India will commemorate its 75th Independence Day on August 15 this year. In the past 75 years, our nation has seen numerous highs and lows, heroes and fighters, hardships and victories. Even if you’ve heard the stories before, there’s no better way to relive them than with the help of movies and OTT services. You will most certainly have time for it, given the long weekend. The Indian film industry has produced numerous powerful films that portray war conflicts, top-secret missions, and socio-political movements. We’ve compiled a list of 10 patriotic movies that introspect and reignite the fire and love we feel for our country.
1. Raazi
Raazi is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller film directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta.
Plot: Sehmat Khan (Alia Bhatt), an undercover RAW agent, is married into a Pakistani family by her father so that she can get some valuable piece of information about the enemy.
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV
2. RRR
RRR is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language (dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada) epic action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, and Olivia Morris.
Plot: It is a fictional story about two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Rama Rao), and their fight against the British Raj. Set in 1920, the plot explores the undocumented period in their lives when both the revolutionaries chose to go into obscurity before they began the fight for their country.
Streaming on: Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Zee5
3. Border
Border is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language epic war film directed, produced and written by J. P. Dutta. Set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, it is an adaptation of real life events that happened during the Battle of Longewala in 1971. The film stars an ensemble cast of Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Sudesh Berry, Puneet Issar and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Tabu, Raakhee, Pooja Bhatt and Sharbani Mukherjee feature in supporting roles.
Plot: A band of 120 Indian soldiers in the Longewala region defend their post all night until they receive assistance from the Indian Air Force the next morning.
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
4. Shershaah
Shershaah is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language biographical war film based on the life of Vikram Batra, martyred in Kargil War, directed by Vishnuvardhan and produced by Dharma Productions.
Plot: A biographical war film based on the life of Vikram Batra, a young man, who dreams of becoming a soldier and falls in love with Dimple. Soon after his training, he climbs the military ranks and contributes to India’s victory in the Kargil war.
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
5. Sardar Udham
Sardar Udham is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language biographical historical drama film directed by Shoojit Sircar. The film starred Vicky Kaushal in the titular role, along with Shaun Scott, Stephen Hogan, Amol Parashar, Banita Sandhu and Kirsty Averton in supporting roles.
Plot: Based on the life of Udham Singh, a freedom fighter from Punjab who assassinated Michael O’Dwyer in London to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar.
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
6. Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect is a 2022 Indian biographical drama film written, produced and directed by R. Madhavan. The film is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, played by Madhavan, a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, who was accused in the ISRO espionage case and later exonerated. The story spans across Narayanan’s days as a graduate student at Princeton University, before exploring his work as a scientist and the false espionage charges placed upon him.
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video, Voot
7. Uri: The surgical strike
Uri: The Surgical Strike is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by debutant Aditya Dhar and produced by Ronnie Screwvala. The movie is a dramatised account of the true events of the retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack, the film stars Vicky Kaushal along with Yami Gautam, Mohit Raina, Kirti Kulhari and Paresh Rawal in pivotal roles.
Streaming on: Zee5
8. Parmanu
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language historical action drama film directed by Abhishek Sharma. The film is based on the nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by the Indian Army at Pokhran in 1998.
Streaming on: Netflix and Zee5
9. Mission Mangal
Mission Mangal is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Jagan Shakti and produced by Cape of Good Films, Hope Productions and Fox Star Studios. It stars an ensemble cast of Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen, Kirti Kulhari and Sharman Joshi in lead roles.
Plot: A group of scientists at ISRO battle in their personal and professional lives and work tirelessly towards their only motive, the Mars Orbiter Mission.
Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar
10. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a 2013 Hindi-language biographical sports drama film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra from a script written by Prasoon Joshi. The story is based on the life of Milkha Singh, an Indian athlete and Olympian who was a champion of the Commonwealth Games and two-times 400m champion of the Asian Games. It stars Farhan Akhtar in the titular role, with Sonam Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Pavan Malhotra, and Yograj Singh in supporting roles.
Plot: Milkha Singh, an Indian athlete, overcomes many agonising obstacles in order to become a world champion, Olympian and one of India’s most iconic athletes.
Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar
