Missing The Olden Days? Stream These 10 Cult Classics And Revisit The Golden Era Of Bollywood
Memories of the 1990s and early 2000s, Woh Din Bhi Kya Din The!!! That was a time of classic ensemble comedies like Chupke Chupke, Hera, Amar Akbar Anthony, bubbly rom-com like Maine Pyaar Kiya, and unforgettable authentic pop songs.
"Ye daulat bhii le lo, ye shoharat bhii le lo
Bhale chhiin lo mujhase merii javaanii
Magar mujhako lautaa do bachapan kaa saavan
Vo kaagaz kii kashtii, vo baarish kaa paanii" -Woh Kagaz Ki Kashti, Song by Chitra Singh and Jagjit Singh.
When you think about it, shows like Gullak and Home Shanti are popular among Indian households because they capture the essence of life in the 1990s. Even now, those childhood memories bring us comfort. Memories of the 1990s and early 2000s, Woh Din Bhi Kya Din The - That was a time of classic ensemble comedies like Chupke Chupke, Hera, Amar Akbar Anthony, bubbly rom-com like Maine Pyaar Kiya, and unforgettable authentic pop songs.
Here's a list of ten old movies to watch to unwind and relieve from office stress. Enjoy these with your family this weekend:
1. Mughal-e-Azam
"Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" by Lata Mangeshkar
The extraordinary period drama film is directed by K. Asif. The plot revolves around Mughal Prince Salim and court dancer Anarkali's love story. Emperor Akbar, Salim's father, however, opposed the relationship, as many fathers would have done at the time. ( Salim do you not care about Ghar ki Izzat, aur log kya kahengye that you married a nachnewali?)
And Salim's father's rejection of their relationship was the result of a battle between father and son. The cast includes Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, and Prithviraj Kapoor.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
2. Chupke Chupke
"Ab ke sajan saawan me" by Lata Mangeshkar
The comedy film was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The plot of this lighthearted comedy revolves around a man impersonating a driver and duping his wife's brother-in-law to assert that the brother-in-law is not quite as clever just like he believes him to be. The cute squabble between the husband and wife over the challenge that biwi ke jiju is not as smart as everyone claims.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
3. Sholay
"Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge, Todenge dam magar tera saatha na chhodenge" by Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey
The revenge drama was directed by Ramesh Sippy. Sholay is still a memorable film, with its dialogues and even the villain being celebrated by the audience. "Kitne Aadmi The", "Inn Kutton Ke Samne Mat Nachna", and other dialogues are still remembered by this generation.
The plot of this classic film revolves around Thakur, a retired police officer who wishes to exact revenge on the notorious dacoit Gabbar Singh. He hires two young adults (Jai and Veeru) to combat the mob. One of my favourite songs about friendship came from this film. The late Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya, and late Amjad Khan are among the cast members.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
4. Andaz Apna Apna
"Ello Ji Sanam hum aa Gaye, Aaj Phir Dil leke" by Behroze Chaterjee and Vicky Mehta
Rajkumar Santoshi directed this genre-defining comedy. The plot follows Amar and Prem's love story with Raveena and Karishma. Crime-Master Gogo and Teja have upped the game of comedy entertainment level in films.
Crime-Master Gogo Naam hai mera, aankhen nikal ke gotiyan khelti hun main were some of the catchy lines. This is a great movie to watch with your friends and laugh at the tragic comedy.
Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, and Shakti Kapoor are among the cast members.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
5. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
"Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna" by Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan
Aditya Chopra directed this eternal love story. My favourite on-screen couple, whom Varun Dhawan admitted on a television show that he thought were real husband and wife. Their chemistry on-screen as a couple and off-screen as best friends is unrivalled.
This film has a large fan base, which is why it has featured at Maratha Mandir for the past 19 years. The plot revolves around the love story of two NRIs who, despite their intense love, deny fleeing. It's acknowledged because of its story, dialogues, and heartfelt music.
The cast includes Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, Anupam Kher, Satish Shah, Mandira Bedi, Parmeet Sethi, Karan Johar and many more.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
6. Aunty No.1
"Kuch kuch kuch kuch, kuch to mere dil me ho raha hai" by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan
Comedy Drama was directed by Kirti Kumar. The plot of this comedy film revolves around Gopi, who is played by Govinda. To assist his friends, Gopi dresses up as their Aunty and helps them in resolving their problem with their girlfriends. He finds himself in an amusing scene in which he must avoid two admirers who are trying so hard to persuade the aunt.
It's just my opinion, but no one can match his comic timing, expression, and dance moves. Govinda, Raveena Tandon, Kader Khan, Saeed Jaffrey, Harish Kumar, and many others appear in the film.
You can watch it on Disney+ Hotstar.
7. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
"Hum honge kamiyab hum honge kamiyab, hum honge kamiyab ek din" by Mahendra Kapoor | Vanraj Bhatia
Kundan Shah directed the comedy film. I recall my father telling me about this film, and how it made him laugh so hard that the coins in his pant pocket started falling out. This film's plot is a dark satire on corrupt officials in Indian politics, hierarchy, mainstream press, and industry. The storyline revolves around two ineffective photographers who then get hired by a newspaper editor to unveil the controversial actions of the wealthy.
Both of them were looking for evidence of corruption when they came across a corrupt builder while looking for the actor and unintentionally photographed the crime. It stars Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, the late Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Shah, Satish Kaushik, Bhakti Barve, and Neena Gupta.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
8. Angoor
"Pritam Aan Milo Pritam Aan Milo, Ho Dukhiya Jiwan Kaise" by Sapan Chakraborty
Gulzar's Angoor is one such film, that is timeless. It's based on Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors." And just like the name suggests, the drama is packed with humourous scenarios involving 2 pairs of identical twins.
The plot revolves around two identical brothers who are separated at birth due to an unfortunate event. Years later, their lives are intertwined by a slew of misunderstandings and confusion. Don't worry, the confusion will only increase the laughter. The intriguing aspect is that it involves two identical twin brothers who are masters and two identical twin brothers who are servants to the masters.
In the movie, Sanjeev Kumar, Deven Verma, Moushumi Chatterjee, and Deepti Naval star.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
9. Amar Akbar Anthony
"Anahoni ko honi kar den honi ko anahoni, Ek jagah jab jama hon teenon Amar Akbar Anthony" by Kishore Kumar, Shailendra Singh & Mahendra Kapoor
The multi-starrer directed by Manmohan Desai is considered to be one of the finest collections of our Hindi Cinema Bollywood Masala Movie.
Amitabh Bachchan made his significant venture into mass-market comedy with this film. He tickled us as Anthony Gonsalves. The plot revolves around three brothers, each of whom was brought up in a different religious family. And after many years, they reunite.
Amar Akbar Anthony was the beginning of pop culture and had brilliant writing with climactic one-liners, memorable characters, and an unexpected combination of punchlines and dramatics. The star cast includes Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Neetu Singh, Parveen Babi, Shabana Azmi and many others.
You can watch it on Voot.
10. Hum Saath Saath Hai
"Bachchon ke sang bachche phir ban jaayein, Mauj mein jhoomein zara masti karein" by Hema Sardesai, Udit Narayan, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan
Sooraj R. Barjatya wrote and directed the film, which Rajshri Productions produced.
Hum Saath Saath Hai is a comedy drama film for the entire family. Ramkishan and Mamta's family is central to the plot. They live a good life with their three sons. However, when their daughter undergoes a tragic event, Mamta is persuaded by her best friends to turn her heart against her stepson Vivek.
The cast includes Mohnish Bahl, Tabu, Salman Khan, Sonali Bendre, Saif Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Alok Nath, Reema Lagoo, Shakti Kapoor, Neelam Kothari, Mahesh Thakur many more.
You can watch it on Zee5.
11. Bobby
"Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Ho" by Lata Mangeshkar, Shailendra Singh
Raj Kapoor produced and directed this musical romance film, which was written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.
It's a love story, a classic Bollywood love story in which a wealthy individual falls in love with a poor individual. The roles can be switched so that either the boy or the girl is wealthy. The plot, however, remains the same.
Bobby is an iconic film with well-known songs. The plot revolves around Raja, the son of a wealthy businessman, who falls in love with Bobby, a poor girl. Both families are opposed to the relationship because the boy is Hindu and the girl is Catholic. You see, it's not just about family status; it's also about religion. Watch to see if Raja and Bobby will be together. Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor, Pran, and Prem Nath star in this iconic film.
Watch it on Netflix.
Okay, I'm just flexing here, but I have seen all of the films listed above. My father deserves credit for this; he and I loved watching old movies together. I now want to know how frequently you watch the mentioned legendary Bollywood films. What is your score out of 10 for movies? Please share your thoughts in the comments section, and feel free to share this with your movie-loving friends and family.
Happy Watching!
(To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE)