Top 10 Hindi Art Movies Till Date In 2022

The beauty of Indian art films is that they have powerful cinematography that speaks for itself. We have aboard many such gems that not only reflect strong Indian heritage but also realism.

Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Manoj Bajpayee, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Amrish Puri, and many others garnered much fame through their performances in this not mainstream cinematic sphere.

1. CHOKHER BALI - 2003

IMBD rating: 7/10

Director: Rituparno Ghosh

The Bengali film is based on the 1903 novel 'Chokher Bali by Rabindranath Tagore. The wonderful performances by  Aishwarya rai, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Raima Sen makes this film more special. It won 3 National Flim Awards. 

2. WATER- 2005

IMBD rating: 7.7/10

Director: Deepa Mehta

The movie raised important questions about child marriage, widow remarriage, and the social status of women.

3. BANDIT QUEEN - 1996

IMBD rating: 7.7/10

Director: Shekhar Kapur

This film portrays the life of Phoolan Devi, a bandit-turned-female rights activist, and also inspires us as Phoolan Devi grows into a powerful justice seeker from a traumatized younger self. 

4. PINJAR - 2003

IMBD rating: 8/10

Director: Chandrsaprakash Dwivedi

Pinjar is a story that dwells deep into the tragedies of the partition of India (1947). This film is based on the novel "pinjar" by Amrita Pritam. The film went on to win the prestigious National Award for Best Feature Flim on National Integration.

5. CHADNIN BAR - 2001

IMBD rating: 7.6/10

Directer: Madhur Bhandarkar

This movie depicts the thought life of a young girl Mumtaz who is compelled by her uncle to take the job of a bar dancer, a socially rebuked profession, out of penury. 

This movie won the National Award of Best Flim on Other Social Issues and Tabu garnered much appreciation for her performance and went on to win many accolades including National Flim Award for Best Actress (2002).

6. ZUBEIDAA - 1998

IMBD rating: 8.2/10

Director: Shyam Benegal

'zubeidaa' presents the love life of actress Zubaida Begum played by Karishma Kapoor. 

This movie gave us one of the most touching romantic songs. It houses the finest Bollywood actors of all time.

7. UDAAN - 2010

IMBD rating: 8.1?10

Director: Vikramaditya Motwane

Udaan traces the journey of a young aspiring writer who is expelled from his boarding school and is thereafter forced into an engineering course by his abusive alcoholic father Bhairav.

Udaan is symbolic of the flight of a bird who loves freedom and is not bound by the restriction of cold terrestrial life. 

8. GARAM HAVA - 1974

IMBD rating: 8.1/10

Director: M.S. Sathya

The film depicts a Muslim family's dogged struggle with the consequences of the partition of India (1947). It's a 2 hr 26 min film which shows the aftermath of partition in more than one way. Garam Hava means, 'hot wind' or 'hot blow', symbolic of the blow of partition that vexed lakhs of lives. 

9. IJAAZAT - 1987

IMBD rating: 8.3/10

Director: Gulzar

This is a story about a 'lost' couple whose paths cross again at a railway waiting room. The presence of actors and actresses like Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah, Anuradha Patel gave this film much attention.

10. A WEDNESDAY - 2008 

IMBD rating: 8.1/10

Director: Neeraj Pandey

'A Wednesday' presents a unique plot with a gripping interest and pace. It won the 56th National Award for Best Debut Flim of a Director, 54th Filmfare Award for Best Director and Best Actor, 2009 Screen Award for Best Director, Best Debut Director, and Best Story among various nominations.