20 Banned and Acclaimed Indian Movies That Are Available Only on Streaming Services

Anurag Kashyap's directorial debut is a gritty tale about 5 friends as they indulge themselves in drugs, sex, violence and a kidnapping gone wrong. The movie was banned due to it's glorification of violence and the use of abusive language. It was finally cleared in 2003 but never got to see a wide release. It is available on Youtube now.

Ketan Mehta's erotic drama based on the life of the 19th-century painter Raja Ravi Verma faced various controversies since it was completed. Randeep Hooda stars as the famous painter alongside Nandana Das and Paresh Rawal. It is a well-made biography with excellent cinematography. The movie first premiered in London in 2008 and then faced the censor board, who objected certain scenes with nudity and paint. The movie was finally released on 7 November 2008 to critical acclaim. It is now available on Netflix.

Partho Sen-Gupta's raw portrayal of Mumbai tells the story of Arjun, a young collegiate, trying to improve his living conditions, while there is a war brewing in the India-Pakistan border for Kashmir. The movie has brilliant performances from Aniket Vishwasrao and Nishikant Kamat. The CBFC cut few scenes of abusive language in the movie which the director refused. The movie was never officially released in India and is available on Youtube.

Amrit Nahata was a member of Parliament who resigned from Congress and directed this controversial movie. Starring Shabana Azmi, Manohar Singh and Utpal Dutt, this political satire drew inspirations from the lives of Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. The movie was set to release in the year 1978, during the state of Emergency. Supporters of Sanjay Gandhi procured all copies and master print of the movie and burned them. The movie is available on Youtube.

A documentary based on the nation of Sikkim under the Chongyul-rule directed by Satyajit Ray. Yes, you read it all right. The movie was banned in 1975, after Sikkim's merger in India as it showed Sikkim as a sovereign state. The ban was lifted in September 2010, after which it was screened at various events. The ban was effective once again when a Sikkim court ordered a stay on the screening of the documentary. It is available on Youtube for viewing.

Deepa Mehta's groundbreaking movie depicted the themes of homosexuality and religion in such a bold and beautiful manner that it was bound to spark controversy at the time of it's release. The movie faced backlash from various political and religious parties. Facing immense backlash, the movie was banned from release by CBFC. It received acclaim internationally and is now considered a landmark in movies and became an integral part of the conversation of lesbian rights in India. It is available on Youtube.

A study of the politics of hate, Rakesh Sharma's documentary shows the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Muslims in Gujarat. It is unsettling, shocking and an eye-opener, enough for it to be banned in India. There are some disturbing parallels with that of the Nazi Germany of early 1930's and will definitely shake to your core as we see an intense examination of patterns that followed the Godhra train burning incident leading to the subsequent riots and the pre-planned genocide of Muslims by extremists. The film has been screened on BBC, NHK, DR2, YLE and several other channels, but never shown on Indian television. This documentary is also available on Youtube.

The second Anurag Kashyap movie in our list is also his second directorial venture. Kashyap made his mark with Black Friday, a movie that depicted the events that led to the infamous 1993 Bombay bombings and the subsequent police investigation. The movie boasted of a brilliant script and performances by Kay Kay Menon, Vijay Shaurya and Aditya Shrivastava, all of whom were also seen in his previous movie, Paanch. The movie was banned due to its sensitive content and was finally released to overwhelmingly positive reviews and critical acclaim, all over the world. It can be streamed on Hotstar.

Shonali Bose, the acclaimed director behind Chittagong, Margarita with a Straw and The Sky Is Pink also had her share of problems with the censor board. Her directorial debut based on Bose's novel of the same name, stars Konkona Sen Sharma as a 21-year-old Indian American woman who visits India to discover her true identity. The film focuses on a lot of topics such as identity, history, injustice, truth etc and has tackled them with brutal honesty. The movie talks about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and also draws attention to the rising hate and political corruption. The movie was banned and later suggested to released with audio cuts and removal of all verbal reference to the riots. The producers later released the movie directly to DVD. It is now available on Youtube.

The second Deepa Mehta movie in our list is her 2005 Oscar-nominated drama which was originally intended to be made in 2000 with Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das and Akshay Kumar. But her previous movie Fire had sparked enough hate inside right-wing protesters who went on to burn and destroy the set and throw the remnants into water. Mehta struggled a lot due to this economically which led her to change the filming location to Sri Lanka with a new cast including Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas and John Abraham. The story is about the lives of widows in an ashram in Varanasi, set in 1938. It later went on to achieve critical acclaim as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Movie. You can stream Water on Youtube.

Q has brought created some visually stunning and bizarre movies such as Tasher Desh and Brahman Naman but his most creative, visually and thematically, has to be this black-and-white story about life and it's bizareness. Gandu has been described by many as a stunning visual and narrative feast but it faced problems with censors due to it's explicit use of language, nudity and sex. It released in various festivals to universal acclaim but never found a theatrical release. It is now available on Netflix.

Chatrak is a Bengali movie by Sri Lankan director, Vimukthi Jayasundara. It stars Paoli Dam of Hate Story fame who has bared it all in front of the camera. The movie was screened in various international festivals where it has received acclaim but it has never seen a release date in India. It is available on Youtube.

A study of caste and gender oppression, injustice, sexuality, this movie explored themes and made statements that many people were not ready to hear. The movie criticized Gandhi and had lots of verbal abuse which didn't go well with the censor board. It was later released with the anti-Gandhi speeches muted or blurred. It's uncut version is available on Youtube.

The trailer of the movie shows us the text 'Banned in India', which is more than enough to say about it. Unfreedom tackles terrorism and identity while centering around a lesbian relationship. It is bold and actually quite thrilling. It was banned due to it's statements and explicit sexual scenes but it is a gripping narrative from start to end and definitely needs to be seen. It is available on Netflix.

This Malayalam drama about an aging writer and his encounter with two youths resulting in him questioning his morality and suppression of desire is a beautiful visual treat. It is well-shot and choreographed but faced the ban from censor board due to few usage of frontal nudity. The film has screened in festivals in Toronto and Kerala and is available on Youtube.

Ashvin Kumar is known for his work in films revolving around the tension in Kashmir such as Noor and his Academy Award nominated short Little Terrorist. This documentary shows us the story of an aspiring footballer who was denied the right to travel abroad on the pretext that his father was a militant in the 1990's. It shows us the highly tension-filled atmosphere of Kashmir and makes us wonder what actually is happening in Kashmir and why is the censor board refusing to show it to us. Definitely check this out on Youtube.

Pankaj Advani's neo-noir thriller stars Manoj Pahwa in the lead as an overweight hitman in this Tarantino-esque action-comedy slathered with abusive language, bloodspray and bullets. The movie didn't sit well with the critics which led to it never being certified. The movie gradually garnered a cult status making it an underground classic. It also stars a big ensemble cast with Yashpal Sharma, Sharman Joshi, Antara Mali and Shri Vallabh Vyas in the supporting roles. The movie is available on Youtube.

If your movie is going to touch the topic of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, it is more likely the movie is going to be banned. Rahul Dholakia's intense drama surrounding the events of the Gujarat riots was banned in Gujarat due to obvious reasons. The movie has great performances from Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika with the gripping tale of survival. The movie was released to acclaim elsewhere and is available for streaming on Hotstar.

Nandita Das has proved herself to be a brilliant actress and she goes on to show her directing chops in this movie based around the 2002 communal riots of Gujarat. The movie has an ensemble cast of Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Suri and many more. It is a disturbing and thought-provoking movie which didn't please the censor board too well. The movie was well-received in various fim festivals and received widespread acclaim upon it's release. Firaaq is available on Youtube.

Although never officially banned in India, the movie has two different cuts, an Indian cut and an International cut. The International cut is uncensored, doesn't have an interval and has an absolutely amazing opening title sequence, which unfortunately is banned in India. It is available in all it's uncensored glory in Netflix.