These are some of the best Hindi movies available on Netflix in August 2021
You can find more Hindi movies in our Best Movies list and other lists below. If you’re looking for even more movies on Netflix, we also have suggestions for a few other genres you should check out.
Aamir (2008)
Based on the 2006 Filipino film Cavite, a young Muslim expatriate Indian doctor (Rajeev Khandelwal) returns from Britain and is forced to comply with the demands of terrorists to bomb Mumbai after they threaten his family. The film, a feature debut for Khandelwal and writer-director Raj Kumar Gupta, is noted for its realism and Alphonse Roy’s cinematography.
Andhadhun (2018)
Inspired by the French short film L’Accordeur, this black comedy thriller is the story of a piano player (Ayushmann Khurrana) who pretends to be blind and gets caught in a web of twists and lies after he walks into a murder scene. Also starring Tabu and Radhika Apte, it relies heavily on a series of coincidences, which could break the film. The rest depends on how you look at the endgame twist.
⭐Axone (2020)⭐
Through the lens of the titular aromatic fermented product — pronounced aa-KHOO-nee, it translates as “strong smell” — writer-director Nicholas Kharkongor light-heartedly explores the stereotypes, casteism and insular nature of Indians towards their northeastern counterparts. The lead performances are by Sayani Gupta and Vinay Pathak.
The Blue Umbrella (2005)
Based on Ruskin Bond’s 1980 novel, it is the story of a young girl in rural Himachal Pradesh whose blue umbrella becomes the centre of attraction for the entire village, driving a shopkeeper (Pankaj Kapur) into impatience. A National Award winning film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj.
Gurgaon (2017)
This story, set in the city of the same name as the film, is a new thriller experience. It exposes the gender inequality and darkness buried beneath the city’s wasteland. Pankaj Tripathi plays a real estate tycoon. In the story, his wayward son kidnaps his own sister to pay off his gambling debt. The audience did not like its cliché, but critics praised the film.
Guru (2007)
Mani Ratnam wrote and directed the story of a ruthless and ambitious businessman (Abhishek Bachchan) who lets nothing stand in his way to become India’s biggest tycoon. The story seems to be loosely inspired by the life of Dhirubhai Ambani. Bachchan was praised for his performance. Aishwarya Rai co-stars but in a very small role.
Ishqiya (2010)
Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan, and Arshad Warsi star in this black comedy set in rural Uttar Pradesh that follows two goons (Shah and Warsi) who decide to take shelter with a local gangster after a job, but meet his widow (Vidya Balan) who seduces them to further her own designs. Written and directed by Abhishek Chaubey (Udta Punjab).
Jodha Akbar (2008)
Certainly three-and-a-half hours long, this 16th-century epic is the story of a Mughal emperor (Hrithik Roshan) and a Rajput princess (Aishwarya Rai) whose political marriage turns into true love as he realises she is his equal in every way. Simply put, effective, its message is vital in an increasingly intolerant India. Ashutosh Gowariker has directed the film.
Kameneya (2009)
Described as Vishal Bharadwaj’s Pulp Fiction, the film stars Shahid Kapoor as separated twins – one with a limp and the other a stutter – with a contrasting work ethic, whose lives impossibly converge as they are dragged into Mumbai’s underworld nexus of mobsters and politicians. Priyanka Chopra co-stars. The film was highly praised for its style, smarts and complex characters.
Lagaan (2001)
Set in a small drought-stricken Indian town during the height of the British Raj, a village farmer (Aamir Khan) stakes everyone’s future on a game of cricket with well-equipped colonists, in exchange for a tax break for three years. Directed by director Ashutosh Gowariker, the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film.
Lust Stories (2018)
Four directors – Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, and Karan Johar – have helmed four different parts of this anthology drama that focuses on the romantic lives of four women, engrossed in love, power, status, and naturally, lust. The film is known for its authenticity and portraying real women on screen. It is a Netflix Original.
Manorama Six Feet Under (2007)
Abhay Deol leads the cast of this neo-noir thriller, which openly acknowledges its Chinatown inspiration, as it follows a public works engineer and amateur detective (Deol) who is paid by a minister’s wife to collect evidence of her husband’s affair, unaware that he is being used as a pawn in a larger conspiracy. The film was praised by critics, though audiences failed to appreciate it.
⭐Manto (2018)⭐
The life of Pakistani author Saadat Hasan Manto (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) – one of the finest Urdu writers of the 20th century – before and after the partition of British India, whose acclaimed life in then Bombay is uprooted and his work challenged in Lahore. It is directed by Nandita Das.
Margarita with a Straw (2014)
Kalki Koechlin plays a teenager with cerebral palsy in this new-age drama by Shonali Bose who falls in love with a blind girl of Pakistani-Bangladeshi origin after moving to New York for a graduate degree. Koechlin’s work and Bose’s sensitive treatment of movement disorders were highlighted.
Oye, Lucky! Lucky! (2008)
Dibakar Banerjee’s second directorial venture is about a charismatic eponymous thief (Abhay Deol) who, after being arrested, recounts his life that began in a poor, suburban West Delhi household. And how he became a media sensation with a flair for thievery.
A Wednesday! (2008)
Neeraj Pandey’s film is set on a Wednesday between 2 pm and 6 pm, naturally, when a common man (Naseeruddin Shah) threatens to carry out five bomb blasts in Mumbai unless four terrorists in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case are released.
The White Tiger (2021)
Aadarsh Gaurav, a tour-de-force opposite Priyanka Chopra and Rajkummar Rao (who is stuck with an accent he can’t handle), is about a poor villager (Gaurav) who uses every means at his disposal to escape his fate. It was praised for its exploration of caste and class. However it could have done with a modern-day update of the 2000s story. The film is more in English than Hindi. It is a Netflix Original.
