Best Hindi Drama Movies of 2006

Dibakar Banerjee, Pravin E. Birje · 135 min

A Delhi-based retired middle-class man tries half-heartedly to get his land back from a swindling property dealer with the help of his sons and their friends.

Cast: Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Parvin Dabas

AI verdict: Based on aggregated scores (8.2/10 on IMDb (25,465 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.

Nagesh Kukunoor · 132 min · distributor = Mukta Searchlight Films

India - a Nation obsessed with cricket - and it is not very often one comes across anyone who loathes cricket as much as farmer Anwar Khan, who feels that it is a waste of time watching some grown men playing, not only getting paid, but costing the nation millions of lost work hours. His family, especially his wife, Saida, does not quite agree with him. As a matter of fact, she broke water when watching a cricket match with a TV set perched on a branch of a tree with almost the entire village in attendance. This is how Iqbal was born, followed by the birth of his sister, Khadija. Iqbal, though deaf and dumb, shared his mother's and sister's passion for cricket, he would tend to the buffaloes, who though all female, had been named after male cricketers, including Kapil Dev. While tending to them, he would stop and watch youngsters being trained by the renowned Guruji. When Guruji finds out about Iqbal's interest in the game, he recruits him, but lets him go when a dispute flares up between his top pupil, Kamal, and Iqbal. A disheartened Iqbal finds a new mentor, in the form of alcoholic farmhand, Mohit, who reluctantly decides to tutor Iqbal, so much so that Iqbal qualifies to play in the Andhra Pradesh team for a Ranji trophy match. The match is won, and a way is cleared for Iqbal to find a place in the Indian team. Then all chaos breaks lose when Anwar refuses to let Iqbal indulge anymore in this waste of time, and asks him to go to the farm and help him. But Mohit is able to convince him to change his mind, only to find out that Guruji, who favors his star pupil Kamal, for a place in the Indian cricket team, and will do his utmost to foil any attempt by Mohit to promote Iqbal.

Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Naseeruddin Shah, Shweta Basu Prasad

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AI verdict: Based on aggregated scores (8.1/10 on IMDb (17,874 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra · 167 min

The story of six young Indians who assist an English woman to film a documentary on the freedom fighters from their past, and the events that lead them to relive the long-forgotten saga of freedom.

Cast: Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Siddharth

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AI verdict: Based on aggregated scores (8.1/10 on IMDb (123,635 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.

Vishal Bhardwaj · 155 min

A politically-minded enforcer's misguided trust in his lieutenant leads him to suspect his wife of infidelity in this adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Othello'.

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan

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AI verdict: Based on aggregated scores (8.0/10 on IMDb (23,529 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.

Rajkumar Hirani · 144 min

Munna Bhai embarks on a journey with Mahatma Gandhi in order to fight against a corrupt property dealer.

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan

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AI verdict: Based on aggregated scores (8.0/10 on IMDb (51,250 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.

Nagesh Kukunoor · 124 min

Shankar Singh and his wife, Meera, live in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India along with widowed paternal grandmother, Laxmibai, his mom, Gowri, and dad, Randhir. The family feel that they are blessed after Meera's entry in this family. Shankar must go and abroad in Saudi Arabia and bids farewell to Meera, promising to keep in touch, which he does, and also sends them a large portion of his earnings, which is used to pay off the family's debts. Then when no word is received from him, a worried Meera phones, and is devastated to learn that Shankar has been killed by being thrown off a 10th floor balcony. Her status quickly changes, her jewelery, ornaments, fancy clothes are taken off, and she is told to remain indoors. wear dark clothes, and is only allowed to pray at a Mandir. Things brighten up for Meera when she befriends an Islamic woman, Zeenat, who has come all the way from Himachal Pradesh to look for her husband, Amir Khan. Shortly thereafter, Meera's world is turned upside down when she finds out that her father-in-law plans to make her the mistress of a wealthy building contractor, Chopra, for a sum of Five Lakh Rupees; she endures further trauma when she finds out that Zeenat is the wife of the man who has been accused of killing her husband, is merely here to persuade her to sign a Mafi-Naama, which would ensure the release of her husband from the Saudi jails, and prevent his death. Hurt, humiliated and confused Meera refuses to sign this document, and is confined to a locked room by Randhir. It looks like Zeenat may lose her husband after all, and Meera may end up being Chopra's temporary mistress.

Cast: Ayesha Takia, Shreyas Talpade, Gul Panag

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AI verdict: Based on TMDb's aggregated score (7.4/10 on TMDb (29 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.