TonightOnScreen Catalog
Explore Entertainment • Drama
Search our curated catalog of cinema releases, binge-worthy series, and where to stream them.
Sam Bahadur
Directed with meticulous historical grace by Meghna Gulzar, Sam Bahadur is a stirring, authentic biographical drama chronicling the storied four-decade military career of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the legendary architect of India's decisive victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Vicky Kaushal delivers a breathtaking, award-winning masterclass in transformative physical acting, capturing Manekshaw's distinct mustache, swaggering curved posture, infectious wit, and steely resolve with uncanny perfection. Spanning his early heroics in World War II's Burma campaign—where he survived nine machine-gun bullets—to the 1947 partition, the Sino-Indian war, and his historic strategic leadership as Chief of the Army Staff in 1971, the film showcases his fearless interactions with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (Fatima Sana Shaikh) and his deep devotion to his wife Silloo (Sanya Malhotra). When pressed by politicians to attack East Pakistan prematurely during monsoon season, Manekshaw defiantly stands his ground, orchestrating a 13-day blitzkrieg that resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh and the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers. A dignified, inspiring celebration of Indian military leadership.
Dear Zindagi
Dear Zindagi is a refreshing, emotionally illuminating, and deeply empathetic slice-of-life drama written and directed by Gauri Shinde, credited with bringing candid conversations around mental healthcare and therapy to mainstream Indian cinema. The story revolves around Kaira, an immensely talented, fiercely independent, but emotionally volatile twenty-something cinematographer living in Mumbai. Despite her burgeoning professional career, Kaira struggles with acute insomnia, severe emotional turbulence, fractured romantic entanglements, and deep-seated abandonment anxieties stemming from childhood trauma. When an agonizing professional setback and an unceremonious eviction force her to retreat to her parents' home in Goa, her inner turmoil pushes her to the brink of despair. During an offbeat mental health conference, Kaira is captivated by Dr. Jehangir 'Jug' Khan, an unconventional, deeply philosophical, and warm psychotherapist who views life and healing through a refreshing, non-judgmental lens. Over a series of unstructured, breezy therapy sessions along sun-drenched Goan beaches and cozy living rooms, Jug helps Kaira gently peel back the suffocating layers of perfectionism, guilt, and buried resentment toward her parents. Through clever metaphors—from choosing life like shopping for musical chairs to recognizing that crying and grieving are essential human strengths—Jug empowers Kaira to embrace her vulnerabilities, forgive her past, and fall back in love with life itself. Marked by an incandescent, sensitive pairing between Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan, Dear Zindagi is a tender, healing masterpiece that whispers to the weary heart that it is okay to be imperfect.
Udta Punjab
Directed by Abhishek Chaubey and co-written by Sudip Sharma, 2016's black comedy crime drama Udta Punjab shook Indian cinema and survived historic censorship battles to become one of the most politically urgent, uncompromising, and critically acclaimed films of the decade, winning four Filmfare Awards. Tackling the crippling socio-economic epidemic of substance abuse in northern India, the narrative interweaves four disparate lives across rural Punjab. Shahid Kapoor stars in a manic, physically uninhibited turn as Tommy Singh, a hedonistic, cocaine-addicted Punjabi rockstar whose glamorous musical persona fueling drug culture collides with jail and self-reckoning. Alia Bhatt delivers a devastating, raw, and transformative performance as 'Bauria', an unnamed migrant farm laborer from Bihar who stumbles upon a discarded parcel of heroin and is brutally enslaved by local narcotics peddlers. Meanwhile, righteous police inspector Sartaj Singh (Diljit Dosanjh in his sensational Hindi cinema debut) teams up with dedicated activist doctor Preet Sahni (Kareena Kapoor Khan) to expose high-level political and pharmaceutical collusion feeding narcotics to Punjab's youth. Featuring Amit Trivedi's raw, electrifying Punjabi score, Udta Punjab is a gritty, courageous, and emotionally shattering indictment of systemic addiction and human resilience.
Master
Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the 2021 multi-starrer action blockbuster Master served as the savior of Indian cinema exhibition following pandemic lockdowns, grossing over ₹300 crore worldwide and uniting two of Tamil cinema's biggest superstars: Thalapathy Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi. Vijay stars as John Durairaj ('JD'), an alcoholic, beloved college professor and student union dean whose nonchalant charm and addiction mask deep psychological burnout. When campus election violence lands him in administrative trouble, JD accepts a three-month teaching assignment at a juvenile correctional facility in Nagercoil. There, he discovers the horrifying reality: ruthless gangster Bhavani (Vijay Sethupathi in a delightfully wicked, scene-stealing performance) uses juvenile inmates as scapegoats to take the fall for his illicit trucking, extortion, and slaughterhouse operations. When two innocent boys are murdered by Bhavani's henchmen for trying to contact him, JD quits alcohol, vows redemption, and wages an all-out war to emancipate the youth. Featuring Anirudh Ravichander's viral chartbusters (including 'Vaathi Coming') and an epic hand-to-hand climax, Master was a seismic box-office spectacle.
The Lunchbox
Written and directed by debutant Ritesh Batra, the 2013 epistolary romantic drama The Lunchbox premiered at the Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week, winning the Grand Rail d'Or and achieving immense international commercial success, grossing over $18 million globally. Set against the chaotic, crowded backdrop of Mumbai's legendary, near-flawless Dabbawala tiffin lunch delivery system, a one-in-a-million delivery mistake connects two lonely, isolated souls. Ila (Nimrat Kaur in a delicate, breakout performance) is an unhappy middle-class housewife desperately cooking gourmet lunches to win back the affection of her indifferent, adulterous husband. The tiffin is mistakenly delivered to Saajan Fernandes (Irrfan Khan in a sublime, masterclass performance of quiet melancholy), a reclusive, widowed claims accountant on the verge of retirement. Discovering the mistake through handwritten letters slipped inside the stainless-steel lunchbox, the two begin exchanging intimate daily confessions about grief, loneliness, and forgotten dreams. Joined by Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a delightful turn as Saajan's enthusiastic orphan trainee Shaikh, The Lunchbox is a timeless triumph of gentle human connection.
Aligarh
Directed by Hansal Mehta, the 2015 biographical drama Aligarh is widely revered as one of the most tender, dignified, and heartbreaking masterpieces of Indian cinema, winning critical acclaim at the BFI London Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival. Manoj Bajpayee delivers what is universally cited as one of his greatest performances as Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, an elderly, reclusive professor of Marathi literature and linguistics at the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University. Siras's peaceful, poetry-filled life listening to Lata Mangeshkar songs over whiskey is violently shattered when university officials orchestrate a sting operation with local TV reporters, forcibly breaking into his private bedroom to film him in an intimate consensual encounter with a male rickshaw puller. Suspended and evicted from his campus home in humiliation, Siras is befriended by Deepu Sebastian (Rajkummar Rao in a sensitive, empathetic turn), a curious young Delhi journalist who champions his story. Together with human rights lawyers, Siras fights a landmark legal battle to overturn his suspension in court, only to face an enigmatic, tragic end. An unforgettable cinematic ode to human privacy and dignity.
Singham
Rohit Shetty's 2011 adrenaline-fueled cop action blockbuster Singham inaugurated Bollywood's iconic Cop Universe, grossing over ₹140 crore and permanently etching the roaring lion roar and the catchphrase 'Aata Majhi Satakli!' into Indian popular culture. Ajay Devgn stars in one of his most celebrated, career-defining roles as Bajirao Singham, an honest, fearless police sub-inspector from the village of Shivgad on the Maharashtra-Goa border who commands the fierce loyalty of his community by resolving local disputes with wisdom and bone-breaking martial fury. Singham's life is upended when he confronts Jaikant Shikre (Prakash Raj in an unforgettable, comically villainous tour de force), a ruthless extortionist, corrupt politician, and kidnapping kingpin from Goa. Shikre uses his political clout to transfer Singham to his stronghold in Goa to humiliate and destroy him. Rather than breaking under torture and systemic police corruption, Singham unites the demoralized police force against Shikre, leading an army of khakis into a triumphant final confrontation. Featuring gravity-defying car flips and Ajay Devgn's unyielding intensity, Singham is a pure Bollywood classic. Bolstered by Ajay Devgn's iconic dialogue delivery, fiery action set pieces, and Ajay-Atul's thumping devotional background score, Singham redefined twenty-first-century Hindi action cinema and launched India's first shared mass-action cinematic universe.
Vikramarkudu
Vikramarkudu is an electrifying, furiously entertaining, and massively influential action masala masterpiece directed by S. S. Rajamouli, showcasing 'Mass Maharaja' Ravi Teja in a legendary dual performance that redefined heroic archetypes and became a nationwide sensation, spawning blockbuster remakes in Hindi (Rowdy Rathore starring Akshay Kumar), Tamil (Siruthai starring Karthi), Kannada (Veera Madakari), and Bengali. The narrative opens in Hyderabad with Athili Sathi Babu, a clever, street-smart petty thief and con man who, alongside his loyal sidekick Duvva Abbulu, pulls off humorous heists while falling head over heels for a spirited rural girl named Neeraja. Sathi Babu's carefree life is upended when a mysterious trunk he steals reveals not gold or jewels, but a terrified little girl named Neha who clings to him, tearfully calling him 'Daddy'. Convinced he has been framed, Sathi Babu tries desperately to abandon her, but finds his conscience stirred as brutal, machete-wielding assassins descend upon them from the lawless badlands of Chambal. When Sathi Babu is ambushed and on the verge of death, the mysterious assassins are wiped out by a terrifyingly identical figure: Assistant Superintendent of Police Vikram Singh Rathore. The mortally wounded police officer's backstory is revealed: a fearless, unbribable cop who single-handedly waged war against the barbaric feudal despot Bavuji and his depraved son Munna in the terrorized village of Devgarh. Before succumbing to bullet wounds, Rathore entrusts his daughter to Sathi Babu. Deeply moved and transformed by the noble sacrifice, the petty con man assumes the identity of Vikram Rathore, strapping on the khaki uniform to unleash absolute, ruthless vengeance on Bavuji's criminal empire.
Chatrapathi
Chatrapathi is an intense, emotionally volcanic, and profoundly moving action drama directed by S. S. Rajamouli, marking his first historic collaboration with superstar Prabhas and establishing the director-actor partnership that would eventually conquer Indian cinema with the Baahubali franchise. The film opens in a coastal village in Sri Lanka, where Sivaji, an orphaned boy, is adopted and showered with maternal love by a kind-hearted woman named Parvati, much to the bitter, festering resentment of her biological son Ashok. When ethnic riots erupt in Sri Lanka, the refugees are forcibly evacuated to India on overcrowded boats. During the harrowing escape, Ashok maliciously deceives his mother into believing Sivaji drowned at sea, cruelly severing mother and son. Reaching the port city of Visakhapatnam, Sivaji and fellow refugees are enslaved by local port mafioso Baji Rao and his sadistic younger brother Ras Bihari, who exploit the undocumented migrants as bonded laborers under subhuman conditions. For twelve years, Sivaji endures the torment while tirelessly searching for his lost mother. However, when Ras Bihari's goons kill an innocent refugee child and demand obedience, Sivaji's patience turns into raw, unstoppable fury. In an iconic, rain-soaked confrontation, Sivaji single-handedly decapitates the tyrant, liberating the entire coastal colony. The oppressed refugees hail him as their supreme savior and christen him 'Chatrapathi' — a warrior king defending the helpless. But as Sivaji wages war against international smuggler Katraju, his treacherous stepbrother Ashok resurfaces, threatening to destroy Sivaji's empire and poison his long-sought reunion with his beloved mother.
Sharaabi
Sharaabi represents the pinnacle of emotional melodrama and tragic character study within Amitabh Bachchan's illustrious collaboration with director Prakash Mehra. At the beating heart of this musical masterpiece is Vicky Kapoor, the solitary and deeply sensitive son of an ultra-wealthy, emotionally distant industrialist, Amarnath Kapoor. Deprived of maternal warmth since infancy and perpetually sidelined by a father who measures life exclusively in ledger balances and commercial profits, Vicky seeks sanctuary from cold loneliness inside bottles of alcohol. Beneath his perpetual intoxication, however, lies an extraordinarily generous, erudite, and righteous soul who uses his fortune to aid the destitute, defend the defenseless, and mock the hollow vanity of aristocratic high society. Raised with genuine affection only by the household blind servant and a devoted munshi, Vicky's aimless existence finds profound purpose and redemptive light when he encounters Meena, a talented, dignified dancer striving to care for her aging father. As Vicky falls deeply in love with Meena's grace and unyielding self-respect, he strives to overcome his crippling addiction to prove his worthiness. However, cruel misunderstandings, class prejudices orchestrated by corrupt business associates, and the stubborn arrogance of his father threaten to tear their fragile romance apart. Enriched by Bappi Lahiri's immortal musical score and Kishore Kumar's timeless vocals—featuring classics like 'Inteha Ho Gayi Intezaar Ki' and 'De De Pyar De'—Sharaabi weaves an intensely moving portrait of familial alienation, unrequited parental affection, and the desperate yearning for human connection that elevates commercial Hindi cinema to high art.
Newton
Directed by Amit V. Masurkar, the 2017 black comedy political satire Newton captured the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and was selected as India's official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. Rajkummar Rao delivers an extraordinary, critically lauded performance as Nutan 'Newton' Kumar, an idealistic, incorruptible young government clerk obsessed with honesty and punctuality. Newton volunteers for a perilous election duty assignment in a remote, conflict-ridden tribal village nestled deep in the dense, Naxalite-controlled jungles of Chhattisgarh. Accompanied by cynical, battle-hardened CRPF Assistant Commandant Aatma Singh (Pankaj Tripathi in an exquisite, nuanced turn of pragmatic fatigue) and local tribal election liaison Malko (Anjali Patil), Newton is determined to conduct free and fair voting for the village's 76 registered voters using an electronic voting machine. Confronted by terrified tribal villagers who have never heard of democracy, staged voting for international journalists, and armed military intimidation, Newton's stubborn moral compass sparks a dark, poignant battle of wills. An essential cinematic reflection on democracy.
Drive My Car
Drive My Car is an exquisite, meditative, and emotionally profound drama directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, based on Haruki Murakami's short story, which captivated global critics and became the first Japanese film in history to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture while winning the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The narrative follows Yusuke Kafuku, an accomplished, introspective Tokyo theater director and actor who enjoys a deeply intimate, creative marriage with his screenwriter wife, Oto, who invents intricate stories during their moments of intimacy. When Oto suddenly dies of a cerebral hemorrhage, Kafuku is left emotionally paralyzed by grief and unanswered questions regarding her hidden infidelities. Two years later, Kafuku accepts an artistic residency at a theater festival in Hiroshima to direct a multilingual stage production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. Per insurance policy rules, the festival assigns him Misaki Watari, a reserved, stoic twenty-year-old chauffeur, to drive his cherished red Saab 900 Turbo along the coastal highways between his apartment and the rehearsals. Initially uncomfortable sharing his quiet automobile sanctuary, Kafuku develops an unexpected, tender therapeutic bond with Misaki during their daily coastal commutes. As Kafuku directs his diverse cast—including a volatile young television star who was Oto's former secret lover—he and Misaki gradually exchange confessions regarding their shared guilt, past tragedies, and unresolved grief. Praised for its sublime pacing, quiet humanism, and emotional catharsis, Drive My Car is an unforgettable journey through loss and the courage to endure.