10. Sholay by Ramesh Sippy | Sholay, a 1975 blockbuster Hindi film directed by Ramesh Sippy, is one of India's most beloved films. It earned the first position in the British Film Institute's poll of the "Top 10 Indian Films of All Time" in 2002. It smashed records for continuous showings in several theatres across India and played in Mumbai's Minerva theatre for more than five years. The dialogues and characters in the film were highly influential, spawning several cultural memes and becoming part of India's everyday language. (Image: News18)
9. Pyaasa by Guru Dutt | Pyaasa, a 1954 Hindi film directed by Guru Dutt, is widely regarded as one of the greatest in Indian cinema. After a slow start, Pyaasa went on to become the year's major commercial success. Long after Dutt's death, the film gained a cult following across the world in the 1980s. It is lauded in particular for its technical brilliance, storyline, topic, and romantic idealism. The picture earned international recognition when it was initially released in Europe in the 1980s, becoming a great commercial success, and is today regarded a "seminal landmark" in the history of Indian cinema. (Image: Youtube)
8. Ankur by Shyam Benegal | Shyam Benegal's first feature film, Ankur, was released in 1974 and marked the debut of Indian actors Anant Nag and Shabana Azmi. Ankur, like many of Benegal's earlier works, belongs to the category of Indian art cinema, more specifically, Indian Parallel Cinema. This movie features one whipping sequence and more profanity than is typical of Indian films. It has received three National Film Awards as well as 43 other awards in India and internationally and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival. (Image: Youtube)
7. Charulata by Satyajit Ray | Charulata is a 1964 Bengali film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. It is based on Rabindranath Tagore's work 'Nastanirh' and stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, and Sailen Mukherjee. Charulata has one of the highest Rotten Tomatoes scores for an Indian film, with a 96 percent rating based on 26 reviews and an average rating of 9.2/10. It is widely recognised as one of the greatest films ever made in Indian cinema history, and has received widespread critical praise both in the country and overseas. (Image: Youtube)
6. Garm Hava by MS Sathyu | Garm Hava (Hot Winds or Scorching Winds), a 1973 Hindi film directed by MS Sathyu, was written by Kaifi Azmi and Shama Zaidi and based on an unpublished short story by famed Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai. It is still one of the few serious films dealing with the plight of Muslims in India after the partition. The movie is frequently credited with ushering in a new wave of art cinema movement in the Hindi film industry and is regarded as a cornerstone of Hindi Parallel Cinema. (Image: Youtube)
5. Ghatashraddha by Girish Kasaravalli | Ghatashraddha, a 1977 Kannada film directed by Girish Kasaravalli and starring Meena Kuttappa, Narayana Bhat, and Ajith Kumar, is widely regarded as one of the finest Indian films. Among other remarkable accomplishments, Ghatashraddha was the only Indian film picked by the National Archive of Paris among 100 others during the centennial celebrations of cinema in 2002. (Image: Youtube)
4. Elippathayam by Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Elippathayam, a 1981 Malayalam drama directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, ranked fourth on the list of India's best films. The movie portrays feudal life in Kerala in its twilight, which is shrouded by sadness and a feeling of recklessness as a sort of rebellion. It premiered at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and went on to win the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival. Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sharada, Jalaja, and Rajam K. Nair star in this film. (Image: Youtube)
3. Bhuvan Shome by Mrinal Sen | Bhuvan Shome, a 1969 Hindi drama directed by Mrinal Sen, came in third place on the list. The movie, based on the narrative of Bengali author Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay, is regarded as a pivotal moment in modern Indian cinema. Utpal Dutt and Suhasini Mulay are among the cast members. The film explores issues such as monotony, solitude, camaraderie, and compassion. It also emphasises India's rural-urban split. (Image: Youtube)
2. Meghe Dhaka Tara by Ritwik Ghatak | Ritwik Ghatak's 1960 Bengali drama Meghe Dhaka Tara, was placed second on the list. It is adapted from Shaktipada Rajguru's sociopolitical book of the same name. Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Gita Dey, Bijon Bhattacharya, Niranjan Roy, and Gyanesh Mukherjee feature in the ensemble. It was the first installment in a trilogy that also included the films Komal Gandhar (1961) and Subarnarekha (1962), all of which dealt with the repercussions of the Partition of Bengal amid India's Partition in 1947 and the refugees who had to grapple with it. (Image: Youtube)
1. Pather Panchali by Satyajit Ray | Pather Panchali, based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same name, was Ray's directorial debut. It starred prominent actors of the period, notably Subir Banerjee, Kanu Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Uma Dasgupta, Pinaki Sengupta, and Chunibala Devi. The film was influenced by the Italian Neorealism movement, and is widely recognised as one of the finest films ever produced, with fans among notable directors such as Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, and Wes Anderson. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)