Six Bollywood Cult Films That Are Worth A Watch

Bollywood has been entertaining its wide, extensive, and diverse audience for centuries now. Exploring a broad range of genres including horror, comedy, action, fantasy, animation, crime, historical dramas, and at times establishing its own genres, Bollywood is relentlessly working hard to evolve its content and offer engaging movies to its audience. 

Bollywood on an average releases a thousand movies in a year in over 20 languages. Out of these thousand, only a hundred of them make their presence felt at the box office, and out of this hundred, only a handful of movies achieves a dedicated cult, which watches these movies over and over and maintains their popularity even years after their release. Some popular Bollywood films which achieved a popular audience base and status of being a celluloid cult over time are - 

• Andaz Apna Apna - this film effortlessly makes its audience laugh and is probably one of the best comedy films of Bollywood. The funny stunts of the leads in the film and their comic timing make this film a masterpiece in itself. The timely appearance of Paresh Rawal in the film further works in favor of the film. Though the film couldn’t perform well on box-office on its release back in 1994, the film later picked up on its popularity with people watching it time and again on cable, laptops, and DVDs.

• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro - popularly celebrated as one of the finest comedies of Indian cinema, this film takes a sardonic turn to corruption prevailing in the politics and media of the country. Besides its amazing storyline, what makes this film truly iconic is its cast which includes some prominent names like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Satish Shah, and Neena Gupta.  The film was originally released in 1983, and today after 37 years of its release, the film garners an equal amount of appreciation from both film critics and film lovers. 

  

• Silsila - this classic romance directed by Yash Chopra is regarded as one of the best films directed by him. The film could not resonate well with the Indian audience during its release in 1981 as the film was way ahead of its time especially with its portrayal of an extra-marital affair in normal light. Now several years down the road, Silsila is celebrated as one of the finest classics of Indian cinema with the songs of the films continuing to find a space in our playlists. 

• Mera Naam Joker - one of the most heartwarming movies you will come across in Bollywood. Mera Naam Joker is a true classic. Raj Kapoor was at his best in the film making the audience laugh and moving them at the same time with his beautiful performance in the film. Starting with the popular song, Jeena Yaha Merna Yaha, the film lets you experience a myriad of emotions as it progresses. The film received cult status for being different from typical Bollywood movies of those times. 

  

• Dil Se - directed by Mani Ratnam, Dil Se is a tragic terrorism drama film. Though the film performed poorly at box office, it received popular acclamation overseas and was screened in various festivals. The soundtrack of the film consists of six songs composed by music maestro A.R. Rehman himself and little wonder why the songs of the film are still such popular hits. Years after its release, the film started gaining appreciation from the Indian audience and now it popularly enjoys the status of a cult film.  

  

• Kaagaz Ke Phool - Kaagaz Ke Phool is applauded as one of the finest Hindi romantic dramas ever made. The film was directed, produced by Guru Dutt, who himself played the lead in the film. The chemistry between Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman in the film is both appealing and heart-melting. Starting with the haunting song of loneliness ‘Dekhi Zamane Ki Yaari’ the songs of the films sung by legendary singer Mohammed Rafi play a major role in setting the whole mood of the film. Decades after the release of the film, Kagaaz Ke Phool is often regarded as a cinematic masterpiece.