India is Ours

Though times have changed, Ram still uses old ways of farming due to a drought in the village. His brother, Bala, goes to Bombay to earn his living. Mahadev, a Zamindar in the village, eyes Usha, the lover of Bala. Due to the drought, the crops fail in the village, and Shikh Sahib, a social worker, comes to help the farmers, and shows them new ways of farming. Ramu goes to Bombay to take a loan for cooperative farming and asks Bala to turn back to the village, but he refuses. [The film is a socio-economic study of post-independence India, blending documentary elements with narrative storytelling. The film is often described as a "simple story woven into the documentary design" and features actors like Prithviraj Kapoor and Dev Anand.]

1950-01-01 | hi

Father, Son and Holy War

Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan looks to history and psychology as he delves into the possible reasons behind the demolition of the Babri Mosque.

1994-01-02 | hi

Why I Killed Gandhi

Indian freedom fighter Gandhiji was killed by Nathuram Godse. But what made Nathuram Godse to take this extreme step?

2022-01-30 | hi

The Inner Eye

At the age of 54, Binode Bihari Mukherjee, an accomplished painter, lost his sight following an unsuccessful cataract operation. He continued to create art despite his loss of sight. The documentary explores Binode Bihari’s inner eye that guides his fingers to create art.

1972-01-01 | hi

BOMgAY

Based on the poetry of R. Raj Rao, Bomgay is a collection of six vignettes that depict the underground and complex nature of the gay identity in urban India. Part Genet, part Bollywood, this film combines acidic verse and insightful imagery to reveal the emerging gay community in the post-liberalized India of the 1990s.

1996-12-22 | en

Bhuj: The Day India Shook

The documentary talks about of the devastating earthquake of 2001 and captures first-person accounts of survivors, rescuers, journalists, photographers, and earth scientists.

2021-06-11 | hi

WOMB: Women of My Billion

A young woman, Srishti Bakshi embarks on a monumental journey, walking almost 4000km over 240 days, from Kanyakumari in the south, to Kashmir, in the North, along the way meeting and learning first hand about the experiences of many women from all corners of India. WOMB is a poignant and heart warming documentary exploring the social and political issues faced by women of today’s India. It is a unique testament to seemingly insurmountable challenges in these unprecedented times and the everyday sheroes who are battling to overcome.

2021-06-17 | hi

Invisible Demons

A prismatic meditation on pollution in the capital of the World’s biggest free-market democracy and the most polluted and populated city, Delhi – a film about the pollution inside of the human mind.

2021-11-26 | hi

A Rifle and a Bag

Somi is pregnant with her second child. A girl, she hopes. Together with her husband she prepares for this new phase of their parenthood. It means that their son has to go to school, but as an ex-Naxalite that is tough to achieve in contemporary India, where people like them are third-rate citizens. They lack the certificates and an opaque bureaucratic process doesn't help. Directors Isabella Rinaldi, Cristina Hanes and Arya Rothe of the NoCut Film Collective concentrate on Somi's close family ties, painting a portrait of ex-Naxalites in India. Once, Somi and her husband were communist rebels fighting for the rights of Indian tribes. However, to safeguard their family's welfare, they surrendered to the government in exchange for marginal compensation and simple accommodation.

2020-01-27 | hi

India Cabaret

A documentary exploring the "respectable" and "immoral" stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of 2 strip-tease dancers in a cabaret house in Bombay.

1985-01-02 | hi

Naam Tha Kanhaiyalal

A very spellbinding story about the reel and real life of great old thespian Kanhaiyalal and his bygone era when Indian Cinema was at a nascent stage. The story tells about his inspiring journey from a confused, gullible youth to a mesmerizingly spontaneous actor. It also unfurls the turbulent phases of Kanhaiyalal's life where there is excessive alcoholism and the mysterious death of his son.

2022-11-29 | hi

Struggler

2024-02-24 | hi

Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous

He was an ordinary boy with extraordinary dreams. This intimate documentary traces the rise, fall and comeback of Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh.

2024-12-20 | hi

Buddha.mov

Lured by the chance of being the protagonist of a documentary film, Buddha Dev, a 27 year old flamboyant cricketer from Goa, starts authorising unrestricted access into the most private parts of his life.

2017-11-26 | hi

Hailstorm

Hailstorm is based in the Narmada valley in central India, an area with extremely low levels of groundwater. Farmers here battle for survival, pitched against the vagaries of climate change. Following the events of a freak hailstorm over four seasons, the film unfolds the vulnerability and precarity of those that are at the sharpest end of global capitalism’s rapacious greed and the furthest from its benefits.

2021-09-10 | hi

Pushkar Puran

An attempt to engage with the historical, mythical and the contemporary worlds of the city of Pushkar

2017-10-14 | hi

Lords of Lockdown

Anxious, out of work and without access to transport during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, migrant labourers in India’s metropolises decided to walk back home to their villages en masse. As news channels beamed heart-rending silhouettes of millions of men, women and children marching along national highways with their meagre belongings, it became plain that the lockdown had already drafted one of the most traumatic chapters in the nation's modern history.

2022-05-10 | hi

A SON OF HIMALAYA

"Discover Dr Anil Prakash Joshi's Himalayan journey in 'A Son Of Himalaya". From rural roots to ecological visionary, witness his symphony of sustainability, GEP innovation, and the transformative power of nature's whispers.

2024-06-11 | hi

Making "Sacred Games"

VICE met up with the directors of Sacred Games, Netflix's first foray into originals in India. Veterans Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane explain their process to us.

2019-08-11 | hi

Ray: Life and Work of Satyajit Ray

Clips and interviews show that the renowned Satyajit Ray was more than just a filmmaker: He was a sketch illustrator, a music composer, a children's book creator, an all around intellectual.

1999-09-10 | hi