Summary
- Bollywood movies on Netflix offer a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, romance, and thriller, proving that they are not just limited to bright-colored costumes and musical numbers.
- Some of the most-watched and critically-acclaimed Bollywood movies on Netflix, like “Haseen Dillruba” and “Monica, O My Darling,” have gained popularity and recognition beyond India, appealing to a global audience.
- Netflix has become a platform for original Bollywood movies, giving a boost to the industry and showcasing the talent of both established and upcoming actors and directors.
There are a lot of great Bollywood movies on Netflix. It is important to distinguish between Bollywood movies and other similar India-based movies because they are two very different things. While Bollywood movies are made in India, not all movies there are Bollywood. An example is RRR, the massive 2023 hit that is not a Bollywood movie, but is a Telugu-language movie made in India, and is known as Tollywood. However, while there is a difference, there are a lot of great Bollywood movies on the streaming service.
Bollywood movies are mostly used to describe Hindi-language movies. The word combines Bombay, where many of the movies are made, with Hollywood. This gives them the name Bollywood, and the movies are a lot more varied than some people might expect. Bollywood movies are often characterized by bright-colored costumes and musical numbers, but there are also several dramas, horror movies, and thrillers under the banner.
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10 Chopsticks (2019)
A Comedy Drama By Director Sachin Yardi
Chopsticks is a Bollywood movie that tells the story of a woman whose car was stolen by a con man. She goes to a chef, who moonlights as a safecracker, for help recovering her car, without costing her any money. Released on Netflix in 2019, it is the first original Indian film Netflix commissioned rather than one the network picked up after the fact. The movie has a great cast, with Abhay Deol (Dev.D) and Mithila Palkar (Little Things) starring as the hapless victim and safecracker respectively.
The movie was bashed by critics with a 17% Rotten Tomatoes score, but the audience score (73%) showed it was appreciated much more by those who watched it on the streaming service. The movie didn’t win any major awards but has remained popular with fans who want to enjoy a Bollywood movie with a great cast and a lot of heart.
9 Rajma Chawal (2018)
A Comedy Drama By Director Leena Yadav
The Bollywood movie Rajima Chawal follows a father and son as they grow into their relationship despite the generation gap forcing them apart for years. When Raj’s wife dies, he moves back to his old home, and his son, a guitarist, resents him for the move, taking him away from his friends, band, and his life. However, when his father steals the identity of a girl on Facebook and connects with his son while posing as her, they learn more about each other, but the deception could ruin their relationship once and for all.
While the movie didn’t win any awards, it was a popular festival hit, premiering at the BFI London Film Festival in 2018 before moving over to Netflix. The film also has a great musical score by Bollywood regular, Irshad Kamil, and is performed by Hitesh Sonik.
8 Haseen Dillruba (2021)
A Romantic Thriller By Director Vinil Mathew
Haseen Dillruba is a different Bollywood movie, a romantic thriller with a violent edge to it. The movie starts with a woman named Rani, a housewife, who is outside feeding her dogs when her home explodes behind her. The police arrive and find her husband dead, his body charred beyond recognition, but a severed hand that Rani identifies as belonging to him. The film then flips between flashbacks and the police investigation and they begin to believe she had something to do with the explosion.
Haseen Dillruba received mixed reviews upon its release, but it was hugely popular with Netflix viewers. It ended up as the most-watched Hindi movie on Netflix in 2021 and was in the top 10 in 22 different countries (via Hindustan Times). The movie also earned eight nominations at the 67th Filmfare Awards, including Best Actress and Best Actor, although it didn’t win any of the awards.
Haseen Dillruba was the most-watched Hindi movie on Netflix in 2021.
7 Monica, O My Darling (2022)
A New-Noir Dark Comedy Crime Thriller By Director Vasan Bala
Monica, O My Darling is a Bollywood crime thriller that hit Netflix in 2022 and was an immediate success for the streaming service. The movie is adapted from a 1989 Japanese novel by Keigo Higashino. When a man is engaged to the daughter of the CEO of a major company, he starts an affair with a secretary named Monica. Monica attempts to blackmail the man, along with the CFO of the company and the son of the managing director. They decide to murder Monica, but it backfires when Monica kills one of them first.
This leads to twists and turns and the movie earned positive reviews from critics. In what is clearly a Quentin Tarantino-inspired thriller, it was the most-watched Indian film on Netflix in 2022 (via True Scoop). It was also loved by critics and audiences, with an 81% critical score and an 88% rating from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes.
6 Tribhanga: Tedhi Medhi Crazy (2021)
A Bollywood Family Drama From Director Renuka Shahane
Tribhanga: Tedhi Medhi Crazy is a trilingual family drama on Netflix from 2021. The movie follows a dysfunctional family of three generations of women after the eldest falls into a coma. While she is in a coma, her daughter and granddaughter agree to help work on her biography. What results is a movie that shows how the three women all ended up estranged because of their generational differences, but when they discuss their past, they realize they are a lot more alike than different.
The movie received great reviews, sitting at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, although the audience score is lower at 55%. It also saw recognition during awards season, picking up three nominations at the 2021 Filmfare OTT Awards, including nods for all three actresses, with Kajol nominated for Best Actor (Female) and both Mithila Paikar and Tanvi Azmi for Best Supporting Actor (Female).
5 Badla (2019)
A Mystery Thriller Movie By Director Sujoy Ghosh
Badla is a mystery thriller that focuses on a murder and a woman who claims she is innocent. Naina is a young, successful business executive who ends up arrested when her secret lover is murdered. When she hires a high-profile defense attorney, he explains there is a witness who will incriminate her in the murder. However, she claims she was blackmailed, and she was called to the hotel where her lover’s dead body was. However, the attorney knows she is lying about something and sets out to find the truth.
The movie was a huge success, released in theaters where it made $17 million worldwide on a $4.6 million budget (via Bollywood Hungama). It was also in the mix for awards, picking up four nominations at the Filmfare Awards. Taapsee Pannu also won Best Actress at the 2020 Zee Cine Awards for her performance.
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4 Darlings (2022)
A Dark Comedy Movie By Director Jasmeel K. Reen
Darlings is a dark comedy released on Netflix in 2022 and was one of the most successful Bollywood movies upon its release on the streaming service. The movie is about domestic abuse and a woman who finally stands up to her tormentor in the most horrific way possible. Alia Bhatt plays Badru, a woman whose husband Hamza (Vijay Varma) has gotten drunk and beaten her for years. When he goes too far and beats her while she is pregnant, causing a miscarriage, Badru and her mother plot their revenge.
Originally set to be a theatrical release, Netflix instead picked it up and made it a streaming exclusive. It ended up with more than 10 million hours streamed on its opening weekend (via BBC). Reviews were mostly positive, and Darlings ended up a massive success in the awards season. It won five awards from 11 nominations at the Filmfare OTT Awards, as well as the Best Feature Film Award at the Bollywood Hungama India Entertainment Awards.
3 Dev.D (2009)
A Romance Bollywood Movie By Director Anurag Kashyap
Dev.D is an interesting Bollywood movie on Netflix, as it is a romance film that is split into three parts. Each section is based on one of the characters involved in the story – Paro is a young woman whose childhood sweetheart is Dev, Chandra is a student who is involved in a sex scandal, and Dev is Paro’s ex who believes untrue rumors about Paro, which ends their relationship. The movie is based on the classic character of Chandramukhi from the 1917 Bengali novel Devdas.
The movie was a critical success, with the dividing of chapters similar to the films of Quentin Tarantino. It was also a success at the end of the year, winning the 2009 National Film Awards honor for Best Music Direction. At the 55th Filmfare Awards, it won six awards with nine nominations, including Best Actress for Mahie Gill and Best Supporting Actress for Kalki Koechlin.
2 Pagglait (2021)
A Comedy Drama Bollywood Movie By Director Umesh Bist
Pagglait is a black comedy drama that was a Netflix exclusive in 2021. The movie stars Sanya Malhotra as Sandhya, a young widow who is struggling to deal with her lack of feelings after the death of her husband just five months after they got married. The movie finds dark comedy in her predicament thanks to her quirky relatives and a shocking discovery she makes about her late husband. Though criticized by some for finding humor in death, the film’s heart is in the right place.
The movie received positive reviews, but its real success came with its awards. Pagglait got three nominations from the Filmfare OTT Awards, winning for Best Supporting Actor. However, its biggest success came at the FOI Online Awards. It earned 12 nominations there and won five awards, including Best Supporting Actor, Best Dialogues, Best Original Song, and Best Lyricist.
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1 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)
A Coming-Of-Age Movie By Director Zoya Akhtar
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, also known as ZNMD, is a 2011 Hindi-language Bollywood movie that stars an ensemble cast in a coming-of-age story. Three childhood friends reunite for a road trip to Spain. Each friend has a different reason for their trip and during the trip, each of them chooses a dangerous sport for them to take part in. The movie was a huge success for both critics (88%) and audiences (86%) on Rotten Tomatoes.
While the movie had great reviews and was popular with the viewers, it was even bigger when it came to accolades. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara picked up 74 nominations across the world and won 35 total awards. This included 12 Filmfare nominations with six wins, including Best Film and Best Director. The Bollywoodmovie on Netflix also picked up 13 nominations at the International Indian Film Academy Awards, winning nine of them.
