Pulkit Kochar’s Top 10 Recommendations

Writer, stand-up comedian, and most of all, a lover of Bollywood, Pulkit Kochar is best known for his Bollywood-centric content on Instagram. In his videos, Kochar makes observations and tongue-in-cheek jokes about the world of Bollywood films and music in his series ‘Bollywood Ke Meta Moments.’ 

Pulkit Kochar: There are many, many movies that I love, but I’ll try talking about movies that few people have seen. So here are 10 movie/show recommendations from Hindi cinema:

1. Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000)

Because Jawan (2023) had a similar scene of SRK talking to India on national television, I revisited this film and was surprised at how, in 2000, they could make a satire in such a mainstream manner. There’s a scene in which someone is about to be hanged, and to capitalise on it, there’s a live telecast and they literally put 10 sponsors on that person’s jail clothes. 

2. Gulmohar (2023)

It came out last year and so many people missed out on it, but if you like movies about dysfunctional families like Kapoor and Sons (2016) and Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), you’ll like this too.

3. The Mirror from Lust Stories 2 (2023)

I think no other short film in a long time had this impact, a part of lust which I haven’t seen in Indian movies before this. Konkona (Sen Sharma), if you’re watching this, please direct more movies!

4. Hunterrr (2015)

Most of the adult comedies in Bollywood rely on vulgar jokes, but that is not the case with Hunterrr. It’s a great depiction of a sex addict played by Gulshan Devaiah. I love the characters in it, his friends feel like my own friends now and I love the music of the film too. I want to listen to more music by Khamosh Shah.

5. An Action Hero (2022)

I watched this movie three times in the theatre. I love meta movies, and in this one, Ayushmann (Khurrana) plays a Bollywood superstar and it is one hell of a ride. I love the music, the actors including Jaideep Ahlawat, and a very funny cameo by Akshay Kumar.

6. Jubilee (2023)

If you love movies about movies, you should totally check out this show by Vikramaditya Motwane, whose every work is different from what came before it, and who has rarely made anything bad. The old world charm of forties and fifties Hindi Cinema is really captured well.

7. Indian Predator: The Butcher of Delhi (2022)

I rarely watch documentaries but after House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths (2021), I really got into the crime docu space and this is a great recommendation in that genre, (and is) also set in Delhi.

8. Tu Hai Mera Sunday (2016)

It’s the perfect Sunday watch, a very wholesome movie about a group of friends who get together to play football every Sunday on Juhu beach. I have seen it on my lowest days and I really consider it one of the best Mumbai films along with Wake Up Sid (2009).

9. RK/RKay (2021)

Released in very limited theatres in 2023, I got to catch this amazing film on the last day. In it, they’re making a movie and in the process of editing, one character escapes the footage and comes out into the real world. I know it’s absurd but it’s really, really fun. 

10. Terrestrial Verses (2023)

Making this an exception as it’s an Iranian film that I saw at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2023. It really shook me, the way they show oppression. It’s a collection of 5-6 long shots of conversations between an oppressor and the person being oppressed, and they never show the oppressor's face.