhan Qureshi and Raju Rastogi talk about their relationship with each other and a third friend, Ranchoddas Chanchad. The second timeline is set in the past and shows the trio as they navigate the stresses of college life.
A critical success, the film is, by turns, funny and bittersweet, and accurately captures the pressure Indian students are put under to excel while also maintaining a hopeful message.
Bareilly Ki Barfi
A romantic comedy/drama set in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, Bareilly Ki Barfi sees the protagonist, played by Kriti Sanon, finding the book the film is named for and, having strongly identified with the protagonist, sets off to find the author.
The plot of the film centers around the misunderstandings, secrets, and lies told between the four main characters and how personal agendas can get in the way of actual happiness.
Manorama Six Feet Under
It might be fair to say that Bollywood is famous for its musicals and the amazing and popular songs they produce. While Manorama Six Feet Under is still technically a Bollywood musical, it is a very different take on the genre.
The songs and dancing are immediately familiar, but the basis of Manorama Six Feet Under is actually heavily influenced by Roman Polanski’s 1974 film-noir classic, Chinatown.
While the film does draw heavily from Chinatown, it also adds its own particular twist the prevents in from being a clone and even includes a subtle nod to the original by playing the famous scene where Jack Nicholson’s character gets his nose slashed on a television in the background of an important scene.
The plot of Manorama follows an amateur detective in what appears to be a nondescript town called Lakhot in Rajasthan who ends up finding himself embroiled in a conspiracy of lies and murder.
Teen Patti
Based heavily on the American film “21”, Teen Patti works as a Bollywood style updating of the Hollywood classic. The title character, played by Amitabh Bachchan, is a mathematician who able to use his skill to consistently win at the popular card game that gives the film its name.
The traditional Bollywood trappings are there, but what sets Teen Patti apart from other films in the same genre is the less dated setting and approach to gaming.
India has gone through something of a gaming renaissance in recent years, with mobile gaming becoming increasingly popular and Muskan Sethi joining PokerStars as the first female Indian PokerStars India Ambassador. This change in attitude is heavily reflected in the film.
Dangal
Dangal is based on the real lives and careers of the Phogat sisters, who were trained by the father, former wrestler and coach Mahavir Singh Phogat, to become some of India’s first female wrestlers.
Mahavir Singh is quoted as saying that he was inspired by weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, and the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi.
The film covers the trial and tribulations the sisters faced during their struggle to be accepted as professional athletes and their eventual success as gold medal winners in the Commonwealth Games.
