India is the world’s largest producer of films, producing close to a thousand films annually. About 600 of the total films produced are in Telugu and Hindi, approximately 300 each, while the remaining are in other languages like Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada etc. Here are 5 must-watch Bollywood movies.

5. Veer-Zaara

Release Date: 12 November 2004
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
Budget: 18 crores INR
Box Office: 97.6 crores INR
Star Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji
Director: Yash Chopra
Producer: Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra
Story Writer: Aditya Chopra

Veer-Zaara Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta as lovers: Veer Pratap Singh (SRK) is an Indian Air Force officer and Zaara Hayaat Khan (Preity) is the daughter of a Pakistani politician. Veer is imprisoned on false charges, and a young Pakistani lawyer, named Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), fights his case. Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Manoj Bajpayee, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher and Kirron Kher play supporting roles.

4. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.

Release Date: 19 December 2003
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Budget: 10 crores INR
Box Office: 56.28 crores INR
Star Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Sunil Dutt and Boman Irani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Vir Chopra
Story Writer: Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Abbas Tyrewala and Lajan Joseph

Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani. It was the first movie of the Munna Bhai series. It features Sunil Dutt in his final film role as the father to his real-life son, Sanjay Dutt, who stars as the main character. Munna Bhai (Sanjay Dutt), is a goon who tries to please his father (Sunil Dutt) by pretending to be a doctor. The cast also includes Gracy Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill and Rohini Hattangadi.

3. Lagaan

Release Date: 15 June 2001
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Budget: 25 crores INR
Box Office: 65.97 crores INR
Star Cast: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Producer: Aamir Khan and Mansoor Khan
Story Writer: Ashutosh Gowariker and K. P. Saxena

Lagaan is an Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne. Set in 1893, during the late Victorian period of India’s colonial British Raj, the film follows the inhabitants of a village in Central India, who, burdened by high taxes and several years of drought, are challenged by an arrogant British Indian Army officer to a game of cricket as a wager to avoid paying the taxes they owe.

2. Sholay

Release Date: 15 August 1975
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Budget: 3 crores INR
Box Office: 35 crores INR
Star Cast: Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Amjad Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri
Director: Ramesh Sippy
Producer: G. P. Sippy
Story Writer: Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar

Sholay is an Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Ramesh Sippy and written by the famous duo Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) hired by a retired police officer Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai’s love interests, Basanti and Radha, respectively. Sholay is considered a classic and one of the best Indian films. It was ranked first in the British Film Institute’s 2002 poll of ‘Top 10 Indian Films’ of all time. In 2005, the judges of the 50th Filmfare Awards named it the Best Film of 50 Years.

1. 3 Idiots

Release Date: 25 December 2009
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Budget: 55 crores INR
Box Office: 400.61 crores INR
Star Cast: Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Omi Vaidya, Boman Irani and Kareena Kapoor
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Story Writer: Chetan Bhagat and Abhijat Joshi

3 Idiot is an Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani. Adapted from Chetan Bhagat’s novel Five Point Someone, the film stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi in the main roles, marking their reunion three years after Rang De Basanti (2006), while Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani and Omi Vaidya star in supporting roles. Narrated through two parallel dramas, one in the present and the other set ten years in the past, the story follows the friendship of three students at an Indian engineering college and is a satire about the social pressures under the Indian education system.