The Indian Films I Keep Coming Back To
Seven picks across Hindi, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema — reviewed and returned to
I grew up watching these films and I have been reviewing them long enough to know which ones actually hold up on a rewatch and which ones just felt good the first time. This list is the former. Seven films pulled from Hindi, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema, covering romance, action, thriller, and at least one film that made me genuinely emotional every single time I watched it.
These are not ranked against each other. They are just the ones I keep recommending and the ones I keep going back to myself. The numbering is there to organize the list, not to argue that one is better than the next.
RRR (2022)
There is a version of this film that should not work. Two historical revolutionaries meet as strangers, become best friends, and then end up on opposite sides of a colonial conflict, all set against a backdrop of operatic action sequences and songs that hit harder than most film scores you have ever heard. The fact that it works as well as it does comes down to how sincerely it commits to every single moment. Often when a film is this beloved I expect to find it overhyped. RRR is not one of those times. The music alone is worth the runtime, and the final hour is one of the most purely entertaining stretches of filmmaking in recent memory. If you are going to start somewhere with Indian cinema, start here.
Taare Zameen Par (2007)
This is the first film I have ever reviewed where I genuinely could not find a single thing wrong with it. A young boy struggling in school is written off by everyone around him until an art teacher figures out what is actually going on. The premise sounds straightforward, but the execution is extraordinary at every level. The child performance from Darsheel Safary is one of the best from any actor of any age in any language, the message lands without ever becoming a lecture, and the music will take something out of you by the end. Everything about this film is exactly right. Go watch it immediately.
Drishyam (2013)
A murder mystery is not the genre you typically associate with Indian cinema, and Drishyam leans into that gap completely. A family covers up a crime and then has to hold the story together as the investigation closes in around them. What makes it unusual is that the film refuses to make the choice easy. The family is sympathetic, the police are not simply villains, and the writing is tight enough that every setup pays off by the end. The first half moves slowly and deliberately, and the tone shift when the thriller mechanics kick in is severe enough to feel like a different film. Both halves are worth it. Just do not watch this one before bed.
Dhoom 2 (2006)
If you asked any Indian to name a solid action film, Dhoom 2 would be one of the first three to come up. A master thief known only as Mr. A leads two cops across multiple countries through chase sequences that are genuinely stellar, and Hrithik Roshan in this film is a legitimate force of nature. The romance overestimates itself and some of the songs do not fit the story particularly well, but none of that matters once the film gets moving. It is over the top, fun, and bright in a way that is very specifically Bollywood, and as an introduction to what that style can do, it works as well as anything on this list. Go in with an open mind and let it carry you.
Om Shanti Om (2007)
Om Shanti Om is essentially Bollywood: The Movie, which is either exactly what you want or a reason to skip it entirely. A story told across two lifetimes, it mixes 1970s film nostalgia with modern pop spectacle, packs in references that will mean nothing to a first-time viewer, and commits to its melodrama so completely that the whole thing somehow holds together. The set design and costumes are extraordinary, the editing is sharp, and Shah Rukh Khan at his peak carries every scene he is in. The female lead is underwritten and the conflict resolves faster than it earns, but as a showcase of what the Bollywood machine looks like when it is firing on all cylinders, nothing else demonstrates it quite like this. Prepare yourself for the melodrama and enjoy the show.
Bommarillu (2006)
A modern Romeo and Juliet without any of the melodrama that usually comes attached to that comparison. An uptight boy from a traditional family falls for a free-spirited girl, and the film is smart enough to make the real conflict about more than just parental disapproval. The chemistry between the two leads is the kind that cannot be faked, the songs are genuinely memorable, and the message about the distance between what parents want and what their children actually need lands without ever getting preachy about it. The first half is heavy on setup and the resolution comes faster than it should, but the film earns its emotional final stretch regardless. Be prepared to call your parents after the credits.
Orange (2010)
This one is a personal pick and I will own that. A man who does not believe in love slowly recalls the story behind why, told through a flashback structure that takes up most of the middle act. The location in New Zealand is unlike anything else in Telugu cinema at the time, and the soundtrack runs from pop hits to genuine romantic ballads without losing its footing. The lead character is genuinely, specifically annoying in ways that the film is only partially aware of, and the ending rushes through what should have been the most earned moment in the story. None of that stopped me from watching it multiple times. Some films just sit with you even when they should not, and this is one of those.
These seven films barely scratch the surface of what Indian cinema has produced across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam over the last few decades. But they are the ones I keep coming back to and the ones I point people toward first. Most people who start here do not stop at seven.