Indian cinema is far older than independent India. More than 2,000 films are made in around 20 languages every year make India the world’s largest film-producing nation.
Checkout the list of 10 iconic Indian films:
- MOTHER INDIA (1957): Mehboob Khan’s movie Mother India was the first Indian nominee for an Academy Award in the best foreign language film category. It also set the example for the portrayal of movie mothers for decades.
- MUGHAL-E-AZAM (1960): Asif’s epic cult romance made Rs6 crore on release.
- TEESRI MANZIL (1966):One of Vijay Anand’s most engaging thrillers, Teesri Manzil is chiefly remembered for Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh chemistry in the movie.
- PAKEEZAH (1972):Like Mughal-e-Azam, Pakeezah was another epic production that reached the screen more than a decade after it was initially conceived.
- SHOLAY (1975):Panned by critics and rejected by the trade initially, Ramesh Sippy’s cult classic is everything Bollywood folklore is symbolic of—action, drama, revenge,romance, comedy and chart-busting music.
- GOL MAAL (1979):Gol Maal pits the sublime Utpal Dutt and Amol Palekar in a double role (of sorts) against each other for144 entertaining minutes.
- JAANE BHI DO YAARO (1983):Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro seems to grow stronger with every passing year.
- MR. INDIA (1987):The movie is about an ordinary man who can turn invisible, has endured as one of the first cinematic memories of a generation of moviegoers.
- HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..! (1994):Sooraj Barjatya’s romantic musical doubled up as India’s favourite family drama and most successful box-office performer ever, flagging off the feel-good era for years after release.
- SATYA (1998): Ram Gopal Verma’s Satya could lay claim to being the most influential Hindi film of the last two decades. It broke Indian cinema out of the romantic gloss of the 1990s, and gave a platform for new talent including Anurag Kashyap, Manoj Bajpayee, Vishal Bhardwaj and Saurabh Shukla.
