100 Greatest Indian Films: A List by NDTV

After CNN-IBN's list of the 100 greatest Indian films, following is a different list by NDTV. Sixty Hindi films feature in this list, and hence it is very different from the CNN-IBN list. Of course, the validity of such lists will always be debated. However, it can be interesting to see which films feature in both lists. There are forty-nine of them and I have marked them in bold. And yes, as on date, my score on this list is a not-so-impressive 62/100. What is yours?

• Raja Harishchandra (1913/ Silent/ Dadasaheb Phalke)

• Achhut Kanya (1936/ Hindi/ Franz Osten)

• Sant Tukaram (1936/ Marathi/ V G Damle)

• Neecha Nagar (1946/ Hindi/ Chetan Anand)

• Awaara (1951/ Hindi/ Raj Kapoor)

• Do Bigha Zameen (1953/ Hindi/ Bimal Roy)

• Shyamchi Aai (1953/ Marathi/ P K Atre)

• Pather Panchali (1955/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

• Devdas (1955/ Hindi/ Bimal Roy)

• Aparajito (1956/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

• Naya Daur (1957/ Hindi/ B R Chopra)

• Kabuliwala (1957/ Bengali/ Tapan Sinha)

• Pyaasa (1957/ Hindi/ Guru Dutt)

• Mother India (1957/ Hindi/ Mehboob Khan)

• Harano Sur (1957/ Bengali/ Ajoy Kar)

• Mayabazar (1957/ Telugu/ K V Reddy)

• Jalsaghar (1958/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

• Madhumati (1958/ Hindi/ Bimal Roy)

• Apur Sansar (1959/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

• Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959/ Hindi/ Guru Dutt)

• Sujata (1959/ Hindi/ Bimal Roy)

• Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960/ Bengali/ Ritwik Ghatak)

• Mughal-e-Azam (1960/ Urdu-Hindi/ K Asif)

• Saptapadi (1961/ Bengali/ Ajoy Kar)

• Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962/ Hindi/ Abrar Alvi)

• Subarnarekha (Bengali/ 1962/ Ritwik Ghatak)

• Bandini (1963/ Hindi/ Bimal Roy)

• Mahanagar (1963/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

• Charulata (1964/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

• Guide (1965/ Hindi/ Vijay Anand)

• Nayak (1966/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

• Aakhri Khat (1966/ Hindi/ Chetan Anand)

• Padosan (1968/ Hindi/ Jyoti Swaroop)

• Bhuvan Shome (1969/ Hindi/ Mrinal Sen)

• Delva Magan (1969/ Tamil/ A C Tirulokchandar)

• Aranyer Din Ratri (1970/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

• Samskara (1970/ Kannada/ P R Reddy)

• Anand (1971/ Hindi/ Hrishikesh Mukherjee)

• Uphaar (1971/ Hindi/ Sudhendu Roy)

• Sharapanjara (1971/ Kannada/ Puttanna Kanagal)

• Swayamvaram (1972/ Malayalam/ Adoor Gopalakrishnan)

• Pakeezah (1972/ Hindi/ Kamal Amrohi)

• Garam Hava (1973/ Hindi/ M S Sathyu)

• Ankur (1974/ Hindi/ Shyam Benegal)

• Rajnigandha (1974/ Hindi/ Basu Chatterjee)

• Deewar (1975/ Hindi/ Yash Chopra)

• Sholay (1975/ Hindi/ Ramesh Sippy)

• Manthan (1976/ Hindi/ Shyam Benegal)

• Moondru Mudichu (1976/ Tamil/ K Balachander)

• Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977/ Hindi/ Satyajit Ray)

• Ghatashraddha (1977/ Kannada/ Girish Kasaravalli)

• Bhumika (1977/ Hindi/ Shyam Benegal)

• Amar Akbar Anthony (1977/ Hindi/ Manmohan Desai)

• Junoon (1978/ Hindi/ Shyam Benegal)

• Gol Maal (1979/ Hindi/ Hrishikesh Mukherjee)

• Bhavni Bhavai (1980/ Gujarati/ Ketan Mehta)

• Aakrosh (1980/ Hindi/ Govind Nihalani)

• Elippathayam (1981/ Malayalam/ Adoor Gopalakrishnan)

• 36, Chowringhee Lane (1981/ English-Bengali/ Aparna Sen)

• Chashme Buddoor (1981/ Hindi/ Sai Paranjpye)

• Arth (1982/ Hindi/ Mahesh Bhatt)

• Shakti (1982/ Hindi/ Ramesh Sippy)

• Moondram Pirai (1982/ Tamil/ Balu Mahendra)

• Umbartha (1982/ Marathi/ Jabbar Patel)

• Ardh Satya (1983/ Hindi/ Govind Nihalani)

• Masoom (1983/ Hindi/ Shekhar Kapur)

• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983/ Hindi/ Kundan Shah)

• Saaransh (1984/ Hindi/ Mahesh Bhatt)

• Paar (1984/ Hindi/ Goutam Ghose)

• Paroma (1984/ Bengali/ Aparna Sen)

• Nayagan (1987/ Tamil/ Mani Ratnam)

• Ijaazat (1987/ Hindi/ gulzar)

• Mirch Masala (1987/ Hindi/ Ketan Mehta)

• Pushpaka Vimana (1987/ Silent/ S S Rao)

• Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (1987/ Assamese/ Jahnu Barua)

• Salaam Bombay! (1988/ Hindi/ Mira Nair)

• Parinda (1989/ Hindi/ Vidhu Vinod Chopra)

• Roja (1992/ Tamil/ Mani Ratnam)

• Bandit Queen (1994/ Hindi/ Shekhar Kapur)

• Unishe April (1994/ Bengali/ Rituparno Ghosh)

• Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995/ Hindi/ Aditya Chopra)

• Kathapurushan (1995/ Malayalam/ Adoor Gopalakrishnan)

• Thaayi Saheba (1997/ Kannada/ Girish Kasaravalli)

• Satya (1998/ Hindi/ Ram Gopal Varma)

• Sarfarosh (1999/ Hindi/ John Matthew Matthan)

• Vanaprastham (1999/ Malayalam/ Shaji N Karun)

• Lagaan (2001/ Hindi/ Ashutosh Gowariker)

• Dil Chahta Hai (2001/ Hindi/ Farhan Akhtar)

• Dweepa (2002/ Kannada/ Girish Kasaravalli)

• Munnabhai MBBS (2003/ Hindi/ Rajkumar Hirani)

• Maqbool (2004/ Hindi/ Vishal Bhardwaj)

• Shwaas (2004/ Marathi/ Sandeep Sawant)

• Swades (2004/ Hindi/ Ashutosh Gowariker)

• Iqbal (2005/ Hindi/ Nagesh Kukunoor)

• Taare Zameen Par (2007/ Hindi/ Aamir Khan)

• Chak De! India (2007/ Hindi/ Shimit Amin)

• Harishchandrachi Factory (2009/ Marathi/ Paresh Mokashi)

• 3 Idiots (2009/ Hindi/ Rajkumar Hirani)

• Paan Singh Tomar (2012/ Hindi/ Tigmanshu Dhulia)

• Gangs of Wasseypur (2012/ Hindi/ Anurag Kashyap)

100 Greatest Indian Films: A List by CNN-IBN

This is perhaps the first 'Greatest Movies' list made to cover Indian cinema in general, and not just Hindi films. Such lists are often a subject of debate and argument. But I am obsessed by collecting such lists and constantly checking my score. 

Good to see that more than 60% of the movies in the list are not in the Hindi language. Sad to know that my score is a lowly 39 out of 100. What is yours?

·      Raja Harishchandra (1913/ Silent/ Dadasaheb Phalke)

·      Sant Tukaram (1936/ Marathi/ VG Damle and Sheikh Fattelal)

·      Manoos (1939/ Marathi/ V Shantaram)

·      Haridas (1944/ Tamil/ Sundar Rao Nadkarni)

·      Meera (1945/ Tamil/ Ellis R Dungan)

·      Awaara (1951/ Hindi/ Raj Kapoor)

·      Mallishwari (1951/ Telugu/ BN Reddy)

·      Patala Bhairavi (1951/ Telugu/ KV Reddy)

·      Devadasu (1953/ Telugu/ Vedantam Raghavaiah)

·      Do Bigha Zamin (1953/ Hindi/ Bimal Roy)

·      Shyamchi Aai (1953/ Marathi/ PK Atre)

·      Andha Naal (1954/ Tamil/ S Balachander)

·      Pather Panchali (1955/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

·      Aparajito (1956/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

·      Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957/ Hindi/ V Shantaram)

·      Harano Sur (1957/ Bengali/ Ajoy Kar)

·      Mayabazar (1957/ Telugu/ KV Reddy)

·      Mother India (1957/ Hindi/ Mehboob Khan)

·      Naya Daur (1957/ Hindi/ BR Chopra)

·      Pyaasa (1957/ Hindi/ Guru Dutt)

·      Apur Sansar (1959/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

·      Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959/ Hindi/ Guru Dutt)

·      Kshudhita Pashan (1960/ Bengali/ Tapan Sinha)

·      Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960/ Bengali/ Ritwik Ghatak)

·      Mughal-e-Azam (1960/ Urdu-Hindi/ K Asif)

·      Jhinder Bandi (1961/ Bengali/ Tapan Sinha)

·      Kabuliwaala(1961/ Hindi/ Hemen Gupta)

·      Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam (1962/ Hindi/ Abrar Alvi)

·      Narthanasala (1963/ Telugu/ KK Rao)

·      Charulata (1964/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

·      Chemmeen (1965/ Malayalam/ Ramu Kariat)

·      Guide (1965/ Hindi/ Vijay Anand)

·      Galpa Holeo Satyi (1966/ Bengali/ Tapan Sinha)

·      Nayak (1966/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

·      Padosan (1968/ Hindi/ Jyoti Swaroop)

·      Bhuvan Shome (1969/ Hindi/ Mrinal Sen)

·      Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

·      Aranyer Din Ratri (1970/ Bengali/ Satyajit Ray)

·      Mera Naam Joker (1970/ Hindi/ Raj Kapoor)

·      Samskara (1970/ Kannada/ Pattabhi Rama Reddy)

·      Anand (1971/ Hindi/ Hrishikesh Mukherjee)

·      Pakeezah (1972/ Urdu-Hindi/ Kamal Amrohi)

·      Pinjra (1972/ Marathi/ V Shantaram)

·      Garam Hava (1973/ Urdu-Hindi/ MS Sathyu)

·      Kaadu (1973/ Kannada/ Girish Karnad)

·      Padatik (1973/ Bengali/ Mrinal Sen)

·      Shriman Prithviraj (1973/ Bengali/ Tarun Majumdar)

·      Zanjeer (1973/ Hindi/ Prakash Mehra)

·      Ankur (1974/ Hindi/ Shyam Benegal)

·      Deewar (1975/ Hindi/ Yash Chopra)

·      Katha Sangama (1975/ Kannada/ Puttanna Kanagal)

·      Sholay (1975/ Hindi/ Ramesh Sippy)

·      Agrahrathil Kazhudai (1977/ Tamil/ John Abraham)

·      Ghatashraddha (1977/ Kannada/ Girish Kasaravalli)

·      Pathinaru Vayadhinile(1977/ Tamil/ Bharathiraja)

·      Aval Appadithan (1978/ Tamil/ C Rudhraiya)

·      Maro Charitra (1978/ Telugu/ K Balachander)

·      Gol Maal (1979/ Hindi/ Hrishikesh Mukherjee)

·      Peruvazhiyambalam (1979/ Malayalam/ P Padmarajan)

·      Shankarabharanam (1979/ Telugu/ K Vishwanath)

·      Uthiri Pookkal (1979/ Tamil/ J Mahendran)

·      Maa Bhoomi (1980/ Telugu/ Goutam Ghose)

·      Akaler Sandhane (1981/ Bengali/ Mrinal Sen)

·      Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981/ Hindi/ K Balachander)

·       Ranganayaki (1981/ Kannada/ Puttanna Kanagal)

·      Thanneer, Thanneer (1981/ Tamil/ K Balachander)

·      Metti (1982/ Tamil/ J Mahendran)

·      Umbartha (1982/ Marathi/ Jabbar Patel)

·      Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983/ Hindi/ Kundan Shah)

·      Masoom (1983/ Hindi/ Shekhar Kapur)

·      Sagara Sangamam (1983/ Telugu/ K Vishwanath)

·      Paar (1984/ Hindi/ Goutam Ghose)

·      Saaransh (1984/ Hindi/ Mahesh Bhatt)

·      Anantaram (1987/ Malayalam/ Adoor Gopalakrishnan)

·      Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (1987/ Assamese/ Jahnu Barua)

·      Mr India (1987/ Hindi/ Shekhar Kapur)

·      Nayagan (1987/ Tamil/ Mani Ratnam)

·      Pushpak Vimana (1987/ Silent/ SS Rao)

·      Thoovanathumbikal (1987/ Malayalam/ P Padmarajan)

·      Salaam Bombay (1988/ Hindi/ Mira Nair)

·      Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989/ Malayalam/ Hariharan)

·      Parinda (1989/ Hindi/ Vidhu Vinod Chopra)

·      Shiva (1989/ Telugu/ Ram Gopal Varma)

·      Ishanou (1991/ Manipuri/ Aribam Syam Sharma)

·      Sandesham (1991/ Malayalam/ Sathyan Anthikad)

·      Manichitrathazhu (1993/ Malayalam/ Fazil)

·      Unishe April (1994/ Bengali/ Rituparno Ghosh)

·      Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995/ Hindi/ Aditya Chopra)

·      Satya (1998/ Hindi/ Ram Gopal Varma)

·      Vanaprastham (1999/ Malayalam/ Shaji N Karun)

·      Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi (2003/ English-Hindi/ Sudhir Mishra)

·      Maqbool (2003/ Hindi/ Vishal Bhardwaj)

·      Munnabhai MBBS (2003/ Hindi/ Rajkumar Hirani)

·      Black Friday (2004/ Hindi/ Anurag Kashyap)

·      Shwaas (2004/ Marathi/ Sandeep Sawant)

·      Harishchandrachi Factory (2009/ Marathi/ Paresh Mokashi)

·      Vihir (2010/ Marathi/ Umesh Kulkarni)

·      Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan (2011/ Punjabi/ Gurvinder Singh)

·      Deool (2011/ Marathi/ Umesh Kulkarni)

·      Shala (2011/ Marathi/ Sujay Dahake)

Celluloid Man

I watched some of Sooraj Barjatya's films on YouTube last month. It has been made officially available there by Rajshri. I just had to spend about ten seconds and the movie was playing on my screen. If it were not available there, I could have (illegally) downloaded it, or hired a DVD from the nearest library. Watching films, in the age that we live, is as easy as that. The availability, mostly, is not an issue. Now let us go back to the late 60s. Can we, those living in this era, imagine how difficult it would have been to watch movies way back then? There was no DVD or VCR, and the only way to watch a movie was to wait for it be screened at a theatre near you. Perhaps, those from our generation will never be able to feel the longing and the joy that cinephiles experienced back then. Romance has definitely changed completely, with technology, and it includes the romance with films.

So when Sanjeev Kumar signed Satyajit Ray's 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi', and realised that he hadn't watched any of the master's films, he could not download it from the internet or order it from BigFlix. He did not have UTV World Movies on his TV. And he definitely did not want to face Ray without having any knowledge of his cinema - he was too embarrassed. So he went to Pune and contacted Mr. PK Nair, the founder and director of National Film Archive of India. The Archive had several of Ray's movies. Sanjeev Kumar rented a flat in Pune, stayed there for several weeks, and watched all these films, projected at the Archive auditorium. Imagine, what he would have done if there were no Ray movie there, or worse, there were no Archive!

The first Indian talkie, 'Alam Ara', was made in 1931. Today, the movie is untraceable. It is lost. That invaluable film of historic and aesthetic significance is not with us any more. Possibly its last print is buried in some abandoned junkyard, fungi growing over spools of a dream that its maker Ardeshir Irani had made possible, of a film that had driven the Indian audience crazy just because the characters on the screen had begun to talk! The state of India's first fiction film 'Raja Harishchandra' (1913) is much better. Of its 40 minutes, only about 16 minutes have been found and archived. At the film club in our medical college, we once had the screening of whatever has survived of that remarkable film - the precursor of what we call Indian Cinema.

We, Indians, have had a glorious past, but a very poor history. The West has had a significant past, but a very significant history. These lines from the documentary 'Celluloid Man' (2013) ring so true even with respect to our cinema. There is so much to regret about what has been lost - so much of dream and passion and hard work now gone forever. There is a scene in the documentary where spools of film are sold at the rate of some hundred rupees per kilo, and then silver is extracted out of the film, reducing the magic of motion picture written over it to uselessly non-biodegradable plastic - hauntingly blank and colourless, reminding me of the ghastly slaughterhouse scenes from the 1949 French documentary: 'The Song of the Beasts'. So yes, there is a lot to regret about. But what 'Celluloid Man' does manage to achieve is honour and thank and celebrate the efforts of Mr. Nair, who can be rightly called the custodian of the Indian film tradition.

It is a long documentary, two hours and forty minutes. And it has numerous references to films and film-makers from across the world. So, I don't know if I can recommend it to all. But for me, it was perhaps the best way to celebrate the Centenary of Indian Cinema. I hope you can feel my joy when I saw the villagers of a small Karnataka village talk about 'Bicycle Thieves' and 'Rashomon' - having watched them during the screenings held there from the prints archived at NFAI. Or the moment when Mr. Nair is mouthing the lines of Charles Kane, with the 'greatest movie ever made' playing on the screen behind him. Or the theme music of '8 1/2' rising in the background. Or Naseeruddin Shah talking about Vittorio Di Sicca. 'Celluloid Man' is a film its maker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur can be proud of. It is relevant, and it is moving, and I didn't want it to end. Of the powerful images from it, perhaps the most unforgettable and hair-raising would be the images of abandoned film cans, shrouded with cob-webs, neglected and ignored, and the unforgettable line from Ghatak's 'Meghe Dhaka Tara' (1960) - "Dada, aami baanchte chaayi" (I want to survive, brother!) echoing on the sound-track. It was a moment that made me feel helpless and sad, for all films that are lost today. If cinema is forever, it is only because of the tireless efforts by people like PK Nair, who unarguably is one of the biggest cinephiles this land has produced.