Indian cinema has always been unpredictable with its trends and is always constantly evolving with its creativity. Bollywood has delivered some creative, bold, out of the box movies, but they somehow fail to make a mark at the box office simply because people are not ready to explore the unexplored. Some call it too bold, while the other just think it’s too much for the Indian society to grasp.
But either way those failures later on go on to acquire a lot of status in the years to come as people make more sense of the movie and meaning years later. Hence they are called movies that are way ahead of their time. These movies usually traverse into unexplored areas and stories and are usually rooted with subjects and topics that are way ahead of the current scenario, subjects that are sensitive and topics that are too personal and delicate to be shared openly with the public. And though, our society can be a buzzkill with such movies, they all have a beautiful meaning embedded within it and are usually a favorite with the critics.
And luckily for us Bollywood is abundant with such movies.
Here is a list of the top five Bollywood movies that were not appreciated at the time of release, but went on to gain ground and be seen as a work of art today.
- That Girl in Yellow Boots
A huge failure at the box office, this movie is a classic example of the wrath of Indian movies that dare to be different. The movie revolves around a girl who is obsessed about finding her father in an alien city. This movie reflects on the complex layers of human emotions, and it’s twisted, unexpected climax leaves you in shock. It’s a tragic tale of incest and sexual abuse which is such a dominant part of the Indian society that still doesn’t respect women. This dreaded reality of our society was to hard to accept for the audience in a movie. Well truth is bitter alright.
- No Smoking
Image Courtesy – itimes.comAnother extraordinary movie, that breaks the rules of traditional Indian cinema. This movie is a piece of art. Though it was a huge failure at the box office, the movie should be given all the credit it deserves. It’s complex, psychedelic. The film oscillates between reality and illusion, giving the audience the freedom of exploring and interpreting the visuals, fact from fiction. Abstraction and imagination is the key in this movie. Complex, intricate and a surreal experience! This one took years to get the credit it deserves!
- Love, Sex Aur Dhokha
It breaks all stereotypes of Bollywood movies. It’s new, it’s bold and its definitely something you’ve never seen before on the desi screen. This bold venture, pushes traditional Bollywood into the ground and emerges with an all new concept of cinema and creativity. This movie takes up every flimsy story that has made the headlines of newspapers, and portrays and narrates it differently to the audience. You’ll find every shade of sex, love and scandal you’ve ever known over the recent years. It brings out the abhorrence, hypocrisy of the middle class morals, and shows the blunt truth behind all the drama.
- Margarita With A Straw
This film explored a subject that has never really been explored or potrayed in Indian cinema. This movie revolves around a college girl who has cerebral palsy, and is disabled, bound to her wheelchair, the story goes on to show her journey of discovering her sexuality. Being a bisexual, the movie shows the difficulties she faces and how she battles through her sexual journey in this hideous narrow minded society. A beautiful story, with a beautiful message to all the young girls in our society. Well having said that, It still is a movie that many believe is too modern to grasp.
- Chameli
A movie that broke all rules of contemporary Indian cinema. This movie, dates back to 2004, when even the word prostitute would make about a hundred voices go” woah, it’s taboo and dirt”. This movie gives its audience a detailed look into what goes on in a sex worker’s life and what the real bitter truth behind their choices are and how they deal with the society.
Let us know about the other movies which you think were way ahead of their times in the comments below!
