Bollywood Documentary Movies

Woven Dreams narrates the journey of Looms of Ladakh, a women-led cooperative founded in 2017. Empowering hundreds of women, it blends traditional textile crafts with modern design, fostering leadership, sustainable livelihoods, and cultural preservation, while striving to become a globally recognized ethical luxury brand.

Pawan Kumar, India’s last hangman from a lineage of executioners, gained fame after hanging the Nirbhaya case convicts. A media favorite, he is known for his blunt views on capital punishment and takes great pride in his legacy, which he hopes to pass to his son.

In Kibber, a remote Spiti Valley village, women once saw snow leopards as threats but now champion their conservation through the Nature Conservation Foundation. Trained in camera trapping and species tracking, the ‘Shen-mo’s’ balance wildlife protection with earning a livelihood.

Set in Gurugram, the film follows a community’s struggle for prayer spaces amid urban growth and resistance. As public spaces shrink, tensions rise between communities claiming them. Through intimate portraits, the documentary explores identity, faith, and belonging in an India increasingly marked by division and polarisation.

Disco Deewane follows the reunion of Shriprakash, an acclaimed activist filmmaker, and Disco, a vibrant young music producer from a disadvantaged community. The film brings them together years after they parted ways, not as mentor and protégé, but as collaborators tasked with composing a song together.

Rooted in personal memory and quiet reflection, this documentary follows a young woman returning home to engage in intimate conversations with her family. Through shared stories residing in family archives, she confronts the gendered expectations of her childhood, unspoken struggles with identity, and the quiet resilience passed down through generations.

Four years after Babi's passing, her grandniece embarks on a journey to piece together the life of her great-aunt, an esteemed educator, filmmaker, and freedom fighter. This documentary explores intimate anecdotes shared by Babi's daughter and grandchildren, uncovering her philosophy and legacy. Set against the backdrop of India's political upheavals, the film reflects on how these events shaped Babi's life. The filmmaker delves into her personal and professional legacy—through her writings, objects, and creative works—to capture the essence of this remarkable woman. As she navigates her emotional journey, she seeks answers about her own future while discovering the profound impact Babi left on her family and the world. Through this exploration, the filmmaker not only uncovers Babi's legacy but also deepens her understanding of her own personal history.

An uncomfortable journey of the widespread infrastructure development across India. The film gets its name from the Indian political philosophy of the ‘law of fish’ and shows us the negative consequences of rampant development and how it is affecting low-income groups.

In a landscape of shifting sands, a community enclosed into grids with no name, rehearses its music in villages like 1 PB, a dot at the Indian side of the India-Pakistan border. Mirs are the custodians and practitioners of a timeless poetry not bound to 'quam' or 'desh'. But the land has now degraded, boundaries have hardened and the music has become a whisper. This film gleans songs and poems to stitch a portrait of musicians struggling to keep their inheritance of Sufi and Bhakti music alive.

A queer voyage along the labyrinths of dreams, archives and lived histories, Roohrangi navigates the real and the imaginary – traversing the filmmaker’s encounters in a gay-cruising forest-reserve as he retraces the memory of his grandfather’s leucoderma-ridden face. A face on whose white-and-brown patches, he saw a forest of miraculous trees.

An independent film screening, workers’ hands sewing blankets, the work of newspaper delivery people, stories of strife, and the poetry of crows . . . Images from a December in Jaipur comes into focus through this storytelling patchwork.

A daring exploration of the intersection of religion, patriarchy, and gender oppression in India, unearthing how rituals, customs, and cultural double standards—often sanctified in the name of faith—perpetuate misogyny across generations.

In Punjab’s Doaba region, a rooftop sculptor grapples with leaving home as his art and community reflect the hopes and sacrifices of migration.

An 18-year-old aspiring filmmaker sets out to make a film—but has no idea what it's about. As he documents his creative block, the process itself becomes the story. The Film With No Idea is a self-reflective journey through isolation, ambition, and the silent struggle to create something meaningful.

The divergent paths of poppy farmer Vardibai and her activist son Mangilal intertwine in this powerful documentary about a Dalit family’s resistance against systemic oppression.

floating images, abstractions, memories. silhouettes of a life lived in Jawaharlal Nehru University

In northern India's Dehradun, an all-women police unit tackles troubled marriages with unexpected wisdom and authority. Inside the bustling station, couples confront domestic turmoil while the officers balance tough love with surprising moments of humour.

In the high Himalayas, the village of Lohari is submerged below the waters of a hydroelectric dam. The last member of the Jaunsari tribe, living in the remnants of his flooded village, recalls a time when the land was pulsating with magic.

In Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra Valley, an ancient network of kuhls – hand-built water channels – carries water. The kohlis, “water masters,” struggle to protect this heritage, custodians of a way of life where water flows alongside folk tales, myths, and local arts.