Enchanting. Vibrant. Immersive. These are just a few words travellers use to describe their experience of visiting India: it may sound intimidating, and it can be, but in a world wrought with travel cliches and over-trodden destinations, India remains truly unique and completely worthy of your attention.
Without a doubt, the country is a cinematic experience in and of itself, one where the story and its cast changes depending on whether you turn right or left. Embrace the star quality of India by indulging in our list of these must-watch movies before jumping on a plane to meet your tour group in New Delhi!
1. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
- Why I like it: An enchanting fairy tale that takes place in Jaipur and one that never asks too much from its viewers – other than to be completely and utterly transported
Okay, so every list like this one has this movie on it, I know. But hear me out, because there’s a good reason it’s so popular for would-be visitors to India. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel tells the story of a small group of British retirees who, for varying reasons, decide to live out their retirement in a hotel in India, run by an eager up-and-comer local, played by Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame.
The cast is largely comprised of acclaimed British national treasures (Dame Judi Dench anyone?) and the setting itself serves as an additional costar. When the story begins, the brits board a flight to India, each with their own set of emotional baggage. Eventually, the country helps them to confront their individual demons; if you’ve travelled before, you know that being truly displaced is the most thorough way to accomplish this.
Overall, I love this movie because it serves as a window into the challenges and delights of being a foreigner in such a loud, colourful and fundamentally different place like India. Watch it and you’ll be convinced that there’s no right or wrong age to step outside of your comfort zone — and no better place to step than in India!
I should mention that at times the movie does swerve a little too closely into the colonialist/orientalist territory. “Just how exactly will India manage to win over the old, cranky, xenophobic Muriel?!” But consider this film for what it is — a wish-fulfillment love letter to an idyllic version of India — and you won’t be disappointed!
Watch The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel on Amazon Prime
2. The Jungle Book
- Why I like it: There are talking animals, Bill Murray and the entirely computer-generated environment (almost) perfectly embodies India’s lush jungles
I’ll be honest right off the bat and say that I was not a fan of the original Jungle Book. I thought it moved a bit slow and the animation was too flat to hold my tiny attention span when I first watched as a kid (and no, I don’t care if the movie was made in 1967. Fight me). The new Jungle Book, however, jumps off the screen, the ending is different (better) and the pacing is improved despite the longer run time. Also, I surrender my complete and unwavering trust to Jon Favreau and anything he does to improve franchises from my childhood.
But back to why it’s perfect to watch in advance of your trip to India…
You almost wouldn’t believe that the entire thing was shot on a sound stage in Los Angeles because the setting feels alive, immersive and dense – just like India’s real countryside. The production travelled to around 1,000 remote jungle locations in India to photograph them and use them as reference for post-production and trust me when I say it shows. If you make it through this movie and somehow don’t find yourself ready to add a jungle safari to your tour itinerary then I have to assume you have no pulse and are simply dead.
Watch The Jungle Book on Amazon Prime
3. The Lunchbox
- Why I like it: Better than your usual mishap-turned-friendship-turned-love story, introduced people to one of the most impressive and complicated delivery systems in the world, “the dabbawalas,” perfectly encapsulates Mumbai’s intensity
The Lunchbox tells the perfectly simple story of two strangers suffering in their own ways, who come together thanks to a lucky mistake by the awe-inspiring lunchbox delivery system in India. The story doesn’t waste a moment painting an accurate portrait of the central role food places in the lives of everyday Indians, using it as a mechanism to drive these two strangers closer together. If you aren’t drooling throughout the film, especially when leading lady Illa prepares homecooked paneer for her mystery recipient Saajan, are you even paying attention?
This movie will have you rooting for the two leads to just get together already, leave your stomach rumbling, and hold you in complete and utter awe at the sheer complexity of the country’s massive delivery service system – which has been studied and praised by institutions like Harvard Business School for its high level of service and nearly flawless operating system.
Watch The Lunch Box on Amazon Prime
4. Monsoon Wedding
- Why I like it: Bollywood-level wedding shenanigans, great ensemble casts, and last minute dramatic swells that add real stakes amongst all the fun and colour
Pretty much everyone knows that Indian weddings are no joke and Monsoon Wedding does an excellent job of reinforcing this very true stereotype, to the absolute delight of viewers. There are so many stories, each equally intriguing, dancing around the main event: the impending arranged marriage of Hermant and Aditi.
The bride and groom-to-be’s families each prepare for the special day in their own ways, falling in love, declaring that love, and, in some cases, making tough decisions that perfectly summarizes the critical importance of loyalty and family in Indian society. As you might imagine, the colours and set pieces are brilliant and stunning in their own right. The entire film takes place in New Delhi, which is an appreciated consistency in an otherwise chaotic tale of romance and family drama.
Essentially Monsoon Wedding is one epic tale of romance that never stops being alive for one second, not unlike New Delhi itself. Consider it good practice for your own exploration of India’s capital city.
Watch Monsoon Wedding on Amazon Prime
5. Octopussy
- Why I like it: Classic spy film, unproblematic James Bond (I’m looking at you Sean Connery), and action-packed adventure through an especially mystical India with a lavish floating palace
The James Bond series has included some real highs and lows and I’d put this one squarely in the middle. Let’s just say I’m not recommending this one for its Oscar-winning storytelling or exceptionally misplaced tonal choices (just google “Bond clown costume.” I’ll wait). Instead, you’ll be gripped by the 13th installment in the James Bond series thanks to its impressive set pieces, specifically the ones in India.
I promise you’ll be gripping your shaken-not-stirred cocktail in both hands when Bond first arrives in Udaipur, India, infiltrating its floating palace and meeting the titular Octopussy for the first time. There are of course noteworthy scenes in Rajasthan near the beginning of Bond’s adventure, but hey, nothing beats a floating palace. The rest of the film is gripping in ways that are both good and bad but at the very worst it’s a campy spy thriller that is saved almost entirely by the choice to take place in India.
Watch Octopussy on Amazon Prime
6. Darjeeling Limited
- Why I like it: Wes Anderson, train rides and a so-obvious-it-must-be-ironic-set-piece, actual baggage as a metaphor for emotional baggage
Wes Anderson receives awards even for his bad movies, so of course Darjeeling Limited, a film about three estranged brothers coming to terms with life, death, and abandonment while on a trip through India, was always going to be on this list. It’s actually a really good movie, with India honoured by Anderson instead of fetishized.
The backdrop, not unlike other films on this list, is just as important as the characters themselves. Train travel in India is more or less a staple of local life, so it makes sense and is fun to see this method of transportation take centre stage in the story. There’s also a fun scene at the beginning where one of the brothers (played by everyone’s favourite bean pole, Adrien Brody) just catches the train and slowly makes his way through the different classes of the compartments, quickly and gently illustrating just how train travel works in this part of the world.
There’s a lot of meaning dripping in each and every scene, which threatens to become obnoxious at some points but ends up never taking it too far. Eventually, the train takes them from Mumbai to a Himalayan monastery and by the end of the whole thing, you’ll come to realize – alongside the three brothers – that India often delivers you an adventure completely unlike the one you were planning. And that it’s ultimately for the better.
Watch Darjeeling Limited on Amazon Prime
So what do you think of this list?
Am I missing any essentials that you consider mandatory viewing for a trip to India? And before you rush to the comments section to say “But what about Slumdog Millionaire?!” I intentionally left it out, not because I don’t like the movie but because it’s already on every list EVER and my 2016 resolution was to become a fully-realized original artist and it’s 2019 so I’m 3+ years behind on this.
So let me know what you think of my selection below!
