Guide 05 Asian cinema independent information
Regional Indian cinema: beyond Bollywood
India makes films in many languages, and Bollywood is only the Hindi-language part of that. This guide shows the shape of the field and a few doors into it.
What is regional cinema in India?
Hindi cinema, centred in Mumbai, is the best known abroad, but Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi and other industries are large too. Each has its own stars, audience habits and styles, so a single phrase can hide a lot. When you read about an Indian film, check the language first.
Satyajit Ray
Ray's Pather Panchali (1955), the first film of the Apu Trilogy, follows a boy in rural Bengal and won a prize at Cannes in 1956. Its sequel Aparajito (1956) won the Golden Lion at Venice in 1957. Ray received an honorary Academy Award in 1992. His work is the usual first stop for readers who want a classic.
Popular cinema
Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957) was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film, and Sholay (1975) is remembered as a landmark adventure. Hindi films often blend song, melodrama and comedy in one story, which is a convention rather than a flaw. Parallel cinema, with directors such as Shyam Benegal, offered more realistic stories from the 1970s.
Recent attention
Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! (1988) was nominated for an Oscar. S. S. Rajamouli's Telugu-language RRR (2022) reached a global streaming audience, and its song Naatu Naatu won the Oscar for best original song in 2023. Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2024.
Indian movies to watch first
Try Pather Panchali for the classic, RRR for large scale spectacle, and Salaam Bombay! for a street level drama. Subtitled releases vary by platform and country, so check what is available near you.