India is the largest producer of movies. Some movies are those that performed very well at the box office and some are those whose performance was not good at the box office but they receive a good rating considered to be underrated. These movies have a small audience but they deserve much more. It takes too much time for me to write on underrated movies. It was very difficult to choose 10 out of countless movies. After completing the list, another movie stuck into my mind and I had to insert that movie in the list. so after spending two days on it, Movienasha compiled a list of the Top 10 Bollywood Underrated Movies. The numbers here are in any random order and do not suggest any level of greatness in the movie. Please leave comments or feedback if you think differently and have something in mind which you want me to notice. Your comments and feedback are most welcome! You may not listen to the names of the few movies listed below.
Top 10 Best Underrated Movies That You Must Watch
1. Filmistaan (2014)
Filmistaan is one of the top underrated movies which doesn’t get success at the box office but the story of the movie was very good. It is directed by Nitin Kakkar and produced by Shyam Shroff, Subhash Chaudary, Shaila Tanna, Siddharth Roy Kapur. It was released on June 6, 2014, starring Sharib Hashmi, Inaamulhaq, Kumud Mishra, Gopal Dutt.This movie was screened at the 17th Busan International Film Festival, the Mumbai Film Festival, and the International Film Festival of Kerala. It was the best debut film and won the Silver Crow Pheasant Award. The film gained positivity from critics and won Best Feature Film in Hindi at the 60th National Film Awards in 2012.
2. Rocket Singh (2009)
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the year is an Indian movie directed by Shimit Amin and produced by Aditya Chopra. It was released on 11 December 2009 starring Ranbir Kapoor, Gauhar Khan, Shazahn Padamsee, and Prem Chopra. One of the best-underrated movies was declared a below-average grosser at the box office. The story of the movie was very good. The movie won a Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critic’s Choice) – Ranbir Kapoor and IIFA Award for IIFA Best Villain Award – Manish Chowdhary in 2010. It was distributed by Yash Raj Films.
3. Dor (2006)
Dor (English: String) is an Indian drama underrated movie in Bollywood directed by Nagesh Kukunoor and produced by Elahe Hiptoola. It was released on 22 September 2006 starring Ayesha Takia, Gul Panag, Shreyas Talpade, Girish Karnad, Uttara Bhavkar, Prateeksha Lonkar. It is a remake of the Malayalam film, Permazhakkalam (2004), and was well-received by critics. The story of the movie was very good and gained positive reviews from critics. The movie didn’t perform very well at the box-office. The movie reveals the story of two women who come from different backgrounds and how fate brings them together.
4. Manorama Six Feet Under (2007)
Manorama Six Feet Under is an Indian thriller film which is directed by Navdeep Singh and produced by Ketan Maroo. It was released on 21 September 2007 starring Abhay Deol, Raima Sen, Gul Panag. The movie is based on Chinatown (1974) by Roman Polanski. The film didn’t toil well commercially but received appreciation from critics and is considered to be one of the finest underrated movies of Bollywood. The film has excellent written dialogues. The film remarks that the only thing that is certain in an unknown world is a known God. The music of the film was composed by Jayesh Gandhi and Raiomond Mirza.
5. Do Dooni Chaar (2010)
Do Dooni Chaar (English: Two Twos Are Four) is one of the best Indian Hindi comedy underrated movies directed by Habib Faisal and produced by Arindam Chaudhuri. It was released on 8 October 2010 starring Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Aditi Vasudev, and Archit Krishna. The movie was declared a below-average grosser but it is a good movie to watch. It didn’t receive too much of an audience but deserves more than a lot. The movie won many awards including the 58th National Film Award for Best Hindi Feature Film, the 2011 Star Screen Awards for Best Art Direction, and Filmfare Awards for Best Dialogue, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Critics Award for Best Performance. The movie is about a teacher who belongs to a middle-class family and dreams of buying a car. He tries to keep his wife and children happy.
6. Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (2010)
Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is a Hindi period piece film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar and produced by Ajay Bijli and Sanjeev Bijli. It was released on 3 December 2010 starring Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Vishakha Singh, Sikander Kher, and Ram Sethi. It is based on the book Do And Dies by Manini Chatterjee, based on the Chittagong Uprising of 1930. The movie had a very poor opening but received positive reviews and was considered to be one of the chief underrated movies. It was nominated for the Zee Cine Award for Best Story in 2011. The movie was shot mostly in Goa. It is really a good movie to watch.
7. 99 (2009)
99 is one of the superior underrated movies directed by Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru. It was produced and distributed by “People Pictures”. It was released on 15 April 2009 starring Kunal Khemu, Boman Irani, Soha Ali Khan, Cyrus Broacha, Vinod Khanna, and Mahesh Manjrekar. 99 is an original story inspired by real events. The story reveals about two men in two cities who are bound by a common feeling of always being stuck at 99. They never make a century in life. The movie received positive reviews from the press but doesn’t perform well at the box-office.
8. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002)
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer are some of the lowest budget underrated movies of all time. It is directed by Aparna Sen and produced by N.Venkatesan and Rupali Mehta. It was released on 19 July 2002 starring Rahul Bose, Surekha Sikri, Konkona Sen Sharma, Sunil Mukherjee, Anjan Dutt, Esha Chauhan, Niharika Seth. The budget for the movie was Rs. 1.0 crore and box office collection were Rs. 1.4 crore. The movie received positive reviews but didn’t perform at the box-office. The movie premiered at the Locarno International Film festival in Switzerland. It won many national and international awards including the Golden Maile Award and the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film.
9. Sehar (2005)
Sehar is an Indian Hindi language action crime drama movie directed by Kabeer Kaushik and produced by Ashwin Patel. It was released on 29 July 2005 starring Arshad Warsi, Mahima Chaudhary, Sushant Singh, and Pankaj Kapur. The movie is based on real-life incidents and individuals. The movie is about an organized crime in the late 1990s in the state of Uttar Pradesh on the encounter of the notorious criminal Shiv Prakash Shukla who was removed from the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh Police.Sehar was one of the films included in Avijit Ghosh’s book, 40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You Have Missed. It is a good movie to watch.
10. Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005)
Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (translated as I Did Not Kill Gandhi) is one of the best underrated movies as it didn’t do well at the box office but received positive reviews from critics and audiences. It is directed by Jahnu Barua and produced by Anupam Kher. It was released on 30 September 2005 starring Anupam Kher, Urmila Matondkar, Rajit Kapur, Parvin Dabas Anupam Kher who received critical acclaim for his performance and won a Special Jury Award. Matondkar gained a lot of appreciation and won the Bollywood Movie Award-Best Actress for her performance.
*Here the list is not ended. Some additional movies are also included. I think these movies should be mentioned and the viewers should note it. The movie which I am going to mention is really a good movie to watch. Whether it doesn’t perform very well at the box-office but the storyline was superb.
* Matrubhoomi (2003)
Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (translation: Motherland) is an Indian film written and directed by Manish Jha. The story inspects the impact of female infanticide and female foeticide on gender balance. The story of the movie bears some resemblance to real-life instances of gender imbalance. It was released on 17 December 2003 starring Tulip Joshi, Sudhir Pandey, Sushant Singh, Aditya Srivastava. The movie received widespread critical acclaim. It was awarded for its important themes on women’s issues and female infanticide handled with sensitivity by a first-time director. It was dubbed into six languages including Telugu, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Bengali, French, and Gujarati on a budget of Rs. 3 crore.
* My Brother… Nikhil (2005)
My Brother…Nikhil is an Indian film directed by Onir and produced by Sanjay Suri, Vicky Tejwani, Onir, and Raj Kaushal. It was released on March 25, 2005, starring Sanjay Suri, Juhi Chawla, Victor Banerjee, and Purab Kohli. It is one of the good underrated movies which was highly appreciated worldwide. Juhi Chawla won the Zee Best Actress Critic Award for her performance. The movie is set in Goa between 1986 and 1994 and is based on the life of Dominic d’Souza.
* The President Is Coming (2009)
The President Is Coming is an Indian Satirical documentary film directed by Kunaal Roy Kapur and produced by Rohan Sippy. It was released on January 9, 2009, starring Konkana Sen Sharma, Shernaz Patel, Shivani Tanksale, Namit Gomber, Satchit Puranik, and Ira Dubey. It is based on a popular play by the same title which premiered at the Royal Court/Rage Theatre Festival in Mumbai in January 2006. The film reveals a day in the life of 6 contestants who will stop at nothing as the US President comes to town.
* Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh (2005)
Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh is a Hindi romantic comedy film, directed by Chandan Arora and produced by Ronnie Screwvala. It was released on October 7, 2005, starring Rajpal Yadav, Varun Badola, Rituparna Sengupta, Kay Kay Menon. The movie is about a short yet qualified middle-aged man named Mithilesh played by Rajpal Yadav and his insecurities about his height and personality when he gets married to Veena played by Rituparna Sengupta. He becomes jealous of his friend Saleem, played by Varun Badola, Veena’s childhood friend Akash, played by Kay Kay Menon, and others who he claims have an infatuation with his wife. The hidden truth is revealed at the end and brings the couple together.
