Soon after it started streaming on the Amazon Prime Video OTT platform, Suriya starrer hard-hitting and intense legal drama ‘Jai Bhim’ became the No.1 Indian film on the IMDb top-rated Indian movies list besides also subsequently becoming the highest-rated movie across the world on IMDb. The film is being praised for its performances, realistic portrayal, and gripping storytelling.
In this article, we have compiled a list of five more hard-hitting Indian movies (should not be compared with ‘Jai Bhim’) which you can watch on Indian OTT platforms. Not all of these films are necessarily based on real-life incidents but, in turn, revolve around various serious and sensitive subject matters like corruption, human trafficking, and discrimination, etc.
The films could be disturbing for a certain audience segment, so viewers’ discretion and film certification-based viewing are advised. Watch them at your own risk. So, here we go.
Shool (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Mubi, Yupp TV, Shemaroo Me)
Released in 1999, the hard-hitting film follows the story of an upright and honest police officer (Manoj Bajpayee in one of his career-best performances) who gets transferred to a place where he crosses paths with a powerful and corrupt politician called Bachhu Yadav (Sayaji Shinde). After more than two decades, Shool still stands as one of the best cop films made in India.
Article 15 (Streaming on Netflix)
Set amidst the backdrop of caste discrimination, this Anubhav Sinha’s directorial film features Ayushmann Khurrana in the role of an IPS officer who is in charge of the investigation of three young girls who went missing from a small village. The film featured a talented supporting cast that includes Sayani Gupta, Nassar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, amongst others.
Talvar (Streaming on Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar)
‘Talvar’ revolves around the double murder case of a teenage girl and the family servant and narrates the events of the investigation conducted by two different teams. Helmed by gifted filmmaker Meghna Gulzar, the film received enormous acclaim for its adept direction and lead performances by Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Neeraj Kabi, amongst other filmmaking parameters.
Love Sonia (Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar)
This hard-hitting and disturbing film inspired by real-life events features ‘Toofaan’ actress Mrunal Thakur in the lead role. When her sister is sold by her poverty-stricken father, the determined protagonist makes it her mission to find her against all odds. However, she herself gets entangled in the labyrinth of the international flesh trade.
The movie features an ensemble cast that also includes Manoj Bajpayee, Freida Pinto, Anupam Kher, Rajkumar Rao, Richa Chadha, Adil Hussain, and Hollywood actress Demi Moore. The film is meant to be watched by adult audiences.
Paava Kadhaigal (Streaming on Netflix)
Although it’s referred to as a series, ‘Paava Kadhaigal’ is a Tamil language anthology of four hard-hitting and impactful short films, so we have taken the liberty to include this brilliantly made, hard-hitting anthology in this list. Out of the four short films, we highly recommend the segments namely ‘Oor Iravu’, ‘Vaanmagal’, and ‘Thangam’.
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