‘Madras Cafe’: The best Hindi hits currently streaming on Netflix
Bollywood has come to Netflix . . . or maybe Netflix has come to Bollywood? Either way, it’s working out to be a mutually beneficial relationship and one that looks set to continue to grow. But what do you know about Bollywood?
Bollywood films involve lots of singing and dancing and they’re often romantic tales with unconvincing bad guys. While this is the case with some Bollywood films, we’re also talking about the biggest film market in the whole world so it’s clearly not all of them.
With Netflix now filled with films from the land that gave us Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali), it’s brimming with incredible cuts of Hindi cinema worth checking out. Here are eight of the best Bollywood films on Netflix we recommend you stream immediately.
Queen
This film is India’s answer to gender emancipation. Starring Kangana Ranaut (Rangoon) as Rani Mehra, Queen starts with Rani’s marriage being called off. The rejection takes Rani on a solo soul-searching journey across Europe on what should have been her honeymoon. Rani is also faced with circumstances that challenge her very conservative upbringing.
Black Friday
From the impressive collection of movies spawned out of director Anurag Kashyap’s (Udaan) ingenuity comes Black Friday – a movie equal parts shocking and captivating. Black Friday sheds light on the dire consequences of 1993’s serial bomb blasts in Mumbai that caught the country off guard and shook its foundations.
Black Friday is a fierce attempt to exhibit the conflicting perspectives of the perpetrators, law enforcement officials, and the victims of the gruesome attack.
Jab We Met
Jab We Met is a 2007 Hindi romcom drama directed & written by Imtiaz Ali (Rockstar). The film stars Shahid Kapoor (Haider) and Kareena Kapoor (3 Idiots) in their fourth flick together and tells the story of a feisty Punjabi girl who is sent off track when she bumps into a depressed Mumbai businessman on an overnight train to Delhi.
Manorama Six Feet Under
In 2007, Bollywood was rife with mainstream musicals before Manorama Six Feet Under befell on unsuspecting viewers. The movie revolves closely around the harsh reality of Indian bureaucracy that lives off the frailties of the bourgeois. Additionally, Manorama Six Feet Under leaves no stone unturned with its gritty depiction of the grim horrors of the human existence.
Sarkar
Director Ram Gopal Varma’s (Satya) movies tend to divide peoples’ opinions. However, when it comes down to his political thriller Sarkar, it’s indeed a modern Indian masterpiece liked by all who watch it. Starring Amitabh Bachchan (Black), Sarkar is a grim story of the political infighting and the immoral crossover between the law and the underworld.
Ugly
Anurag Kashyap gives us a great film in the form of psychological thriller Ugly. The plot of the film revolves around the abduction of a girl which causes mayhem, and amid all the furore, new players emerge with the sole intent of capitalizing on someone else’s terrible predicament.
Madras Cafe
Madras Cafe is a mainstream thriller that lived up to everyone’s expectations. The film is well crafted by director Shoojit Sircar (Vicky Donor), incorporating real-life political events and making them into a fictional tale. Major Vikram Singh (John Abraham) is an Indian Intelligence Agent who has to journey into a wartorn coastal island to break up a rebel group. The film caused some controversy in India, especially among Tamil groups.
Shahid
Shahid is a biographical film based on the life of the controversial lawyer – Shahid Azmi – who met with a tragic end. Rajkummar Rao (CityLights) plays the lead whose life is always on the line. The film also caused controversy in India due to its interpretation of issues relating to Islamic Terrorism.
