Over 25 years, societies evolve and tastes change. Cinema absorbs and reflects this transformation.
Picking only 25 films from the first quarter of the century is tough.
This list takes into account the originality, popularity, experimentation, cultural significance, and, of course, retention in audience memory.
No director has been repeated or else films by Rajkumar Hirani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kabir Khan and Imitaz Ali would dominate the list.
Deepa Gahlot picks the best films in the last 25 years, in chronological order.
Hera Pheri
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Priyadarshan's comedy is one of the funniest films made in the country -- a whole series of chaotic situations are triggered by simply a wrong number.
Akshay Kumar, Suneil Shetty, Tabu star in the film, but it is Paresh Rawal's short-sighted Baburao that lifts the film to the next level of humour.
Lagaan
Where to watch: YouTube
Ashutosh Gowariker's cricket epic pitted a bunch of villagers against the might of the British empire.
Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), protesting back-breaking taxes, challenges the snooty Brits to a cricket match, with a rag tag team of misfits, who don't even know how to play.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Dil Chahta Hai
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Farhan Akhtar's directorial debut humorously captured a new generation of the urban young, as they navigate life and love.
With an enviable cast of Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Preity Zinta and Sonali Kulkarni, it redefined 'cool' in Hindi films, while also staying within a realistic format.
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
Where to watch: YouTube
Sudhir Mishra's film, starring Kay Kay Menon, Chitrangada Singh and Shiney Ahuja is one of the finest political films made in India.
The tragic love triangle is set in a rapidly-changing India, with the backdrop of the Emergency and the Naxalite movement of the 1970s.
Rang De Basanti
Where to watch: Netflix
Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra tells a story of youthful rebellion against corruption, and stars Aamir Khan, Atul Kulkarni, Siddharth, Kunal Kapoor, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Soha Ali Khan.
While enacting the life of Bhagat Singh and his band of revolutionaries, six friends discover the power of the activism.
Chak De! India
Where to watch: Netflix
A film that gained power in retrospect as Indian sportswomen starting winning, Shimit Amin's film is about a disgraced hockey player, Kabir Khan (among Shah Rukh Khan's best performances), who is given the hopeless task of coaching a women's hockey team. But he leads them to victory.
Jab We Met
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video & JioHotstar
The romance between a chatty young woman (Kareena Kapoor) and a surly man (Shahid Kapoor), over a chaotic journey, directed by Imtiaz Ali, is one of the most popular romcoms in Indian cinema.
Lage Raho Munnabhai
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
In the superior sequel to Rajkumar Hirani's Munnabhai MBBS, the cheerful gangster (Sanjay Dutt) and his sidekick Circuit (a superb Arshad Warsi) get a dose of Gandhigiri, and are transformed.
In the process, they also fight a corrupt real estate dealer with non-violence.
Taare Zameen Par
Where to watch: YouTube
Aamir Khan made his directorial debut and also played a sympathetic teacher, who helps a boy with dyslexia (Darsheel Safary) discover his artistic side. The film brought a much-needed discussion about learning disabilities into the mainstream.
A Wednesday
Where to watch: Netflix
Neeraj Pandey's film was one of the few that took in the point of view of a common citizen (Naseeruddin Shah), who, fed-up of general apathy, threatens to detonate bombs across Mumbai unless four terrorists are released. The surprise hit became a benchmark for small budget, high concept thrillers.
3 Idiots
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Inspired by a book by Chetan Bhagat, Rajkumar Hirani's film -- starring Aamir Khan, Shaman Joshi and R Madhavan -- made a case for thinking out of the box, and not follow the brain-killing Indian education system.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Where to watch: YouTube
Zoya Akhtar's film about a trip three friends -- Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol -- take them through Spain to confront their fears. It was emotionally strong, even though it faced criticism for focusing on 'first world problems'.
Gangs of Wasseypur 1 & 2
Where to watch: YouTube
Anurag Kashyap grim, multi-generational revenge saga was centered on the coal mafia of Dhanbad, and gave Bollywood a glimpse of what rural India is really like.
- The Rediff Review 1 and 2
Kahaani
Where to watch: On Amazon Prime Video
Sujoy Ghosh's complex thriller had a pregnant woman (Vidya Balan) come from London to Kolkata to look for her missing husband, and everyone she meets tells her he didn't exist.
A female-centric film, outside of the mainstream format turned out to be a huge success, showing that a leading lady could attract the audience too.
Queen
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Vikas Bahl's charming film had a low-key feminist plot about a woman (Kangana Ranaut), who gets jilted by her fiance just before her wedding, but she decides to proceed solo to Paris on her honeymoon, and discover for herself and life outside her sheltered existence.
Bajirao Mastani
Where to watch: Eros Now
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's epic historical about the love between a Maratha Peshwa (Ranveer Singh) and a courtesan (Deepika Padukone) that his dutiful wife (Priyanka Chopra) accepts, was one of his trilogy with Singh (along with Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ramleela and Padmavat), who transformed himself physically and worked on the Marathi accent.
Raazi
Where to watch: AppleTV
Meghna Gulzar's film was a suspenseful, patriotic thriller about a young woman (Alia Bhatt), who willingly marries a Pakistani military man (Vicky Kaushal), so that she can spy for her country during the 1971 War.
The film cemented Meghna Gulzar's career as a capable mainstream director and Alia Bhatt as a confirmed audience magnet.
Haider
Where to watch: Z5
The strongest of Vishal Bhardwaj's Shakespeare adaptations (Maqbool and Omkara being the others), this one was based on Hamlet and starred Shahid Kapoor in the title role, along with Tabu and Kay Kay Menon. It was set in the conflict-ridden Kashmir of the 1990s.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Where to watch: Netflix
Kabir Khan's Tiger films may have set the spy universe buzzing, but the humanism of an Indian man (Salman Khan), embarking on a journey to return a mute Pakistani girl (Harshaali Malhotra) to her home, was deeply moving.
Dangal
Where to watch: Netflix
Nitesh Tiwari's film based on the true story of the Phogat sisters, starred Aamir Khan as a former wrestler who trains his daughters (Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana Shaikh) to become world-class wrestlers.
This is one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, largely due to its massive success in China.
Stree
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, JioHotstar
Amar Kaushik's horror comedy started the trend for films based on Indian folk legends. Set in the small town of Chanderi, the menfolk live in fear of an evil female spirit that abducts men.
A local tailor (Rajkummar Rao) falls for a mysterious woman (Shraddha Kapoor), who, his friends suspect, may be a ghost.
Gangubai Kathiawadi
Where to watch: Netflix
Alia Bhatt plays a woman sold into the flesh trade, who refuses to bow down to her circumstances. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film gave the actress one of the best roles of her career, for which she won a National Award.
Laapataa Ladies
Where to watch: Netflix
Kiran Rao tells a sweet, gentle comedy about two brides (Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta), who get exchanged because of their similar ghoonghats. They then find their inner strength and reclaim their fates.
Homebound
Where to watch: Netflix
Neeraj Ghaywan's Masaan heralded a brave new voice, but Homebound -- longlisted for the Academy Awards -- is a searing portrayal of caste and religion-based discrimination in India through the eyes of two young men, played by Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa.
Dhurandhar
Where to watch: In theatres
Divided between those who disliked the violence and political agenda and those who appreciated the storytelling and craft, Aditya Dhar's blockbuster tells the chilling story of a spy (Ranveer Singh) who infiltrates the underworld of Lyari, Pakistan, to expose the nexus between gangs, cops, politicians and terrorists.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
© 2026