Summary
- Hindi-language movies on Netflix offer a variety of genres, including horror, thrillers, and family dramas, winning awards and gaining international popularity.
- “Haseen Dillruba” was the most-watched Hindi-language movie on Netflix in 2021, ranking in the top 10 in 22 countries, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.
- “Badhaai Do” is a critically acclaimed comedy-drama that won six awards at the 68th Filmfare Awards, highlighting the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in Indian cinema.
There are a lot of Hindi-language movies on Netflix and this includes movies that won big awards in the years of their release and are now available to watch by fans on the streaming service. It is important to understand the concept of Hindi-language movies, as there are different languages and styles of movies in India. The most popular of these movies are Bollywood movies, which include colorful costumes and energetic music. However, the genre of Hindi movies is a lot bigger than just that.
There have been horror movies, thrillers, and family dramas that have won awards and won over fans throughout the years when it comes to Hindi-language films. When it comes to the best movies on Netflix, this also includes movies that have crossed over in popularity internationally, setting Netflix viewing records, and even winning Emmy Awards after their release. With some of the biggest actors in India’s movie history and storylines that cross over regardless of culture, the best Hindi-language movies on Netflix offer something for everyone.
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10 Haseen Dillruba (2021)
A Romantic Thriller From Director Vinil Mathew
Haseen Dillruba is a Hindi-language romantic thriller. The movie starts with a housewife named Rani (Taapsee Pannu) outside her home, feeding her dogs, when her house explodes. Her husband is inside the home and is burned beyond recognition, although Rani identifies his hand, which was found close to the body. The problem comes when the police believe Rani might have been responsible for the explosion and might have killed her husband. The movie is then shown in flashbacks as the secrets unfold.
The movie only earned mixed reviews from critics, but it was a huge success for Netflix. It ended up ranking in the top 10 in 22 countries and was the most-watched Hindi-language movie on Netflix in 2021. It also had an impressive eight nominations at the 67th Filmfare Awards, although it didn’t win any of them. There is also a sequel coming (via India Massey).
9 Badla (2019)
A Mystery Thriller By Director Sujoy Ghosh
Badla is a mystery thriller Hindi-language movie on Netflix that has a brash young woman arrested and accused of murdering her secret lover. She hires a high-profile defense attorney to defend her. However, he knows that she is hiding something and isn’t telling him the truth, and the movie takes the viewers down a twisting and turning tale to the shocking truth. Badla was a huge success, making over four times its budget while at the box office, and now it is available to view on Netflix.
On top of the great box office take, it also found success during the awards season that year. The movie earned four nominations at the 65th Filmfare Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Amrita Singh. Taapsee Pannu found some success with the Best Actress Award at the Zee Cine Awards.
8 Darlings (2022)
A Dark Comedy From Director Jasmeet K. Reen
Darlings is a dark comedy about a woman seeking revenge against her husband. The movie is based in the world of domestic abuse, as Hamza is a man with a drinking problem who has beaten up his wife, Badru, for years. However, when he finally stops drinking and then beats her up again, while sober, causing her to miscarry their baby, she plots revenge. Alongside her mother, they capture Hamza and begin torturing him relentlessly until the police begin to suspect something is wrong.
Darlings skipped its theatrical release and went straight to Netflix in 2022. The movie, which straddles the line between comedy and drama, earned positive reviews from critics and was a huge success for Netflix, with over 10 million watching hours in its opening weekend (via The Indian Express). The movie earned 11 nominations at the Filmfare OTT Awards, winning five awards, including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
7 Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022)
A Biographical Crime Drama From Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Released in 2022, Gangubai Kathiawadi is a crime drama about the real-life titular character. Based on the nonfiction novel Mafia Queens of Mumbai, the movie is about Gangubai Kathiawadi, who rose from a simple girl from Kathiawad to a social activist, sex worker, and madam of a brothel during the 1960s. In real life, she fought for the rights of sex workers and the well-being of orphans. The movie followed her life, as she was sold into prostitution early in her life down to her work to legalize prostitution.
The movie earned great reviews after premiering at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival and then went on to contend for several awards. The National Film Awards honored the movie, and it won all five awards that it was nominated for, including Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also picked up 17 nominations at the Filmfare Awards, with 11 wins, including one for Best Film.
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6 Kapoor & Sons (2016)
A Family Drama Hindi Movie From Director Shakun Batra
Released in 2016, Kapoor & Sons is a family drama following a dysfunctional family. Rahul and Arjun Kapoor are estranged brothers who return to their childhood home after their grandfather suffers a heart attack. Both brothers are authors, one very successful and mature and the other struggling while working as a bartender. The parents favor their more successful son, which causes even more strife and dysfunction. When the grandfather’s final wish is a family photo, they have to find a way to reconcile.
Kapoor & Sons was a blockbuster at the box office (via Bollywood Hungama), and received positive reviews, both in India and domestically. The movie earned 10 Filmfare Awards nominations, with three supporting actor nominations (Rishi Kapoor won that award for his performance in this movie). It also won three awards in five nominations at the Mirchi Music Awards.
Kapoor & Sons
was a blockbuster at the box office, making $17.8 billion on a $3.3 million budget.
5 Badhaai Do (2022)
A Comedy Drama Movie By Director Harshavardhan Kulkarni
Badhaai Do is a comedy-drama about a closeted police officer who marries a gay woman who works as a PE teacher to keep their sexuality a secret. However, as both of them find people that they fall in love with, they have to decide what is more important – hiding who they are or finally coming out and living lives as they were meant to be. When their families start pressuring them to have children, they finally have to come to terms with their sexuality, even if it means losing those family members.
The movie received critical praise with the story of the LGBTQ+ community accepted and held high in reviews. The movie had a year’s high six wins at the 68th Filmfare Awards, taking home the trophy for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Story, and Best Screenplay.
4 Dev.D (2009)
A Hindi-Language Romantic Movie By Director Anurag Kashyap
Released in 2009, Dev.D is a Hindi-language romantic movie that is based on the classic character of Chandramukhi from the classic Bengali novel Devdas. In the original tale, Chandramukhi was inspired by the Hindu mystical singer Meera who devoted her life to Lord Krishna. Chandramukhi then devoted her life to Devdas. In Dev.D, Dev is a man who turns on his childhood sweetheart Paro when he believes false rumors about her and then finds a second chance with a Delhi student named Chanda.
The film earned positive reviews and many praised its use of three different stories, split into three chapters similar to Quentin Tarantino’s movies. The experimental soundtrack helped the Tarantino comparisons as well. It was also an awards darling, winning Best Music Direction at the 2009 National Film Awards. At the 55th Filmfare Awards, it won six awards in nine nominations, including awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
3 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)
A Coming-Of-Age Comedy From Director Zoya Akhtar
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a coming-of-age adventure comedy that sees three friends get together for a road trip, all for different reasons. The movie was shot in different countries, including Spain, India, the United Kingdom, and Egypt. The movie had a budget of $12 million, grossing $19 million and picking up critical acclaim. It sees the three friends head out on a bachelor road trip where each one of them will choose a surprise sporting adventure that they all have to participate in together.
However, all three of them have a specific reason for taking the trip, which plays out as they travel through the countries. The movie was a huge success at the 57th Filmfare Awards, where the movie picked up a year’s high 13 nominations while winning the most as well with seven victories. It won for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor.
2 Pagglait (2021)
A Comedy-Drama From Director Umesh Bist
WATCH NOW ON NETFLIXPagglait is a dark comedy movie that follows a woman whose husband of five months has just died. However, as her family arrives to mourn with her, she doesn’t feel anything. As she drifts along, she discovers secrets that her late husband might have been hiding from her and has to figure out how to reconcile this information with her new place in life. The movie received positive reviews, although there was some concern about finding humor in the death of a loved one.
The movie was also a big awards magnet, as it picked up 13 nominations at the FOI Online Awards, including nominations for two songs and two lyricists. It won for one of the songs and lyricist, while also picking up wins for Best Supporting Actor and Best Dialogues. At the Filmfare OTT Awards, it was a little less successful, although it did win for Best Supporting Actor with two other nominations as well.
1 Lust Stories (2018)
A Hindi-Language Anthology Movie From Various Directors
WATCH NOW ON NETFLIXOne of the most successful Hindi-language movies on Netflix is Lust Stories. Unlike many other Hindi movies, this is an anthology movie with four different stories told by four different directors. It is a follow-up to the 2013 anthology movie Bombay Talkies, and itself was followed by another called Ghost Stories, all with the same directors. Each of the stories is about emotions and relationships, mostly in the context of contemporary Indian society, and specifically with female sexuality.
Unlike many of the best Hindi-language movies on Netflix, this movie eclipsed the Filmfare OTT Awards and actually picked up two Emmy Awards. The anthology won Best TV Movie or Miniseries and Best Actress for Radhika Apte (who also starred in the Indian movie Raat Akeli Hai) at the 47th International Emmy Awards.
