A lot of time and effort goes into the making of a decent period film. Right from the film’s art direction, the costumes, and the performances – everything must be spot on to create a credible period setting. In this article, we have handpicked for you five must-watch Bollywood period films that you can watch on the Amazon Prime Video streaming platform this weekend:
1. Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005)
This was Aamir Khan’s comeback film of sorts after a four-year hiatus after ‘Lagaan’ and ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. The period film was helmed by Ketan Mehta, who had previously directed Aamir Khan in the 1985 film ‘Holi’ and has also directed acclaimed films like ‘Mirch Masala’ and ‘Sardar’.
The film revolved around a sepoy called Mangal Pandey (played by Aamir Khan) in the British East Indian Company who played an important role in the events that eventually led to the 1857 Indian uprising against the tyrannical British rule. The film’s story featured Mangal Pandey’s friendship with a compassionate British commanding officer Gordon (Toby Stephens). However, the greased cartridge incident creates a rift between the two besides becoming the cause of the mutiny.
2. The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)
Helmed by gifted director Rajkumar Santoshi, the film chronicles the life of Bhagat Singh – one of the bravest revolutionaries of the Indian Independence Movement who fought against British atrocities.
The film portrays various events of Bhagat Singh’s life such as the abominable Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Mahatma Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement, his joining of Hindustan Republic Association to his days in the prison, until the legendary hero was hanged at the young age of 23.
3. Shikara (2020)
This Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film revolves around a true-blue love story of a simple Kashmiri Pandit couple Shiv Kumar Dhar and Shanti Dhar (played by Aadil Khan and Sadia Khateeb).
Their innocent love story is set against the backdrop of Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s. How their immense and unwavering love for each other keeps them strong during their thirty years of exile, forms the film’s basic premise.
4. Hey Ram (2000)
It’s an alternate-history period crime drama helmed by Kamal Haasan. In the year 1946, an archaeologist goes back to his home in Calcutta amidst the fear of Hindu-Muslim riots. When his wife (Rani Mukerji) is brutally assaulted and killed by rioters, he goes on a revenge spree. He later remarries but cannot forget the incident.
The protagonist is led to believe by some extremists that Mahatma Gandhi was responsible for India’s division and sets out to assassinate him. The film also featured an impressive supporting cast including Shahrukh Khan, Hema Malini, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Vikram Gokhle, Saurabh Shukla, and Atul Kulkarni, amongst others.
5. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (2015)
Dibakar Banerjee’s take on the adventures of legendary fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshy was indeed a cinematic delight. Set in the 1940s Calcutta, a young and brilliant detective (beautifully played by Sushant Singh Rajput) accepts a seemingly straightforward mission of finding a missing chemist.
While investigating the chemist’s disappearance he inadvertently gets involved in unearthing a much larger conspiracy that is masterminded by an equally brilliant archenemy.
This was the list of our five must-watch period Bollywood films for your binge-watching fest this weekend. We hope you’ll enjoy watching these gems as much as we enjoyed making this list for you.
Stay tuned to Binged for more such weekend must-watch binge lists. In case you want us to make a list of your choice, then please drop your suggestions in the comments box below.
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