Old Bollywood movies are the treasure troves for our generation. Original storyline, perfectly timed comedy and mellifluous songs make them perfect in every sense of the word. And honestly, what can be a better time than now, for us, to acquaint our selves with the must watch old Bollywood movies?
Here, we present you hand picked 50 must watch old Bollywood movies that will take you to a ride in the bygone era.
1. Amar Akbar Anthony
The film is about three brothers who’re separated in childhood. They grow up to different identities and religion. Will they ever find out their real identities and unite?
2. An Evening In Paris
Deepa and Shyam fall head over heels for one another when they meet in Paris. And, this is just the beginning of a whirlwind of events that are about to show up their life!
3. Aanand
Dr. Bhasker Banerjee, has a pessimistic view of life after he has witnessed the entrenched poverty in the nation. He meets a cheerful and lively Anand, who helps him see things in a positive light. However, Anand has a secret of his own! Watch the film to know more!
Also read: 10 Best Dialogues Of Anand Which Are Simply Timeless
4. Angoor
Angoor can best be described as comedy of errors. Two sets of twins from a family are separated in childhood.But, that’s not all the twins share same names as well. They grow up to create utter confusion for everyone who’s seen them and even for those who haven’t.
5. Aradhan
Arun and Vandana elope to get married but their world comes crashing down with Arun’s plane crash. Vandana puts her newborn into adoption. Watch the film to understand the love and sacrifice of a mother for her kid. Undoubtedly, Aradhana is one of the best old Bollywood movies for you to watch.
6. Awara
Awara follows the life of a petty thief, Raj, who is unaware of his past. He becomes emotionally trapped in the circumstances of his life. But, his ladylove, comes to his rescue and settles the disputes in his life.
7. Bawarchi
The feuding Sharma family are on the lookout for a cook, yet again. Raghu, a multi-talented chef shows up just in the nick of time. He wins over almost everyone in the house with his sweetness and charm. But, does he have an ulterior motive for doing so?
8. Bombay to Goa
Mala boards a bus to Goa as she tries to escape some killers. However, during the journey she meets some of the most weird characters who make the journey all the more adventurous. Watching this old Bollywood movie is best utilisation of the 2 hr 10 minutes of your life!
9. Chachi 420
Jai is a doting father and nothing could keep him from seeing his daughter, not even his own divorce. Watch him take the avatar of a doting nanny, Laxmi, to be with his daughter.
10. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
Brijmohan despises women after the love of his life Kamini left him for someone else. He forbids the entry of women in his garage and his younger brother’s lives. However, when love comes knocking in his brothers life, does it change Brijmohan, too?
11. Chashme Buddoor
A nerd walks away with one of the most happening girls in the neighbourhood and his flirty friends are disgruntled about it. They try to break the couple apart but do things go as planned?
12. Chupke Chupke
Professor Primal Tripathi plays a prank on his elder brother-in-law with the help of his friends and wife. Which, in turn, creates a lot of fun and a lot more of confusion.
13. Deewar
Vijay is a criminal and Ravi a cop who is hell bent to catch him. Though, this isn’t the only relationship that they share: they are brothers with a traumatic childhood.
14. Devdas
Bimal Roy’s Devdas is one of the earliest adaptations of the novel of the same name by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Devdas and Parvati are childhood lovers, but the difference in the social status and caste wouldn’t let them unite; leaving the lovers on the brink of destruction.
15. Do Aankhein Barah Haath
A jail warden tries to rehabilitate six criminals. He takes them to work in a barren piece of land, wherein they toil hard and transform into hardworking citizens. Such altruistic motives can only be seen in old Bollywood movies such as Do Aankhein Barah Haath!
16. Do Bigha Zameen
Shambhu, a poor farmer tries to go all the way to save his piece of land from a corrupt Zamindar. But, in process, he almost destroys his family. The film is an apt description of the zamindari system prevalent in the country back then.
17. Don
Dreaded criminal Don dies in a chase by the police officer D’Silva. In order to know his gang’s illegal operations D’Silva ropes in his lookalike Vijay to extract the information.
Also read: 10 Iconic Dialogues From Don That’ll Always Be Evergreen!
18. Dosti
Ramu finds it difficult to live on the street until he meets Mohan. Their friendship makes them take on their difficulties with ease and helps them survive. Do watch this beautiful tale of friendship and let us know what you think.
19. Ek Ruka Hua Faisla
12 Jurors debate over a murder trail. While 11 Jury members are convinced of the convict’s crime, only one Juror isn’t. And he makes a case strong enough for the rest of them to consider their POV.
20. Garam Hava
Post -partition, a Muslim family struggles to maintain their identity, standards of living and property. They decide to move to Pakistan, but instead chose to stay back and fight for their rights.
21. Golmaal
Ramprasad is about to be trapped in the web of lies he’s woven to impress his idealistic boss, Bhavani. He must come up with something to escape his boss from finding out the truth. A comedy riot that’s what this old Bollywood flick is all about!
22. Guide
A tourist guide falls for a married woman. He helps her realise her dream of becoming a dancer. However, her professional acclaim and success only leads to the guide’s downfall. Do watch the electric performances by Dev Anand and Waheed Rehman.
23. Gumnaam
Eight people on a remote island are disappearing one by one. Does the butler in their mansion has to do something with it?
24. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron
A dark satire on the times and society that we live in. The film follows the story of two photographers who work for a newspaper and are on the look-out for most scandalous stories of the rich.
Also read: 11 Absolutely Hilarious Dialogues From Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
25. Madhumati
Madhumati is a story of incarnation of lovers who couldn’t be together in the previous life. It all starts when Deven takes shelter in a mansion and finds it familiar.
26. Mahal
Mahal is the story of a haunted mansion; wherein Shankar who has brought the mansion gets visions of a woman professing to be his past life lover.
27. Mera Naam Joker
Raju is a clown circus whose job is to make others smile. But, underneath all the happiness that he is creating for others lies deep sorrows stemming from his life.
28. Mother India
Radha is a righteous woman who’s seen loss and sufferings in her life. But, despite that she’s managed to raise her two sons without compromising her integrity. How is she going to react when she finds out that one of her sons has turned into a bandit? Mother India is one of the best old Bollywood movies of Indian cinema.
29. Mr. India
Arun lives happily with a bunch of orphaned children. A local gangster has eyes on his property and makes life miserable for them. Arun decides to teach him a lesson by using an invisible watch.Mr. India is surely one of the most ingenious and entertaining film of its time.
30. Mughal-e-Azam
Mughal-E-Azam is a film on one of the tales of the Mughal Empire. Emperor Akbar and Prince Salim are at loggerheads. Salim wants to marry his lover: Anaarkali. However, as she is a commoner Akbar isn’t ready for their marriage. A movie considered to be the epitome of Indian Cinema and a visual extravaganza, Mughal-e-Azam would probably be ranked first in this list of must watch Old Bollywood movies.
Also read: 10 Iconic Mughal-E-Azam Dialogues That Still Remain Evergreen
31. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar
Muqaddar ka Sikandar is the rags to riches story of Sikandar. Despite leaving his past behind, Sikander cannot impress the girl that he loves. This pushes him into a spiral of depression.
32. Naya Daur
A young businessman decides to modernise his father’s business. But, in process he endangers the lives and livelihoods of the rural folks. As a result, the rural folks unite against him.
33. Padosan
Bhola has fallen head over heels for his neighbour Indu. However, he has no means to woo her. He takes help from his singer friend and pretends to be an accomplished singer to attract her. But, how far is this lie going to help him?
34. Pakeezah
Salim is in love with courtesan Sahibjaan. He cannot be with her due to the difference in their social class. He must decide between Sahibjaan, the love of his life or his family.
35. Purab Aur Paschim
Bharat travels to England to study. However, the attitude of people towards India and Indians perturbs him. He decides to educate them about Indian culture and India. A movie that inspires patriotism and nationalism in the era that saw an onslaught of Indian traditional values from foreign ides, Purab Aur Paschim is an iconic work of Manoj Kumar and amongst the must watch Old Bollywood movies.
36. Pushpaka Vimana
It is a silent comedy about an unemployed man. He finds an industrialist passed out in a gutter and switches place with him: in hopes of living a better life.
37. Pyaasa
Pyaasa brings forth the struggles of a poet who is unable to get his work published. The societal pressure to succeed and the existential angst force him to seek company of a prostitute, Gulabo. Gulabo becomes a source of strength and is instrumental in getting his work published.
38. Ram Shyam
It is a Hindi feature that has Dilip Kumar in double roles. The twins, Ram and Shyam are separated at birth; while Ram is a timid city boy, Shyam is a courageous village boy. Their fate intertwine when each of them replaces the other in their households and creates a series of unforeseen events.
39. Sadma
Somu save Nehlata from a brothel after realising that she suffers from amnesia. He takes her to Ooty with him and cares for her. However, soon her memory returns and Nehlata has no recollection of Somu. With phenomenal storyline, powerful performances by Sridevi and Kamal Hussain, Sadma makes to the list of one of the best old Bollywood movies
40. Sahib, Biwi Aur Gulaam
A wealthy man goes to the brothels and spends his time and fortunes in the company of prostitutes. This mentally destroys his pious and faithful wife, chotti bahu. She shares her sorrows with the caretaker of the mansion Bhootnath and takes drastic measures to woo her husband back.
41. Sangam
Sangam is one of the oldest love trilogy in Bollywood. Sundar goes out of his way to marry Radha, even defying death to be with her. But, an anonymous love letter meant for Radha gets him paranoid.
42. Satte Pe Satta
Indu loves Ravi and civilises him and his brothers. However, when one of the brother falls for a rich heiress, trouble comes brewing in for them.
43. Shahenshah
Vijay is after a notorious criminal, whose identity is not yet know albeit he is highly respected among the poor and feared by the cops.
44. Shakti
An honest police officer’s son is kidnapped by the goons. They want a dreaded criminal in exchange of Vijay’s release. However, Vijay’s father doesn’t agree to it. This causes a rift between father and son as Vijay grows up to be a criminal himself.
45. Sholay
Thakur Baldev Singh, an ex-police officer has hired two petty criminals Jai and Veeru to get hold of the dreaded deacon Gabbar Singh. Sholay is often regarded as the most legendary and popular hindi film to have been ever made and just cannot be missed in this list of must watch Old Bollywood movies.
Also read: 25 Iconic Dialogues From Sholay That We Still Cherish
46. Shree 420
Raj is a small town boy who comes to Mumbai to make it big. However, he is dissapointed by the unfair and dishonest means of living in the city.
47. Teesri Kasam
Hiraman is a villager who makes his earning driving bullock cart. He vows every time faces difficulties in his life. Do watch the film to know what the three vows are.
48. Umrao Jaan
Amiran is sold to a brothel as a 8 years old kid. She grows up to be a world famous courtesan and poet, known as Umrao Jaan.
49. Upkaar
Bharat gets his younger brother, Puran, educated amidst a lot of difficulties. However, Puran gets involved into illegal activities to make money.
50. Zanjeer
Vijay, a police detective is on a mission to find our his parents’ killers. A young, feisty ans street-smart Mala helps him in his quest.
Which of these must watch Old Bollywood movies are your favorite? Do let us know in the comments below!