Top Indian Films of All Time

A ‘Top/Best Indian Films of all time” list is a very tough order for me due to the sheer quantity of quality titles to choose from. This is because the selection of titles consist of a diverse set of criteria, ranging from multiple languages (such as Bengali, Hindi, Tamil to name a few) to production types (Bollywood, Parallel Cinema) to various regional industries. It is extremely hard to leave out many worthy films from directors I cherish.

Top 20 Indian titles ranked roughly in order of preference:

1. Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959, Satyajit Ray)
2. Uski Roti (Our Daily Bread, 1970, Mani Kaul)
3. Amma Ariyan (Report to Mother, 1986, John Abraham)
4. Pather Panchali (1955, Satyajit Ray)
5. Pyaasa (1957, Guru Dutt)
6. Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-Capped Star, 1960, Ritwik Ghatak)
7. Sholay (1975, Ramesh Sippy)
8. Ankur (1974, Shyam Benegal)
9. Mahanagar (The Big City, 1963, Satyajit Ray)
10. Om Dar-B-Dar (1988, Kamal Swaroop)
11. Black Friday (2004, Anurag Kashyap)
12. Ek Din Pratidin (And Quiet Rolls the Dawn, 1979, Mrinal Sen)
13. Awaara (The Vagabond, 1951, Raj Kapoor)
14. Titas Ekti Nodir Naam (A River Called Titas, 1973, Ritwik Ghatak)
15. Kaagaz ke Phool (Paper Flowers, 1959, Guru Dutt)
16. Garm Hava (Hot Winds, 1974, M.S. Sathyu)
17. Ek Ghar (Mane, 1991, Girish Kasaravalli)
18. Dharavi (1992, Sudhir Mishra)
19. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002, Aparna Sen)
20. Party (1984, Govind Nihalani)

It wasn't my intention to split the titles across the decades but this is what the top 20 looks as per the decades:

1950s: 5
1960s: 2
1970s: 6
1980s: 3
1990s: 2
2000s: 2

Seeing the most number of titles from the 1970s isn't a surprise as that decade marked the growth of Parallel Cinema in Hindi language films and ushered in many auteurs such as Mani Kaul. In addition, the 1970s marked the fictional film debut of Shyam Benegal.

10 Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order):

Many of these films were comfortably placed in the top 20 but after multiple iterations of making the list, they ended up getting knocked out.

Anand (1971, Hrishikesh Mukherjee)
Aparajito (1956, Satyajit Ray)
Charulata (1964, Satyajit Ray)
Chauthi Koot (The Fourth Direction, 2015, Gurvinder Singh)
Chhoti Se Baat (1976, Basu Chatterjee)
Elippathayam (Rat-Trap, 1982, Adoor Gopalakrishnan)
The Great Indian Kitchen (2021, Jeo Baby)
Maachis (Matchsticks, 1996, Gulzar)
Nayakan (1987, Mani Ratnam)
A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021, Payal Kapadia)

Update to Decades list after top 30:
1950s: 6
1960s: 3
1970s: 8
1980s: 5
1990s: 3
2000s: 2
2010s: 1
2020s: 2

Best Films of 2003

Another end of the year list put together from scribbled notes written a decade ago. A quick glance at my 2003 viewing notes confirmed that I once used to have much better options to view foreign films locally through the different arthouse cinemas and a selection of independent DVD stores. For example, I could always catch the newest Johnny To film a few months after its release unlike waiting 1-2 years now. Still despite a rich selection of films to choose from in 2003, I managed to miss many high profile releases which would have altered this end of the year list. Films such as Mystic River (likely to take #1 spot), The Barbarian Invasions, Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan), The Son (Dardenne brothers), Dogville, Kill Bill vol.1 and Oldboy would have featured prominently in this list.

Top 10 films of 2003

1. Lost in Translation (USA/Japan, Sofia Coppola)

2. And Now...Ladies and Gentlemen (2002, France/UK, Claude Lelouch)

Patricia Kaas’s soothing vocals coupled with the Moroccan visuals made this a very seductive cinematic experience. On top of that, And Now...Ladies and Gentlemen has one of the best film soundtracks solely due to Kaas’ jazzy notes.

3. Mr & Mrs. Iyer (2002, India, Aparna Sen)

Aparna Sen smartly uses a bus to highlight the cultural diversity of India and show how simple differences can constantly divide the nation or can sometimes bring people together. Konkana Sen Sharma, Aparna Sen’s daughter, steals the show with one of the most memorable acting performances seen in Indian cinema over the last decade.

4. Teen Deewarein (India, Nagesh Kukunoor)

Despite the prison setting and a murder case, Teen Deewarein has a peaceful flow and is packed with poetic words. At first, the three completely different characters appear to have nothing in common but a few clues tucked along the way create enough doubt and ensure that the ending does not appear as a complete surprize.

5. Adaptation (2002, USA, Spike Jonze)

6. 21 Grams (USA, Alejandro González Iñárritu)

7. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002, South Korea, Park Chan-wook)

8. Gangaajal (India, Prakash Jha)

A simmering film set in India’s political hotbed of Bihar against the background of corruption. After being constantly frustrated at seeing their hard-work go down the drain, the local police force take matters into their own hands and dish out their own holy justice.

9. Haasil (India, Tigmanshu Dhulia)

Tigmanshu Dhulia makes an impressive feature film debut with a thoughtful work that shows how the grassroots of political battles is lit early in the college years.

10. Saathiya (2002, India, Shaad Ali)