Five Underrated Movies to Watch
Five underrated movies that you would've definitely missed out on.
5. Sooraj ka Satvan Ghoda IMDb rating: 8.1/10
Based on a novel by Dharamvir Bharati, this movie is considered as an extraordinary encounter of two of the greatest minds of Indian cinema and literature. Shyam Bengal made a multi-layered film from a really intricate piece of work. The story revolves around Manek Mulla who is narrating stories of three different women that he came across at some point in time. The main theme of this movie is discussions of casteism, class divide and the socio-economic conditions using metaphors and poetic connotations. Infact, the three women were symbolic odes of each class depicting how ‘class plays a crucial role in love stories’, as mentioned by Manek himself.
4. Perfume: The Story of Murderer (2006) IMDb rating: 7.5/10
Based on German detective novel by Patrick Suskind, this movie wandered off its original genre and was directed by Tom Tykwer under the heads of psychological thriller/drama. This is a moving story of a boy who is blessed by an exceptional sense of smell and cursed with a tragic life. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is fascinated by the strikingly beautiful smell of humans. He decides to seize the smell of the most gorgeous girls in the town to concoct his opus – a perfume. The story follows Grenouille committing the murders and his antagonist Richis trying to decipher them.
3. Leader (1964) IMDb rating: 7.3/10
Leader is a political drama movie with elements of light-hearted comedy, written by the star of the movie himself Dilip Kumar. The story follows Vijay Khanna, an educate law graduate, who gets wrongly accused of a political leader’s murder. Along with his love interest, Princess Sunita (played by Vyjayanthimala) Vijay tries to expose the criminal-politician cult.
2. Children of Heaven (1997) IMDb rating: 8.5/10
This heart-warming story is an Iranian family drama movie. Written and Directed by Majid Majidi, it discusses socio-economic conditions of a middle-class family and its impacts on their children. When Ali loses his younger sister, Zahra’s shoes both kids decide to manage their everyday chores and attend school with a single pair of shoes, to avoid the making a financial pressure on their parents and of course, some scolding. It is a phenomenal story which makes you think of your privileges and feel gratitude. The movie has been adapted a couple of times in Bollywood and in Singaporean cinema.
1. Pyaasa (1957) IMDb rating: 8.5/10
Pyaasa is one of the finest works of Guru Dutt alongside Saheb, Biwi aur Ghulam and Kaagaz ke Phool. This story is about Vijay, a struggling Urdu poet trying to survive off his work and Gulabo, a prostitute. The main themes discussed in the movie are excruciating realities of society, the hunger and the greed taking over humanity amidst of which is caught Vijay. The movie is often mentioned as one of the best movies made in Bollywood. The music album of the movie was produced by S.D. Burman and to this date is considered a masterpiece. Songs like Jaane Woh Kaise Log and Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye are still celebrated. It was rumoured that the song “Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par” was banned due to its sensitive lyrics.