From Barfi to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, 6 of the best Hindi movies to watch on Netflix
3 Idiots, starring Aamir Khan, remains the most successful Indian film of all-time in the Chinese market, but Netflix’s library of Hindi films includes many others worth watching
Rarely do I recommend watching a Hindi film unless I’ve seen it, but this was opening night and Mausam (Season, 2011), showing at UA Whampoa, had a lot going for it – a stellar cast, fantastic music, gorgeous visuals (enticing trailers on YouTube) and a reputable filmmaker. I dragged along fellow scribes and local friends as an adventurous crowd packed the movie theatre in anticipation of being transported from Hung Hom to Punjab through glossy cinematic reels and orchestral crescendo.
The deafening silence at the end of the awful yarn was only perforated by my Welsh mate, who said, as he got into the cab as we were leaving: “I’ve never hated you more.”
Since then, I have taken the fine art of recommending a film with the gravitas one reserves for an oncologist. Scrolling through Netflix’s library of Hindi films, there are too many musicals to choose from. Some middling fare, some good and a handful sublime. Four months into the new year, there isn’t a single 2020 Hindi film to recommend, but the decade is young and we live in hope. Scrolling back through timelines and categories, I loved watching and re-watching these:
Barfi (2012)
Following the misadventures of its main protagonist Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor), a deaf mute, falling in love with a mentally challenged girl (Priyanka Chopra, now Jonas, in a career-defining performance), the movie is at once very Bollywood and very foreign. You’ll find homage to vintage Hollywood, Chaplin, indeed world cinema all over this gorgeously mounted film with the most stunning visuals set in Darjeeling in the 1970s.
There’s a lot of slapstick and dialogue-free minutes in the movie (for those who don’t want to read subtitles for two hours and 31 minutes), an omniscient narrator to help connect the dots and such gorgeous cinematography, humour and drama to make you forget this Covidian-era. For at least an evening. The film swept award season and was a box-office smash – succumb to its charms.
Andhadhun (2018)
If you’ve seen the French short film L'Accordeur (The Piano Tuner), about a blind pianist who witnesses a murder, there’s going to be a sense of déjà vu. But only for a hot minute. This Indian-ised extension from short to full-length feature is executed so brilliantly, you’ll remain at the edge of your seat till the sucker-punch of an ending. There are no heroes, there are no villains, the ensemble cast is so good, you end up rooting for the most unlikely and dislikable characters.
In Andhadhun (The Blind Melody), a musician, teaching piano to the bored housewife of a has-been Bollywood actor, witnesses a murder … that’s all you need to know for now. Anything more about the plot will give away too much delicious detail. Most Mumbai movies are as predictable as pulp and one can easily foresee each succeeding scene – not this one. Director Sriram Raghavan (whose oeuvre is merely five faultless films) is a master craftsman. Be amazed.