Mother India 1957
Pyaasa 1957 The dream of independence bringing in jobs and prosperity fell flat just in first 10 years… excellent direction and performance. Just wondering why is it so evil to think how are my future kids going to be fed???
Kaala Bazar 1960 Had DG seen this movie at least 15 years ago she would have known not to marry the first guy she went on a date…
Mughal-E-Azam 1960
Mujhe Jeene Do 1963 Beautiful music and dances. Raat bhi hai kuchh madham madham…
Tere Ghar Ke Saamane 1963 Tu Kahan Yeh Bata… Rafi Saheb beyond words…
Haqeeqat 1964 …they were soldiers… only real portrayal of fauji life in bollywood…
Guide 1965 …what happens to a relationship over time, may be they all stagnate…
Akhari Khat 1966 Enjoy the camera work…brilliant…
Dastak 1970 Have to watch, DG has no words to explain
Koshish 1972 Brilliant performances, direction… it is a package…
Garam Hawa 1973 all of us want a change without wanting to change ourselves… reminds me of poems of revolutionary poet Paash
Rajanigandha 1974 Had DG seen this movie in her early 20s she would have known it is ok to change your mind, it is never too late…
Nishant 1975, Feudal oppression in full view. The most interesting part of the film is to see the relationships between women. All women are oppressed some more and some little less at multiple levels. The rich man’s domestic help feels powerful when she spews lies to the abducted and raped woman. The rich man’s wife feels powerless in comparison to the raped woman when her husband develops a relationship with her.
Shaque 1976, what can break trust in marriage? Do married people really trust each other?
Chitchor 1976,
Kitaab 1977 Best children’s movie for grown ups
Bhoomika 1977, a woman’s life is for takes for men related to her. Why? Just because they are men and she is a woman… Smita Patil is exceptional so is the direction…
Khatta Meetha 1978 Tum se mila tha pyaar un dino hum ameer the… Good song
Ghar 1978 Once upon a time it was an adult “A” movie
Pati, Patai Aur Woh 1978 …mid life crisis really gets the best of men…
Trishna 1978 Din ba din mere dil se woh door jaane lage…
Golmaal 1979 watched at least 11 times still can watch empteen times
Griha Pravesh 1979, a lot goes into a marriage… those silly quirks, smell of sweat…
Ek Baar Phir 1980 Had DG seen it in her 20s she would have known it was ok to walk out if it wasn’t working…
Silsila 1981 Stellar performance by all cast… Rekha cemented it…
Umrao Jaan 1981 there is a thinline between kothi (home) and a kotha (brothel)…
36 Chowrangi Lane 1981, a must watch. Jennifer Kendal Kapoor is exceptional. At times the fear of loneliness strikes in, is being childless and partner-less a smart choice?
Chakra 1981,
Naram Garam 1981, as kids we use to tease our uncle ek baat suni hai chachaji…
Chashme Baddoor 1981,
Arth 1982 A movie that revolutionized Indian cinema and desi womanhood…
Hamari Bahu Alka 1982 your wife is our bahu (dil), we spent on the wedding so we have right on her time…
Jeevan dhara 1982 when men fail in their so called traditional duties of family men women have to step up and do the double duty, be the man and woman at the same time. A struggle of a sister to keep the family afloat… Rekha is brilliant, must watch.
Namkeen 1982 what happens to sisters with no brother or men in the house…
Yeh Nazdeekiyan 1982 can you rub off the traces of intimacy??
Saath Saath 1982 got to watch this movie very late in life. If had watched early may be it would have influenced DG’s understanding of so called love marriages. Adjusting to one another and keeping up with personal ideals that actually brings a couple together are two different issues. A must watch.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro 1983 watched umpteen times can still watch umpteen times…
Mandi 1983 brilliant performances and direction…
Rang Birangi 1983, hilarious… light fun should watch
Kisi Se Na Kehna 1983,
Ardh Satya 1984, various masculinities at work and emasculating each other at the same time.
Ab Aayega Maza 1984 Just light fun, lots of childhood memories, Ravi Baswani is funny
Giddh 1984 Child prostitution in the name of religion
Holi 1984,
Kamla 1984, who is a slave one someone paid for the one who knows not how to run away? Are men programed to be egotistic aren’t they slaves to their egos? A must watch
Paar 1984,
Trikaal 1985, change is painful and past is too binding…
Gulami 1985 Peasant upsurge against the fuedal system in Shekhwati. Very meticulously directed movie except for Mithun’s lovely locks and machine gun that he took home from work 🙂 . DG’s one of the favorite songs, mere pi ko pawan… waqt beeja tha boya tha uske liye maine pal pal piroya tha uske liye… Gulzar is good.
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla 1985,
Kaash 1987 A different ending would have been more realistic
Ijaazat 1987 that exactly how DG’s personal effects were sent back…
Mera Ghar Mere Bacche 1988 revolutionary ending for its time. Do not think any other movie had such an impacting end…
Pestonjee 1988 Saw as a teen understood as a 30 something.. Unhappy people will find all the reasons to be unhappy…
Salaam Bombay 1988, a must watch Mira Nair is excellent. If you can get the extra features on the DVD they are excellent learning tool.
Pushpak 1988, not a single dialogue and don’t feel a need. Kamla Hasan is good…
Bahurani 1989 Rakesh Roshan trying to become Anarkila… Utpal Dutt is the best
Kamla Ki Maut 1989 What happens when you commit suicide? Everyone diects your life and feels how blessed they are…
Main Zinda Hoon 1989 Sudhir Mishra at his best. This movie had lasting impact on 15 year old DG and her feminist inclinations. Must watch
Salim Langade Pe Mat Ro 1989,
Prahar 1991
Ek Doctor ki Maut 1991, based on a real incident, a must see…
Dharavi 1992,
Maya Memsaab 1993,
Hyderabad Blues 1996 A must watch. This was one guy who was questioning a lot and would not scum to mommy guilt trip and she was one tough cookie who would not crack to an American dream but there are other idiots to fill in for her.
Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa 1998 Never liked Jaya as such but this was a worthy performance.
Sarfarosh 1998,
Train To Pakistan 1998,
Chachi 420, desi remake of Mrs. Doubtfire Kamla Hasan is good
Hu Tu Tu 1999
Astitva 2000
Tum Bin 2001 One movie where heroine did not sit sobbing all her movie life…
Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar 2001
Zubaida 2001, best scene Karishma sitting with a month old baby in her arms while her father and father-in-law finalizing her divorce and her DH (DG always thinks the other term ***k ***d) sits like a show piece… must watch
Monsoon Wedding 2001, oh we desis are so blessed our lives our families are so perfect, bad thing happen only to others not us, Holier than thou a must watch
Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega 2001,
American Desi 2001,
Pitaah 2002
Hungamma 2003, Hilarious good fun
Yuva 2004 Abhishek is good… Deol’s role is cheeky…
Anuranan 2005 What is that we want in a marriage? Is there a realistic marriage that could meet all our needs and expectations? Is it possible to have a platonici relationship while still married?
Mixed Doubles 2006 A good movie after a long time. Choron ko pad gaye more…
Pyar ke Side effects 2006,
The Blue Umbrella 2007 Pankaj Kapoor at his best… loneliness and isolation portrayed very sensitively…
Omkaara 2007,
Delhi 6 2009
Rocket Singh 2009
Heaven on Earth 2009 Educate your self on Desi Marriages how three people (you, me and mommy) sleep in the bed… Deepa Mehta has done a good job just the climax is not DG kind… DG was also confused where should she place this movie, in desi movies or non desi movies because the director and producer are Canadians but the cast and theme is desi. What do you think?
Straight Pinu Patel Ki Tedhi Love Story 2009
Dabangg 2010 Don’t have a clue what was so amusing about this movie but sure did enjoy it… hijacking of the wedding… best dialogue “I have no family or elders so I’ll bless my self…”
Udaan 2010, superb movie, a must watch to understand super fatherhood and desi masculinity. Does kindness have any place in this man’s life?
The Dirty Picture 2011, Good movie after long time. Art Director gets full marks. Silk was a slap in the face of morality brigade. Just wondering where was Shri Ram Sene??
Memories in March 2011, Desi movies coming of age. Yes, only Bengali movies can do it. Rituparno Ghosh nailed it, reminded of Colin Firth in A Single Man (2009). For a moment DG though if she were to die tonight what do her folks know about her life she left home when she was nineteen. What do we really know about loved ones?
A Desi Girl's Guide to Relationship Survival 
Wow DG you have a great list going on here.
P. S. I promise to read all your blog. 🙂
@affytoffy,
Welcome to GGTS, a safe space.
Please share this message of hope with anyone who may benefit.
Peace,
Desi Girl
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no sholay !!! TG
Nope No Sholay in this list. Though DG like, the suicide definition given by Mr. D in Sholay,
Who is TG or what is TG?
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TG : Thank god 🙂 TGIF for tomorrow
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Truly wonderful . Thank you for making it. 🙂
@Madhu,
Welcome to GGTS, a safe space.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Please share this message of hope with anyone who may benefit.
Peace,
Desi Girl
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Wow what a list!! I will add them all to my must-watch list though I have seen quite a few of them (infact I have just completed adding them to my list). My parents will be visiting us here in US. And my dad if a big fan of these kind of movies (and so am I). So we will have some great time watching them all. Thanks a lot for providing the links too (though I will try to buy the DVDs).
However, I was wondering what would be your opinion about V.Shantaram’s movies…
Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje
Do Aankhen Barah Haath
Navrang
Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne
Jal Bin Machali Nritya Bin Bijli
…and some other movies mostly directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee…
Anand
Namak Haram (while the above movie announced the arrival of Big B, this one pretty much confirmed the change of guard).
Mausam
Mili
Chupke Chupke
Golmaal
Deewaar – 1974 (though it falls under the commercial genre, one cannot ignore the powerful script by Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan, and directed by Yash Chopra (can you believe the last one!!))
Bemisaal (Big B’s amazing performance and couple of great songs…this movie has its moments)
Manzil (1979)
Gharaonda
Mere Apne (1971)
Aandhi (1975)
Thanks once again!!
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Nice complication, some movie picks I took from this list to add to my Must Watch movies. How come Bazaar is not on this list! Did you not like it Desi Girl, or plain missed?
@Sowmya,
Welcome to GGTS, a safe space.
Yes, Bazaar was a good movie. DG saw it first time when she was about 10 or so, the again when she was 17 or so. She faintly recalls in poverty people cling to a facade of honor and trade bodies be it in marriage or through prostitution. Guess it is time to re watch this classic.
It just skipped, will include in the list. Yes, it is time to revisit the list and had few more names and links. 🙂
Please share this message of hope with anyone who may benefit.
Peace,
Desi Girl
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Honeymoon Travels Private Limited – Shabana Aazmi, Boman Irani, Raima Sen, Abhaya Deol,Ameesha Patel… many more.
Triya Charitra – Rajlakshmi, Nasiruddin Shah, Om Puri
Bunty aur Babli
Mirch Masala
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Awesome list, DG! Some of these are my favorite. I loved Firaaq, especially. Many of them I haven’t seen, so I will definitely check them out.
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ah ha balle balle kar ti list banake .. now i can go and see how many of these i have seen 🙂
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