Bollywood movies are known for their stars, glitz, glamour, and what they promise; entertainment. But the industry is more than that. More often than not, we come across movies with a good story, splendidly created, and must-watch if you are a film buff. These movies for some reason, maybe due to poor marketing or the lack of stars in them, do not gain the popularity they should and are underrated Bollywood movies. So, let’s start and check out the list of underrated Hindi movies you should watch at least once.
List of Most Underrated Bollywood Movies:
Over time, Bollywood has created many masterpieces, unnoticed and underrated. But if you are a lover of films you must watch them. Here’s the list:
- Kaun Pravin Tambe? (2022)
- Tumbbad (2018)
- Masaan (2015)
- Drishyam (2015)
- Haider (2014)
- Shor In the City (2010)
- Ankhon Dekhi (2013)
- Aamir (2008)
- Titli (2015)
- Last Train To Mahakali (1999)
- Filmistaan (2012)
- Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003)
- Chittagong (2012)
- Shanghai (2012)
- Shahid (2012)
- Gulmuhor (2023)
- Margarita with a Straw (2015)
- 404: Error Not Found (2011)
- Gour Hari Dastaan (2015)
- No Smoking (2007)
- Ugly (2014)
- Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (2003)
- I am Kalam (2010)
- Udaan (2010)
- Newton (2017)
- Khosla Ga Ghosla (2006)
So, let’s check out and garb every possible detail about these top underrated Bollywood movies.
Kaun Pravin Tambe? (2022)
Genre: Sport, Biography, Drama
Star Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Gaurav Kamble, Arif Zakaria, Asif Ali
Run Time: 134 Minutes
Where To Watch: Disney Plus Hotstar
The film is one of the most Underrated Bollywood movies that shows the excellent journey of a right-armed leg spinner named Pravin Tambe who made his league debut at the age of 41 without playing a single international or even first-class cricket match.
Tumbbad (2018)
Genre: Horror, Drama
Star Cast: Sohum Shah, Jyoti Malshe, Madhav Hari Joshi
Run Time: 104 Minutes
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Tumbbad is a horror drama set in the villages of Tumbbad and what happens when a family builds a shrine for something ancient and sinister that guards an insurmountable amount of wealth. This is again one of the most underrated Bollywood movies highly acclaimed for its visuals and cinematic language.
Masaan (2015)
Genre: Drama
Star Cast: Richa Chadha, Sanjay Mishra, Vicky Kaushal, Pankaj Tripathi
Run Time: 109 Minutes
Where To Watch: Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, Prime Video
Set in present-day Varanasi, Masaan begins by telling two separate stories before they converge. One of them shows the journey of Devi (Richa Chadha) dealing with the guilt that she feels for her boyfriend’s death. The other shows what Deepak (Vicky Kaushal), a boy belonging to a family of Doms (one who burns pyres at burning ghats) has to face when he falls in love with a girl from a different caste. The film was highly appreciated by critics and even won some awards at the Cannes Film Festival.
Drishyam (2015)
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Drama
Star Cast: Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran, Tabu, Rajat Kapoor, Ishita Dutta
Run Time: 163 Minutes
Where To Watch: Hotstar, JioCinema, Netflix
Dishram is a top underrated Bollywood movie released in 2015. It’s the story of a common man and his effort to protect his family from the dark side of the law after they commit an unexpected crime.
Haider (2014)
Genre: Drama, Action, Crime
Star Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Sharddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon, Narendra Jha
Run Time: 160 Minutes
Where To Watch: Netflix, ZEE5, Prime Video
Haider is one of the most underrated Bollywood films of all time. A young man returns to Kashmir after his father’s disappearance to confront his uncle, whom he suspects of playing a role in his father’s fate.
Shor In the City (2010)
Genre: Drama, Crime
Star Cast: Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Nikhil Dwivedi, Preeti Desai
Run Time: 112 Minutes
Where To Watch: Disney Plus Hotstar, Youtube, JioCinema
An NRI faces threats from extortionists when he opens a small business and goes out with an aspiring model. He refuses to pay, both are stalked and when he complains to the police, they not only shrug it off but offer ‘protection’ for a price. With increasing pressure, he must now decide to relocate or submit to their demands.
Ankhon Dekhi (2013)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Star Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Rajat Kapoor, Tarnajit Kaur
Run Time: 107 Minutes
Where To Watch: JioCinema, Youtube
Ankhon Dekhi revolves around a man with a sudden epiphany that he will henceforth believe only what he sees with his own eyes. Directed by Rajat Kapoor and the character played beautifully by Sanjay Mishra is a bitter-sweet tale of an old man living in Old Delhi and what he and the people around him encounter. This is one of the most underrated Bollywood movies that are worth a watch.
Aamir (2008)
Genre: Drama, Action, Crime
Star Cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Mukesh Agrohari, Supravita Bablu, Vasan Bala
Run Time: 99 Minutes
Where To Watch: YouTube
Aamir is a thriller where an NRI doctor Aamir is held captive and used by terrorists to plant a bomb. His non-compliance would mean his death.
Titli (2015)
Genre: Drama, Action, Crime
Star Cast: Shashank Arora, Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial, Shivani Raghuvanshi
Run Time: 116 Minutes
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Titli is an underrated Bollywood film that follows the story of a violent car-jacking brotherhood and its youngest member Titli, who wants to get out of the gangster family business and live as a law-abiding citizen. When his brothers find this, they forcefully get him married. However, he finds a confidant in his newly-married wife.
Last Train To Mahakali (1999)
Genre: Thriller
Star Cast: Nivedita Bhattacharya, Vijay Maurya, Kay Kay Menon, Loveleen Mishra
Run Time: 45 Minutes
Where To Watch: YouTube
It’s one of the most underrated Hindi movies that unfolds the sensational story of a former AIIMS student named Sir. And his secret experiments on eliminating any virus from the human body. A young and curious journalist, Nidhi sets up a date with “Sir”. After hearing his story she offers herself as a subject after which the movie ends in a climax.
Filmistaan (2012)
Genre: Comedy
Star Cast: Sharib Hashmi, Kumud Mishra, Gopal Datt, Manoj Bakshi
Run Time: 117 Minutes
Where To Watch: Disney Plus Hotstar, Prime Video
Speaking of underrated Bollywood movies, Filmistaan is one of them. The story is about Sunny, an assistant director in Mumbai who gets mistakenly kidnapped. And while held hostage in Pakistan, he must depend on Hindi movies for his survival. This movie won a National award for the best movie.
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003)
Genre: Drama
Star Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Shiny Ahuja, Chitrangda Singh, Ram Kapoor
Run Time: 120 Minutes
Where To Watch: Plex, Airtel Xtream, Sony LIV, Disney Plus Hotstar
Set in the backdrop of the Indian Emergency in 1975, the story revolves around 3 friends whose lives change drastically after the turn of events.
Chittagong (2012)
Genre: War, Action, Drama
Star Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Barry John, Delzad Hiwala, Vega Tamotia
Run Time: 195 Minutes
Where To Watch: YouTube
This historical war drama stars Manoj Bajpai in the lead role and depicts British India’s Chittagong uprising. Highly acclaimed by critics, this movie by Debabrata Pain also won the National award for the best film by a debutant director.
Shanghai (2012)
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Drama
Star Cast: Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi, Kalki Koechlin, Prasenjit Chatterjee
Run Time: 120 Minutes
Where To Watch: Prime Video, ZEE5, YouTube, Airte Xtream
The prime leader of a campaign against a big government project is killed in what appears to be a road accident. An IAS officer is ordered to probe the incident and the veils of falsehood begin to drop.
Shahid (2012)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Star Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Prabhleen Sandhu, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, Baljinder Kaur
Run Time: 139 Minutes
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Shahid is a biographical film on the life of Shahid Azmi, a lawyer, and human rights activist. He fights in the courts for those who have been falsely convicted of terrorism but meets an unjust end himself when he was assassinated in 2010.
Gulmuhor (2023)
Genre: Family, Drama
Star Cast: Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee, Simran, Suraj Sharma
Run Time: 131 Minutes
Where To Watch: Disney+ Hotstar
The Underrated Hindi film highlights the journey of the Batra family who have lived for the last 31 years in their own house. But suddenly, they have to shift to a new place. The movie also showcases the strong family bonding.
Margarita with a Straw (2015)
Genre: Drama
Star Cast: Kalki Koechlin, Revathi, Sayani Gupta, Hussain Dala
Run Time: 100 Minutes
Where To Watch: Netflix
Speaking of Bollywood underrated movies, Margarita with a Straw is a coming-age story of a woman with cerebral palsy who leaves India to study in New York and falls in love with a blind girl.
404: Error Not Found (2011)
Genre: Thriller
Star Cast: Rajvvir Aroraa, Imaaduddin Shah, Nishikant Kamat, Ruchir Raj
Run Time: 121 Minutes
Where To Watch: YouTube
Abhimanyu- a new Medical student shifted to Room 404 to avoid ragging. But later he comes to know that the room was occupied by Gaurav who was previously a ragging victim and killed himself. Strange things start happening with Abhimanyu.
Gour Hari Dastaan (2015)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Star Cast: Vinay Pathak, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey, Tannishtha Chatterjee
Run Time: 114 Minutes
Where To Watch: YouTube
Gour Hari Dastaan revolves around the story of Gour Hari Das, a freedom fighter from Odisha. He fights for his recognition as a freedom fighter and a certificate for it which took a full three decades to arrive. Vinay Pathak beautifully portrays the lead character, Gour Hari.
No Smoking (2007)
Genre: Mystery, Drama
Star Cast: John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Paresh Rawal, Ranvir Shorey
Run Time: 128 Minutes
Where To Watch: ZEE5, JioCinema, Airtel Xtream
A man wants to quit smoking and checks into rehab. He finds the building to be odd and confusing. The rehab center uses fear and psychological manipulation as a method to cure their patients of their addiction. Every time a patient gives in to their vice, they make sure that something shocking happens to the patient, like losing their fingers as punishment for smoking, for example.
Ugly (2014)
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Drama
Star Cast: Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhat, Vineet Kumar Singh, Surveen Chawla, Siddhant Kapoor
Run Time: 128 Minutes
Where To Watch: YouTube, Lionsgate Play, Airtel Xtream, Disney Plus Hotstar
Directed by Anurag Kashyap, Ugly follows the disappearance of the 10-year-old daughter of an aspiring actor and the story that unfolds after that. It shows the indifference and corruption of people and society at its ugliest.
Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (2003)
Genre: Drama
Star Cast: Tulip Joshi, Sudhir Pandey, Sushant Singh, Aditya Srivastav
Run Time: 99 Minutes
Where To Watch: YouTube
This is a fictional tale of a near-future where there are only a few women left. This film is a wake-up call for the gender imbalance of our present society and what it can cause. Matrubhoomi is one of the top underrated Hindi movies you should watch.
I am Kalam (2010)
Genre: Family, Comedy, Drama
Star Cast: Gulshan Grover, Harsh Mayar, Hussan Saad, Pitobash, Beatrice Ordeix
Run Time: 88 Minutes
Where To Watch: YouTube, Prime Video
This is an inspiring tale of a boy who was immensely inspired by APJ Abdul Kalam and decided to change his name after him. The child actor, Harsh Mayar, was awarded the best child actor for this movie.
Udaan (2010)
Genre: Drama
Star Cast: Ronit Roy, Rajat Barmecha, Ram Kapoor, Manjot Singh
Run Time: 134 Minutes
Where To Watch: Netflix
Udaan moves around a boy who after getting expelled from school is forced to work at his father’s factory though he wants to become a writer. A finely told inspiring tale, this is one of the most underrated Hindi movies.
Newton (2017)
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Star Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, Raghubir Yadav
Run Time: 106 Minutes
Where To Watch: Prime Video
The film starts with a Govt clerk named Newton Kumar who has to conduct elections in a remote village in the jungles of central India. The remaining story revolves around Newton’s struggle and the challenges he faced while conducting elections.
Khosla Ga Ghosla (2006)
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime
Star Cast: Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Parvin Dabas, Tara Sharma
Run Time: 135 Minutes
Where To Watch: Prime Video
It’s the story of a Delhi-based retired middle-class man named Kamal Kishore Khosla who tries to get his land back from a swindling property dealer with the help of his sons and their friends. Popular Bollywood actors Anupam Kher and Boman Irani are the main attractions of the film.
Conclusion
The list of underrated Bollywood movies can be endless. We have provided here with the must-watch ones.
