8 Bollywood Movies That Were Too Ahead Of Their Times

While we mostly complain of our mainstream films being too outdated, formulaic or obsolete in our routine style of reviewing movies, we have avoided a lot of films that probably went down as too vocal of issues that were ahead of their times. Yes, there are a lot of filmmakers in the country who have expressed opinions on movies that were legit, significant and thought provoking to a larger extent, the audience probably couldn’t pay more attention since it went over their cinematic sensibilities. Confused?

The categories of films we are talking about is known as films that are too ahead of their times. While most of the films made under the realm of parallel cinema are considered ahead of their times, we picked some of the popular choices in the same category. Films that we saw, noticed but could only later realized that they spoke of issues that probably were too advanced.

Here are 8 Bollywood movies that were too ahead of their times:

Shree 420

An aspirational young man comes to the city of Mumbai to fulfil his dreams and loses his way in the throng of stock market and profit making. If you remember the climax of this exuberating drama, Raj Kapoor is delivering a strong speech at a stock market platform talking numbers, money, deception, insatiability and more. All of it is happening in 1955! While we are yet to watch an inspiring and effective economical take on market here in modern India, the showman did it 60 years ago already!

Silsila

The current generation knows it as the KANK of the 70’s or the film that has this iconic song ‘Rang Barse’. Only they don’t realize that Silsila dealt with an extremely bold theme of falling in romance outside of marriage. The film despite being a hit was too ahead of its time and got its share of flak as well. However, it was the magic of its perfect star cast and excellent treatment by Yash Chopra that Silsila was able to leave a mark. When Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna is put in perspective, it only looks as a shallow caricature of this masterpiece.

Masoom

The 1983 powerful family drama probably laid a pungent effect on the society despite talking about an idea that wasn’t considered too cool back in the day. When the head of a small family discovers that he has another son from someone else, he tries to make him a part of his own family hoping that his wife and children would accept him. This came at a time when family dramas hadn’t even touched the Rajshri threshold and Bollywood was producing mediocre Saas-Bahu dramas to connect with the masses. Masoom directed by Shekhar Kapur still looks a very sensible take given the times we live in, but was too ahead of its time back then.

Lamhe

Directed by Yash Chopra, Lamhe is one his least performing films at the box office. A big reason of it was its advanced theme that talked about a young girl falling in love with the lover of her mother. While this idea was projected through a justified theory of generational gap, it somehow couldn’t connect with the masses back then. The film nevertheless tried its best to restrict itself within the realms of pure romance with an explanation that feelings for anyone could be uncontrollable. Despite that, Anil Kapoor and Sridevi’s idea of romance was without a doubt too ahead of its time.

Fire

While most films in the parallel section are considered to be ahead of their times as mentioned, Fire directed by Deepa Mehta wasn’t just an advanced idea but a shocker for Indian audiences in the 90’s. Fire dealt with the idea of two women discovering some passionate feelings for each other after they find their husbands aren’t loyal to them. The film with all its prospects was a riveting piece of craft even internationally and was never going to find any place in the hearts of hardcore Indian audiences back in 1998. The film starred Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das in the lead.

Bombay Boys

While we’ve now come at a time when our appetite for gay humor has grown manifold, Bombay Boys back in 1998 however introduced us to its practical existence in our society when two men discover their homosexuality in Mumbai. Directed by Kaizad Gustad, the film was one of the early products in the industry that so subtly talked about men being gay and also dealing with it. Of course, the very fact that this films holds no credit for having made a voice shows how ahead it was of its time.

Aankhen

There’s nothing about the idea of Aankhen that makes it a film too ahead of its time, yet when it came out as a packaged cinematic experience, it appeared to be an advanced piece of craft. Directed by Vipul Shah, the film was a taut thriller that showcased three blind men pulling off an amazing bank robbery and convincing the world that it wasn’t possible. Layered under the psyche of a person, the film unwrapped a lot of theories that probably went over the heads of audiences despite a mainstream popular cast at its focus. The film came out in 2002 but still looks as a very modern and stylish thriller in the day.

Ship of Theseus

The film came out a couple of years back and still looked like an experience that largely ascertained a visionary idea as far as the sensibilities of Indian audiences go. Directed by Ship of Theseus, the film was based on the idea of organ donation, a concept that a large section of our society is unwary of. From its treatment to its core theme, while the film was a very conspicuous take on the subject, it cannot be denied that it was a little too ahead of its time maybe.

Cinema is all about taking us closer to ideas and places that we didn’t believe existed or we don’t believe would ever exist. Yet, when filmmakers come out of a realm and put their vocal vision on screen through a camera lens, we sometimes don’t get what they are trying to say. Sometimes a lot of ideas are ahead of their times, but it’s not as if they don’t make sense, they make more sense in fact!