50 Indian films to see before you die!

While lists on World Cinema and American Cinema and European Cinema abound, I wonder why there are no lists of Indian Cinema. Here is one to begin with. This is in chronological order and includes films made till 1995. I am still working on a list post 1995. 

1.     Neecha Nagar (1946) by Chetan Anand

2.     Dharti Ke Lal (1946) by K.A. Abbas

3.     Dr. Kotnis ki amar Kahani (1946) by V. Shantaram

4.     Kalpana (1948) by Uday Shankar

5.     Do Bigha Zameen (1953) by Bimal Roy

6.     Pather Panchali (1955) by Satyajit Ray

7.     Jaagte Raho (1957) by Shambhu Mitra

8.     Aparajito (1957) by Satyajit Ray

9.     Mother India (1957) by Mehboob Khan

10. Kaagaz ka Phool (1959) by Guru Dutt

11. Mughal e Azam (1960) by K. Asif

12. Charulata (1964) by Satyajit Ray

13. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968) by Satyajit Ray

14. Bhuvan Shome (1969) by Mrinal Sen

15. Uski Roti (1969) by Mani Kaul

16. Samskara (1970) by Pattabhi Rama Reddy

17. Pakeezah (1971) by Kamal Amrohi

18. Ankur (1973) by Shyam Benegal

19. Sholay (1975) by Ramesh Sippy

20. Ghasiram Kotwal (1976) by Saeed Akhtar Mirza etc (YUKT Coop)

21. Ekdin Pratidin (1976) by Mrinal Sen

22. Aakaler Sandhaney (1980) by Mrinal Sen

23. Chakra (1980) by Ravindra Dharmaraj

24. Bhavni Bhavai (1980) by Ketan Mehta

25. 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981) by Aparna Sen

26. Elipathhayam (1981) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

27. Ardha Satya (1983) by Govind Nihalani

28. Jaane Do Bhi Yaaron (1983) by Kundan Shah

29. Maya Miriga (1983) by Nirada Mahapatra

30. Damul (1984) by Prakash Jha

31. Mukhamukham (1984) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

32. Paar (1984) by Gautam Ghosh

33. Chidambaram (1985) by G. Aravindan

34. Bombay, Our City (1985) by Anand Patwardhan

35. Mirch Masala (1985) by Ketan Mehta

36. New Delhi Times (1985) by Ramesh Sharma

37. Klanta Aparanha (1985) by Manmohan Mahapatra

38. Tabarane Kathe (1986) by Girish Kasaravalli

39. Genesis (1986) by Mrinal Sen

40. Anantaram (1987) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

41. Nayakan (1987) by Mani Ratnam

42. Tamas (1987) by Govind Nihalani (5 hour TV series)

43. Piravi (1988) by Shaji Karun

44. Roja (1992) by Mani Ratnam

45. Bandit Queen (1994) by Shekhar Kapur

46. Hkhgoroloi Bohu Dur (1994) by Jahnu Barua

47. Kadhalan (1994) by S. Shankar

48. Unishe April (1995) by Rituparno Ghosh

49. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayengey (1995) by Aditya Chopra

50. Kathapurusham (1995) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan