Indian Documentary Movies

The second entry in Velu Viswanadhan's series of experimental documentaries. This film traces the Ganges river upstream.

Lakshmi is a professional singer and dancer at funerals. Krishnaveni makes her living by burying and cremating unclaimed dead bodies from the rivers and streets. Sethuraku never went to school and instead took to the sea at an early age.

Weeks after the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, seven migrant labourers, on the verge of starvation, decided to go to their village just like millions of others.

This documentary celebrates legendary Bengali singer-songwriter Kabir Suman and his enduring muse, Kolkata. While showcasing a formidable body of Suman's timeless songs, which also construct the narrative of his life, the film demonstrates why he might just be world's greatest unsung singer-songwriter and how easily genius too can slip through the cracks of history.

In Southern India, family disputes are settled by Jamaats—all male bodies which apply Islamic Sharia law to cases without allowing women to be present, even to defend themselves. Recognizing this fundamental inequity, a group of women in 2004 established a women’s Jamaat, which soon became a network of 12,000 members spread over 12 districts. Despite enormous resistance, they have been able to settle more than 8,000 cases to date, ranging from divorce to wife beating to brutal murders and more. Deepa Dhanraj follows several cases, shining a light on how the women’s Jamaat has acquired power through both communal education and the leaders’ persistent, tenacious and compassionate investigation of the crimes. In astonishing scenes we watch the Jamaat meetings, where women often shout over each other about the most difficult facets of their personal lives.

Meru is the electrifying story of three elite American climbers—Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk—bent on achieving the impossible.

L, a student in India witness to the government's violent response to university protests, writes letters to her estranged lover while he is away.

In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions on the frontlines of India’s biggest issues and within the confines of their own homes, redefining what it means to be powerful.

A desperate filmmaker drives a neurotic actress and an aging musician to a village of trauma.

Highlights Rajamouli’s influence on Indian and international cinema, with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.

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In the dense forests of the Eastern Himalayas, moths are whispering something to us. In the dark of night, two curious observers shine a light on this secret universe.

This true-crime documentary investigates six shocking deaths in the same family and the woman at the center of the unbelievable case: Jolly Joseph.

Prantik Basu paints a sensorial portrait of a village located in East India and its traditional rites.

In the floating islands in Manipur, a man gets a gun.

‘Free Flying' documents the journey of ‘Fly Squad' community in Kochi, Kerala. Their milestones as well as the smiles and pains along their journey – a little peek into the revolution on a skateboard.

This award-winning documentary explores the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 Gujarat Riots. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscent of the Nazi Germany of early 1930s. Final Solution is anti-hate/violence, as 'those who forget history are condemned to relive it'.

In 1990s Mumbai, a crime boss and his network wield unchecked power over the city — until the rise of "encounter cops," who brazenly kill their targets.

In an effort to improve feminine hygiene, a machine that creates low-cost biodegradable sanitary pads is installed in a rural village in Northern India. Using the machine, a group of local women is employed to produce and sell pads, offering them newfound independence and helping to destigmatize menstruation for all.

Celebrated actor Nayanthara looks back on her journey towards love and superstardom amidst personal struggles and triumphs in this intimate documentary.

Sachin Tendulkar plays himself in this sports-docudrama that traces the life and times of one of the world’s biggest cricket phenomenas.​

Offers us glimpses of lives that are lived on their own terms and in such living mark their resistance against stifling social norms that threaten to homogenise diversity. A celebration of love and togetherness with a difference; it is a celebration of the struggles to live those differences.

Is there more to a baby’s cry? The documentary dwells into the psyche of pediatric doctors and the skills they use to arrive at a diagnosis.

Moti Khan, a musically gifted child from the lower caste Muslim Manganiyars of the Thar Desert, is forced to sing and play music for their ancestral patrons in order to survive, even though he finds it humiliating. Sattar, his father, wants Moti to study and make a career outside music. But Moti aspires to be a successful singer so that he is treated respectfully. He leaves his village behind and sets out on a journey to discover his music.

An intimate exploration of how everyday lives intertwine with personal and political borders in the Indian subcontinent.

Holy Cowboys offers a fascinating, disconcerting look at Indian youth indoctrinated as bovine vigilantes. This observational documentary from Sundance Institute alumnus Varun Chopra goes deep into a world of bigotry and division, where a genuine love for animals and a naive sense of righteousness are weaponised.

A tragi-comical drama, whose protagonist is no other than a young cock, unfolds in a Mumbai apartment just like thousands of others. Grabbed by an eccentric patriarch to serve as a distraction for the family cat, the chick survived, grew up and now imposes his troublesome presence on everyone, tyrannising the entire household

‘Bahattar Hoorain’ is a dark comedy that examines the real consequences of violent extremism and urges that every human life should be treated with dignity and respect.

I Am is a 2011 Indian anthology film by Onir. It consists of four short films: "Omar", "Afia", "Abhimanyu", and "Megha". Each film shares the common theme of fear and each is also based on real life stories. The film was financed by donations from more than 400 different people around the world, many of whom donated through social networking sites like Facebook. There are four stories but the characters are interwoven with each story. "Abhimanyu" is based on child abuse, "Omar" on gay rights, "Megha" is about Kashmiri Pandits and "Afia" deals with sperm donation. I Am was released with subtitles in all regions as six different languages are spoken in the film: Hindi, English, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali and Kashmiri.

Shabnam was attacked with acid when she was a teenager. Today she is a Shero, a women's rights activist from India who is raising her daughter by teaching her the value of beauty and feminine strength, beyond social conventions.

A charismatic Indian-Nepali boy, lives a bohemian life in a remote Himalayan village. As he transitions from childhood to teenagehood, his poetic journey of perseverance echoes issues that span across ages and communities.

Tigers are solitary hunters. But in the forests of Central India, a gang of four tigresses is rewriting the rules of tiger behavior.

Bacha Bareesh: Shadows of Innocence is a short documentary film that explores the devastating impact of conflict on the lives of children in Afghanistan. Through intimate storytelling and real-life experiences, the film highlights lost innocence, resilience, and hope amid war and uncertainty.

An exploration of the 'respectable' and 'immoral' stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of two striptease dancers in a Bombay cabaret.

Bomman and Bellie, a couple in south India, devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu, forging a family like no other.

Conversations with 92 year old Kamlabai Gokhale, a pioneering actress of the Marathi stage and the first lady of Indian film. The documentary gives an impression of the history and growth of Indian film and theatre as it was experienced by a woman who struggled against the social structures of her times.

Testimonies of ordinary Kashmiris recount a brutal militancy and its terrible response. Dodging agents of Indian armed-forces, the filmmakers were able to obtain rare testimonials in the highest militarized zone in the world. The film tells how freedom is conceded and replaced by fear, governance by institutionalized oppression and a paradise made desolate on the watch of India : a secular, democratic republic. - Written by Anonymous

This special offers a rare glimpse into the Kapoors, Hindi cinema's first family, over an afternoon of conversation, nostalgia and homemade delicacies.

What started as a journey with friends to explore the beautiful grounds and stories of Kanavu, transcended into a beautiful dream of ours.

In 1997, Ashish Avikunthak filmed a sequence -- a friend and artist, Girish Dahiwale, immersing an idol of Ganesha at Chowpati beach, Bombay on the last day of the Ganapati festival. A year later, he committed suicide. After twelve years, Avikunthak completed the film. Using his footage as the leitmotif, this film is a requiem to a dead friend, and metamorphosises into an “existential inquiry into the idea of death”.