• dil chahta hai (2000) - coming-of-age, god tier
• devdas (2002) - cultural touchstone, i love this director, larger than life
• LOC: kargil (2003) - ok so not objectively a good film it's super weepy and dramatic and just terrible lmao but it's a very good timestamp of bollywood as a weapon of anti-pakistan propaganda, most other indopak war films resemble this one (this changes over the years, one recent rec from last year is a perfect contrast to LOC from political as well as gender perspectives)
• joggers park (2003) - haven't watched it but it's one of my mom's favourites and she has a very weird-but-hits-right taste in movies so
• veer-zaara (2004) - okay so anti-pakistan again but make it about the yearning.jpg LIKE I HATE THAT I LOVE THIS FILM BUT IT HURTS SO GOOD and the casting and music and everything about it is so harsh and cutting and impossibly romantic
• chameli (2004) - haven't watched but mom likes it + critically acclaimed i think
• lakshya (2004) - anti-pakistan but make it coming-of-age, i like this one because it's very self-aware and a little offbeat (but like...still military propaganda)
• swades (2004) - oh this is so good and very intensely INDIAN, like inescapably contemporary india
• black (2005) - helen keller fictional biopic, oh my GODDDDDDDDDDDDDD
• mangal pandey (2005) - hmm, i don't remember if this film was actually good or not but if it's anti-colonialist (based on the 1857 sepoy mutiny) AND aamir khan starred in it i think it's a safe bet
• page 3 (2005) - ok so madhur bhandarkar has one (1) formula and it's "expose a shiny industry's dirty secrets" so it gets old pretty quick but page 3 has excellent casting and it's genuinely gutting
• parineeta (2005) - the movie i was telling you about, set in the bengal renaissance! so good, so good, a period piece unlike what we usually see in bollywood
• fanaa (2006) - anti-pakistan but make it...whatever the hell this was, but it was sure compelling as fuck
• omkara (2006) - the second of vishal bhardwaj's trilogy of shakespeare adaptations, based on othello (the first one is called maqbool and it came out in the 90's i think, god tier also) anyway bhardwaj is GOD TIER
• rang de basanti (2006) - what's this, a patriotic film that isn't anti-pakistan propaganda and is instead very real and still-relevant criticism towards the corruption in india itself? chef kiss. this film still makes me boil with rage in 2020, so it's a good film.
• chak de! india (2007) - i maintain that this is the only film in which shah rukh khan has demonstrated an ability to act. and boy did he act the shit out of it. based on the true story of a disgraced hockey player who coached a team of girls to win the world championship. SO GOOD.
• cheeni kum (2007) - amitabh bacchan is a 60yo chef what's not to love. ok jk i don't remember most of this film but again, mom loves it, and the casting is so good so i trust it
• jab we met (2007) - YOU'VE NEVER WATCHED A FILM LIKE THIS BEFORE.
• guru (2007) - biopic of one of india's greatest entrepreneurs, dhirubhai ambani (seriously beyoncé and hillary clinton went to his granddaughter's wedding) and it is REALLY good also bonus this is where tere bina is from
• honeymoon travels (2007) - this is so WILD i have nothing to say about it except that it goes off. problematically but it goes off.
• nishabd (2007) - ok this one is...like. the tagline is "he is 60. she is 18." so tread with caution if you hate that but it's.......a lot. and it will make you lie in bed and stare up at your ceiling.
• jodhaa akbar (2008) - oh my FUCKING GOD PLEASE WATCH THIS YOU HAVE NEVER WATCHED A FILM THIS GOOD AND GRANDIOSE IN YOUR LIFE I PROMISE I PROMISE. IT'S 4 HOURS LONG BUT IT IS SO WORTH IT. HOLY SHIT. IT'S BASED IN MUGHAL TIMES AND IT'S JUST...HOLY SHIT
• jaane tu ya jaane na (2008) - you have never watched a romcom like this in your life. i promise. i promise.
• dev.D (2009) - so remember devdas up there, cultural touchstone? this is devdas rebooted for the 2000's and it is SO glib and dark and good. but definitely watch devdas first.
• kaminey (2009) - the dark edgy gangster drama featuring twins of ur dreams
• wake up sid (2009) - i find this one boring but every other person on the planet loves this so I GUESS??? coming-of-age, gr8 casting
• 3 idiots (2009) - man i hate this film lmao but it's a good film. an important film about the insane pressure the indian education system puts on its students.
• ishqiya (2010) - hhhhhhh this is such a good dirty film. love it. it's SO dirty.
• raajneeti (2010) - incredible look into contemporary indian politics and in my top 3 bollywood films of all time.
• raavan (2010) - oh, holy shit. so it's a modern retelling of the epic of ramayana, specifically the part where the demon king raavan kidnap's the godly prince rama's wife sita and how rama sets out to get her back. but it is told in...this savage way, it's just. man.
• dabangg (2010) - so salman khan is literal trash but this film is a very interesting look into the lionisation of the police force in india, which is done in a way very different from the west. here we love bad cops who get violent and drink and have rakish personalities and have basically nothing separating them from the bad guys apart from their uniform. dabangg set into motion a whole subculture of that specific type of cop film that's still around today. also bonus: an I C O N I C item song (which is what we call a song that's only been put in to showcase a hot girl, i think it's bollywood-specific)
• guzaarish (2010) - oh my godddddddddddddddd. it's the film that magic performance song is from. nuff said.
• no one killed jessica (2011) - based on the real life murder case of jessica laal, this is an amazing movie with two INCREDIBLE female leads, just - powerful.
• 7 khoon maaf (2011) - based on susannah's seven husbands by ruskin bond, what a fucking god tier film. PACKED with imagery and symbolism.
• delhi belly (2011) - a dark and HILARIOUS film about idiots getting caught up in gang wars. this is such a good fucking film.
• zindagi na milegi dobara (2011) - super tropey bff roadtrip film but it's so feel-good and well-done i hate it. hhhhh
• aarakshan (2011) - a really important film about the reservation/quota system in indian higher education, i'll tell u more about this if this title interests u!
• rockstar (2011) - THIS IS MY FAVOURITE FILM OF ALL TIME. THIS IS MY FAVOURITE FILM OF ALL TIME. IT WILL NEVER CHANGE.
• the dirty picture (2011) - oh this is so good. based on the life of a southern actress who was a sex symbol in the 70's, it's audacious and gutting and striking and everything it should be. BOLD. it's THE DIRTY PICTURE.
• agent vinod (2012) - a super fun spy thriller parody, i genuinely love this film
• vicky donor (2012) - I TOLD U ABOUT THIS IT'S SO GOOD
• gangs of wasseypur (1 & 2, 2012) - oh my godddddd this is a crime thriller unlike any you've seen before. it's one of those films that you can't understand the audacity of if you're not indian, so i don't know how well it holds up to foreign eyes, but i still have to put it in here. what a fucking pair of films, holy shit. this is god tier cinema.
• cocktail (2012) - heart-hurty coming-of-age romcom. i'm not allowed to watch this film bc i identify too much with one of the charas (you'll see which one) and it kills me on the inside.
• the lunchbox (2013) - haven't watched it but it is SOOOOOO widely acclaimed, even internationally
• ramleela (2013) - the best adaptation of romeo and juliet you will ever watch. i'm serious.
• queen (2014) - such an unusual and refreshing and lovely film!!!
• haider (2014) - last of bhardwaj's shakespeare trilogy, based on hamlet, oh BOY.
• bajirao mastani (2015) - another larger-than-life gorgeous historical tale. i actually loathed the story and found it pointless, but honestly watch this one for the visuals.
• kapoor and sons (2016) - i hate this film because it's just so fucking real it's UNREAL. this is a good good good film.
• udta punjab (2016) - incredible (and banned lmao) film about the reality of drug addiction up north in india. oh boy
• dangal (2016) - another god tier sports film based on a true story of a retired wrestler who got his two daughters to the olympics. this will get you fired up and wanting to eat the world raw
• padmaavat (2018) - ANOTHER historical tale, i haven't even watched this one but i trust sanjay leela bhansali with my ass re: visuals, which is the most important thing in his films anyway.
• raazi (2019) - WE HAVE COME SO FAR. this is a film that treats the 1970's indopak conflict with nuance, respect, and WOMEN. oh this is such a good fucking film. oh this is a good film.

PLEASE DO NOT EVER WATCH:

• anything by karan johar that's it that's the only thing on the list
• seriously don't watch ANYTHING by karan johar ANYTHING at all.