Hrishikesh Mukherjee was a visionary for his time as the director pioneered the “middle cinema” of Bollywood. With his romantic dramas and screwball comedies striking the right balance between mainstream popularity and arthouse realism, Mukherjee left behind some of the finest Indian movies of all time. These include Anand, Namak Haraam, Gol Maal, Chupke Chupke and many more.
Our guide offers you the definitive watchlist of the best Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies and all the options to stream them in India.
From Anari to Anand: Which Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies should I watch first?
The best Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies to start with include his collaborations with actors Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. Both Bollywood veterans starred in Anand and Namak Haraam. The former is a cult hit starring Khanna as a terminally ill man who wants to live his life to the fullest alongside his best friend (Bachchan).
Namak Haraam followed in the wake of Anand’s success and starred Bachchan as a wealthy industrialist and Khanna as a middle-class worker associated with him. The movie perfectly exemplifies Mukherjee’s tendencies to reflect the socio-political realities through his easy-to-digest cinema. It’s with movies like these that some critics called Mukherjee “the common man’s director”.
All the serious drama aside, Mukherjee’s comedies are also essential to watch for any Bollywood fan. Gol Maal is an all-time favourite of many featuring career-best performances by Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt. Palekar stars as a slacker trying to impress his girlfriend’s uptight father (Dutt). Featuring memorable songs by Kishore Kumar and a chaotic comedy of errors as its storyline, Gol Maal has only aged well with time.
Chupke Chupke is similar in tone and touches upon mistaken identities and hilarious love stories. Frequent collaborator Amitabh Bachchan stars along with his on-screen wife Jaya Bachchan and his Sholay co-star Dharmendra. The fact that Mukherjee could bring out laughably lovable performances out of dramatic actors like Dharmendra only goes on to show the director’s versatility.
Dharmendra also offered one of his best acting performances as Ashok in Anupama. His character is a charming poet who helps the titular introverted heroine (Sharmila Tagore) find a new lease on life.
Romance was also a forte of Mukherjee’s as displayed in the aforementioned comedies and the memorable rom-com Khoobsurat. But then again, he can switch up the emotions for more tragic love stories like Mili that found Amitabh Bachchan romancing Jaya Bachchan only to discover that she has a few days to live. Think of Anand but as a romance instead.
An equally passionate and ill-fated romance between the Bachchans is explored in Abhimaan, another one of Mukherjee’s best works to watch. The film revolves around a singer who encourages his wife to also pick up a musical career. But when she overtakes him in terms of popularity, a power clash follows.
While most of these movies came out in the 1970s and the 1980s, Mukherjee has been delivering classics since the 1950s and the 1960s. Perhaps the best example of his early filmography is the 1959 crime comedy Anari. Raj Kapoor stars as a cheerful honest man who is wrongly accused of murdering his landlady. The chaos that ensues foreshadows the manic energy of Mukherjee’s subsequent movies.
Why is Anand the best Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie to watch?
Anand's universal themes of life, death, and friendship, combined with Mukherjee’s nuanced direction and memorable dialogues, create a profoundly moving and culturally impactful narrative. Its balance of humor and tragedy makes Anand a timeless classic and Mukherjee’s best work.
Where can you watch the best Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies online?
Below you can find the latest streaming information for Hrishikesh Mukherjee's best movies. This includes every offer for viewers in India today.