Bollywood produced its first film in 1913 (Raja Harishchandra). Since then Bollywood produces an average of 150-200 films per year. Of these hundreds of films, only a small handful see any degree of success, only a selected few go on to taste the heights of success, and very rarely attain the status of classics and all-time greats. Despite the weaknesses of Bollywood, the industry has produced some memorable films. One of the fellow hubbers (Ktoo) had made a request for a hub on the basics of Bollywood for the uninitiated and a list of the best Bollywood movies. The request caught my fancy, and I set out to write. I found that a single hub could not do justice to this request, hence I decided to write a series of hubs. The first two in the series were:

Below, I have compiled a list of the Bollywood movies which are all time greats in my humble opinion. I have personally seen each and every movie of this list, over a rather long period of the last 15 years or so. If you want to know about Bollywood and Indian cinema, these films are strongly recommended. The list has been arranged on the basis of the year of release of the film. I hope you will enjoy the list and the films.

As is natural with such a list, it has turned out to be a rather long one. Therefore, I have split the list into three different hubs for the sake of readability and user-comfort. This is the first part, containing 8 films.

Here goes:

M.K.Radha, T.R.Rajkumari, Ranjan, Yashodhara Katju, V.N.Janki, S.Krishnamurti
Produced By: Gemini Studios
Directed By: S.S.Wasan
Music By: S. Rajeshwar Rao

The film was originally made in Tamil at a grand budget of US$ 60,000 (US$ 30 million, or Rs. 150 crores at current rates. This would make it THE most expensive film in India till date!!). It sank without a trace in its original language. Then, it was released all over India in Hindi, and went on to set box-office records. The main highlights of the movie are a drum-dance sequence and a long sword fight. Its lavishness is to be seen to be believed. Also, the film was the first all-India hit.

Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy.
Producer & Director: Bimal Roy
Music: Salil Choudhary

This film is a trendsetter in many respects. It was made by the legendary Bengali film-director, Bimal Roy. He combined the sensibilities of realistic, hard-hitting cinema with the elements of commercial success. This film is considered the genesis of the Indian New-Wave cinema movement, locally known as the Art Cinema. This film was the first from India to win the prestigious prize at the Cannes Film Festival. One of the most famous (and moving) scenes from the film is when Balraj Sahni pulls a rickshaw, chasing a horse carriage. The rider on the rickshaw keeps on promising more money if he is able to catch the carriage. All through this, Balraj keeps smiling in anticipation of getting more money, unmindful that he is pushing himself to the limit. Powerful, powerful stuff!

Dilip Kumar, Vaijayanti Mala, Suchitra Sen, Motilal, Pran, Johnny Walker
Produced By: Bimal Roy Productions.
Directed By: Bimal Roy
Music By: S.D.Burman

Actually, there are ten films with the same name, based on an eponymous novel by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyaya. All have starred the biggest names at that time (KL Sehgal, Dilip Kumar, Shahrukh Khan etc). Yet, I think the one starring Dilip Kumar is the best. The cinematography of the film conveys a dark, grim foreboding which is so fitting to the theme of the movie. It is a tragedy, depicting the classic theme of falling in love and then losing it all. The character of Chunni Babu, played by Motilal deserves special mention. Once again, a Bimal Roy movie!

Guru Dutt, Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rahman, Rehman, Johnny Walker, Mehmood
Produced By: Guru Dutt Films
Directed By: Guru Dutt
Music By: S. D. Burman

This is one of the best movies from the stable of the hugely talented Guru Dutt. He originally wanted to cast "Tragedy King" Dilip Kumar in the lead, but he declined. Then, Guru Dutt decided to field himself, and as they say, the rest is history. The film is a hard hitting look at the corruption and materialism of the Indian society. It is said that one of the songs in the movie ("Hum Aapki Aankhon Mein") was inserted at the insistence of the distributors as a sort of comic relief. They were afraid that the pessimistic outlook of the movie would be a disaster at the Box Office. Yet, the most famous song of the movie, which also marks the end, is the timeless "Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye To Kya Hai". Pyaasa has the distinction of being the only Hindi movie to figure in the Time list of Top 100 movies of all times.

Sunil Dutt, Nargis, Raaj Kumar, Kanhaiya Lal, Rajendra Kumar.
Produced By: Mehboob Productions
Directed By: Mehboob
Music By: Naushad

A classic directed by the well known Mehboob Khan, this is the first Indian movie to be nominated for the Oscars (in the Foreign Language Category). It was actually a joint Indo-Russian venture, and understandably, makes a compelling case for socialism. It also depicts in a dramatic way the bane of the Indian farmer: DEBT. Another enduring theme of the movie is the woman power. One of the songs of the film, "Holi Ayi re Kanhai", is one of the Holi anthems, hugely popular to this day.

Kishore Kumar, Madhubala, Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar, Sajjan, K.N.Singh, Cuckoo
Produced By: K.S.Films
Directed By: Satyen Bose
Music By: S.D.Burman

This film is one of the first genuine comedies of Bollywood. It stars the three famous brothers, Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar and the inimitable Kishore Kumar. The light, breezy comedy also stars the beautiful Madhubala. The highlight of the film is the many songs that adorn the film, the most famous being "Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si". My personal favourite, though, is "Hum The Wo Thi" sung by Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey. It is a hilarious, hilarious song! The expressions on the faces of the two brothers, Kishore and Anoop, are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face every time you watch the song.

Prithviraj Kapur, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Durga Khote
Produced By: K. Asif
Directed by: K. Asif
Music by: Naushad.

Truly a film of epic proportions, it took a whole nine years to complete! The lavishness of the film is huge, matched only by the scope of its narration. The role of Prince Salim is played with the usual, understated elegance by Dilip Kumar. Prithviraj Kapur, the senior most of the Kapur clan plays one of the most convincing portrayals of Akbar the great in the history of Bollywood. The most famous song of the movie, "Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya", was re-written 105 times by the lyricist Shakeel Badayuni before it met the approval of Naushad, the Music Director! This song was shot on a princely sum of Rs 10 million, which was about 10 times the budget of an average Hindi movie at that time! This film was a top grosser for 15 years, till it was displaced by Sholay. Incidentally, this was the first movie in the world to be colorized from an original black and white version.

Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Sapru, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman
Produced By: Guru Dutt Films
Directed By: Abrar Alvi
Music By: Hemant Kumar

Another timeless classic produced by the hugely talented Guru Dutt, this movie was both a critical and commercial success. It is based on a novel by Bimal Mitra, and depicts the decadent world of the Bengali upper class, which was losing their pre-eminence in the British period. It won four Filmfare awards, and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival. The film also has one of the best and most memorable roles played by Meena Kumari.

This is the first in the series of three hubs on top 25 all time great Hindi movies. For the next installment of wonderful hindi movies, please visit the next hub in the series:

Bollywood for the Uninitiated:Top 25 Bollywood Movies of All Times (Part 2 of 3)