Since the turn of the millennium, Indian cinema, both commercial and auteur-driven, has seen exciting developments.Not only has there been an efflorescence of remarkable new directorial talents, many of the established creative forces have continued to yield magnificent films. Drawing up a list of the ‘104 Best Films’ to come out of the country in the last 17 years cannot, therefore, be easy. This list, like most lists of this nature, is neither comprehensive nor definitive. The intention simply is to try and capture the principal directions Indian cinema has taken during this period by throwing light on some of the more successful as well as more critically acclaimed films made since 2001. From crowd-pleasing big-grossers to uncompromisingly experimental works, from films that have pushed the boundaries to those that have made the best of familiar practices, the ‘104 Best Indian Films of the New Millennium’ has them all…Curated by Saibal Chatterjee

Blockbusters – 18

Aaranya Kaandam (Tamil, 2011) Dir: Thiagarajan Kumararaja

Anbe Sivam (Tamil, 2003) Dir: Sundar C

Anniyan (Tamil, 2005) Dir: S Shankar

Bajirao Mastani (Hindi, 2015) Director: Sanjay Leela Bhans

Bhooter Bhobishyat (Bengali, 2012) Director: Anik Dutta

Baahubali (Telugu/Tamil, 2015) Director: S S Rajamouli

Chak De India (Hindi, 2007) Director: Shimit Amin

Dabangg (Hindi, 2010) Director: Abhinav Kashyap

Dangal (Hindi, 2016) Director: Nitesh Tiwari

Dil Chahta Hai (Hindi, 2001) Director: Farhan Akhtar

Lagaan (Hindi/English, 2001) Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

Kannathil MutHamiTtal (Tamil, 2002) Director: Mani Ratnam

Lage Raho Munnabhai (Hindi, 2006) Director: Rajkumar Hirani

PK (Hindi, 2014) Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Paruthiveeran (Tamil, 2007) Director: Ameer Sultan

Queen (Hindi, 2014) Director: Vikas Bahl

Sairat (Marathi, 2016) Director: Nagraj Manjule

Masterstrokes – 16

Ajeyo (Assamese, 2014) Director: JahnuBarua

Aligarh (Hindi, 2015) Director: Hansal Mehta

Dweepa (Kannada, 2002) Director: Girish Kasaravalli

Gulabi Talkies (Kannada, 2008) Director: Girish Kasaravalli

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi(Hindi, 2003) Director: Sudhir Mishra

Janala (Bengali, 2009) Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta

Kaalbela (Bengali, 2009) Director: Goutam Ghosh

Kaalpurush (Bengali, 2005) Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta

Kanchivaram (Tamil, 2007) Director: Priyadarshan

Kathavasheshan (Malayalam, 2004) Director: T.V. Chandran

Koormavatara (Kannada, 2012) Director: Girish Kasaravalli

KuttySrank (Malayalam, 2010) Director: Shaji N Karun

Mondo Meyer Upakhyan (Bengali, 2002) Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta

Mr. and Mrs.Iyer (English/Hindi, 2002) Director: Aparna Sen

Naalu Pennungal (Malayalam, 2007) Director: AdoorGopalakrishnan

Nizhalkkuthu (Malayalam, 2002) Director: AdoorGopalakrishnan

Maverick Moves – 33

Aadmi Ki AuratAur Anya Kahaniyan (Hindi, 2009) Director: Amit Dutta

Aadukalam(Tamil, 2011) Director: Vetrimaaran

Anandabhadram (Malayalam, 2005) Director: Santosh Sivan

Angamaly Diaries (Malayalam, 2017) Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery

Ankhon Dekhi (Hindi, 2014) Director: Rajat Kapoor

Arekti Premer Galpo (Bengali, 2010) Director: Kaushik Ganguly

Baishe Shrabon (Bengali, 2011) Director: Srijit Mukherji

Black Friday (Hindi, 2007) Director: Anurag Kashyap

Celluloid (Malayalam, 2013) Director: Kamal

Chauthi Koot (Punjabi, 2015) Director: Gurvinder Singh

Chotoder Chhobi (Bengali, 2015) Director: Kaushik Ganguly

Company (Hindi, 2002) Director: Ram Gopal Varma

Deool (Marathi, 2011) Director: Umesh Kulkarni

Dosar (Bengali, 2006) Director: Rituparno Ghosh

Iqbal (Hindi, 2005) Director: Nagesh Kukunoor

Johnny Gaddar (Hindi, 2007) Director: SriramRaghavan

Maqbool (Hindi, 2003) Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Kattradhu Tamizh (Tamil, 2007) Director: Ram

Margarita, With a Straw (English/Hindi, 2014) Director: Shonali Bose
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Miss Lovely (Hindi, 2012) Director: Ashim Ahluwalia

Munnariyippu (Malayalam, 2014) Director: Venu

Omkara (Hindi, 2006) Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Ottaal (Malayalam, 2015) Director: Jayaraj

Pulijanmam (Malayalam, 2006) Director: Priyanandanan

Papanasam (Tamil, 2015) Director: Jeethu Joseph

Shahid (Hindi, 2013) Director: Hansal Mehta

Sonchidi (Hindi, 2011) Director: Amit Dutta

Subramaniapuram (Tamil, 2008) Director: M. Sasikumar

Traffic (Malayalam, 2011) Director: Rajesh Pillai

Tamizh Padam (Tamil, 2011) Director: C.S. Amudhan

Vicky Donor (Hindi, 2012) Director: Shoojit Sircar

Visaranai (Tamil, 2015) Director: Vetrimaaran

Vihir (Marathi, 2009) Director: UmeshVinayak Kulkarni

Breakouts – 29

101 Chodyangal (Malayalam, 2013) Director: Sidhartha Siva

Adaminte Makan Abu (Malayalam, 2011) Director: Salim Ahamed

Anhey Ghorey Da DaaDaan (Punjabi, 2011) Director: Gurvinder Singh

Asha Jaoar Majhe (Bengali, 2014) Director: Aditya Vikram Sengupta

Chennai 600028 (Tamil, 2007) Director: Venkat Prabhu

Asthamayam Vare (Malayalam, 2014) Director: Sajin Babu

Court (Marathi/Gujarati/Hindi/English, 2014) Director: Chaitanya Tamhane

Crossing Bridges (Sherdukpen, 2014) Director: Sange Dorjee Thondok

Ek Hazarachi Note (Marathi, 2014) Director: Shrihari Sathe

Fandry (Marathi, 2013) Director: Nagraj Manjule

Frozen (Hindi, 2007) Director: Shivajee Chandrabhushan

Gabhricha Paus (Marathi, 2009) Director: Satish Manwar

Harishchandrachi Factory (Marathi, 2009) Director: Paresh Mokashi

Harud (Urdu/Hindi, 2010) Director: Aamir Bashir

Island City (Hindi, 2015) Director: Ruchika Oberoi

Kanyaka TaTalkies (Malayalam, 2013) Director: K.R. Manoj

Kakkaa Muttai (Tamil, 2014) Director: M Manikandan

The Lunchbox (English/Hindi, 2013) Director: Ritesh Batra

Khosla Ka Ghosla (Hindi, 2006) Director: Dibakar Banerjee

Manorama Six Feet Under (Hindi, 2007) Director: Navdeep Singh

Masaan (Hindi, 2015) Director: Neeraj Ghaywan

Ozhivudivasathe Kali (Malayalam, 2015) Director: Sanal Kumar Sasidharan

Natarang (Marathi, 2010) Director: Ravi Jadhav

Peepli Live! (Hindi, 2010) Director: Anusha Rizvi

Phoring (Bengali, 2013) Director: Indranil Roychowdhury

Thithi (Kannada, 2015) Director: Raam Reddy

Titli (Hindi, 2015) Director: Kanu Behl

Ship of Theseus (Hindi/English, 2013) Director: Anand Gandhi

Lone Rangers – 8

I Am Kalam (Hindi, 2011) Director: Nila Madhab Panda

Kaaaaler Rakhal (Bengali, 2009) Director: Sekhar Das

Little Zizou (Hindi/Gujarati/English, 2008) Director: Sooni Taraporevala,

Paaaan Singh Tomar (Hindi, 2012) Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Qissa (Punjabi, 2013) Director: Anup Singh

Shabdo (Bengali, 2013) Director: Kaushik Ganguly

Stanley Ka Dabba (Hindi, 2011) Director: Amole Gupte

Swades (Hindi, 2004) Director: Ashutosh Gowariker