Underrated Indian Movies of Past two years: You need to watch

In 2022 there were only a number of movies in Bollywood that tasted success at the box office. Drishyam 2, The Kashmir Files, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, only these four movies were commercial successes for Bollywood. 

The industry faced the same fate in the first half of 2023 as well, with only-- Pathaan, TJMM, TKS, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke--4 movies getting success in theatres. 

However, the second half of the year came out as a boon for the Hindi cinema. The success of Satya Prem Ki Katha, Gadar 2, Jawan, Dream Girl2, and OMG2 gave a sigh of relief to the exhibitors, distributors and producers.

In this article, we will take a look at those movies that received rave reviews from both critics and audiences alike. 

Along with this, we have also included movies from other Indian film industries like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, etc that got success in the respective industry but didn't get the hype beyond the state box office. 

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Top Underrated Indian Movies 2023

1- The Eken, Ruddhaswas Rajasthan

IMDb Ratings: 6.6/10

Star Cast: Anirban Chakrabarti, Somak Ghosh, Suhotra Mukhopadhyay

OTT Platform: Amazon Prime, Hoichoi

It is a Bengali detective crime thriller directed by Joydip Mukherjee. Revolvs around the character Ekenbabu.

2- Bushirt T-shirt

IMDb Ratings: 6.6/10

Star Cast: Siddharth Randeria, Kamlesh Ozza, and Vandana Pathak

OTT Platform: TBA

It is a Gujarati comedy-drama directed by Ishaan Randeria and features Siddharth Randeria, Kamlesh Ozza, and Vandana Pathak. Celebrated musician Sachin-Jigar composed the music in the movie. 

3- Mem Famous

IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10

Star Cast: Sumanth Prabhas, Mani Aegurla, Mourya Nalagatla

OTT: Amazon Prime

The Telugu film received widespread praise for the story, cast and direction. It is a story of three unemployed friends who in order to do something meaningful in their life, due to the cursing of their whole village, defy death and become famous.

4- Godday Godday Chaa

IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10

Star Cast: Sonam Bajwa, Tania

OTT: Amazon Prime

The film is set between 80s-90s Punjab and follows the struggles of women going into a marriage. The comedy-drama was well-received by the audience. 

5- Baipan Bhari Deva

IMDb Ratings: 8.6/10

Star Cast: Deepa Parabh, Rohini Hattangadi, Shilpa Navalkar, Vandana Gupte, Suchitra Bandekar, Sukunya Kulkuarni Mone

OTT: TBA

It is a Marathi film that revolves around six sisters who are separated now and face several problems. It rocked the box office in Maharashtra.

6- Bedurulanka 2012

IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10

Star Cast: Kartikeya Gummkonda, Neha Shetty, Ajay Ghosh

OTT: TBA

Directed and written by Clax, Bedrulanka 2012 is a comedy-drama set in 2012.

1- Gandhi-Godse Ek Yudh

IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10

Star Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar

Gandhi Godse- Ek Yudh revolves around the clash between the titular characters. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, the film is one of the most underrated movies of 2023. It has an IMDb rating of 7.2 out of 10.

It is yet to be out on the OTT platform.

2- Ayisha

IMDb Ratings: 8.5/10

Star Cast: Manju Warrier, 
OTT Platform: TBA

Ayisha centres around the titular character who migrates to the gulf as a domestic worker for an elite Arab Family. What happens next forms the crux of the movie. It is a bilingual film shot simultaneously in Malayalam and Arabic languages.

3- Mission Majnu

IMDb Ratings: 7.5/10

Star Cast: Siddharth Malhotra, Rashmika Mandanna
OTT Platform: Netflix

Directed by Shantanu Bagchi, Mission Majnu is an espionage thriller which is set in the 70s. And revolves around a raw agent Amandeep Ajitpal Singh, who takes on a deadly mission to expose a covert nuclear weapons programme in Pakistan.

4- Chhatriwali

IMDb Ratings: 6.9/10

Star Cast: Rakul Preet Singh, Sumeet Vyas, Satish Kaushik
OTT Platform: Zee5

Social comedy Chhatriwali features Rakul Preet Singh in the main lead role. The film is set in Karnal and revolves around Sanya Dhingra. The latter is a chemistry genius and decides to use her skills to fight an important societal taboo of educating the youth about sex education. 

5- Thankam

IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10

Star Cast:  Biju Menon, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Aparna Balamurali
OTT Platform: Amazon Prime

Another Malayalam outing that should be on your watchlist is Thankam, a crime movie directed by Saheed Arafath and is available on Amazon Prime.

6- Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam 

IMDb Ratings: 7.5/10

Star Cast:  Mammootty
OTT Platform: Netflix

Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam received wide praise upon its premiere on IIFK. It is available on Netflix and has an IMDb rating of 7.5/10.

7- Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai 

Apoorv Singh Karki directed this movie is a digitally hit and got huge critical acclaim. The film has 7.9 ratings on IMDb, and it has Manoj Vajpayee performing the role of Advocate P.C. Solanki. This courtroom drama is said to be based on the latter's life.

8- Kali Jotta

Feb 2023 release Punjabi movie Kali Jotta is a crime drama and a must-watch for Hindi audiences as it went on to become a blockbuster hit ever for Pollywood. Featuring Neeru Bajwa, Wamiqa Gabbia and Satinder Sartaj in the key roles, the was digitally released on the Punjabi streaming service Chaupal.

9- Dada

'Dada' is a Tamil film that was released on Feb 2023 and became a critical and commercial success.

Kavin, Aparna Das, K. Bhagyaraj plays the main characters in the movie. Directed by Ganesh K. Babu,

the film is a coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama movie.

Top Underrated Indian Movies 2022

Check the top underrated movies of Indian cinema of 2022 with IMDb ratings, star cast, OTT platform and more info.

1- Qala

IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10

Star Cast: Tripti Dimri, Swastika Mukherjee, Babil Khan
OTT Platform: Netflix

Qala is a psychological drama that was directly released on Netflix. The film was well received by the critics and audience, it was praised for the writing, visuals, direction, cinematography, soundtrack and performances. Late actor Irfan Khan son Babil Khan made his debut through this movie.

2- Bhediya

IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10

Star Cast: Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon
OTT Platform: Jio Cinema

Though Bhediya was considered an average affair at the box office, the film garnered positive reviews from moviegoers and critics. It has a rating of 7.3 out of 10 on IMDb and is one of the most underrated movies of 2022. 

3- Uunchai

IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10

Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Parineeti Chopra, Danny Denzongpa, Boman Irani
OTT Platform: Zee5

Uunchai is an adventure drama movie featuring the stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta and Danny Denzongpa. The box office collection of the movie was decent, however, didn't get the attention it deserved. 

4- Monica, O My darling

IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10

Star Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Huma Qureshi, Radhika Apte
OTT Platform: Netflix

Netflix's neo-noir comedy thriller Monica, O My Darling featuring Rajkummar Rao in the main lead must be on your watchlist. 

The film has dark comedy, parallel storylines and multiple killers which will keep you on the edge of your seats till the very end.

5- Vikram Vedha

IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10

Star Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan
OTT Platform: Amazon Prime

The box office earnings of the movie don't do justice to its content. If you haven't watched the original version it should be on your top list of must-watch movies. It has 7.1 ratings on IMDb with praise directed towards screenplay, cinematography, BGM, performance and direction.

6- Chup

IMDb Ratings: 7.6/10

Star Cast: Sunny Deol, Dulquer Salmaan, Shreya Dhanwantry
OTT Platform: Zee5

Chup is a movie that tries to examine the real purpose of a movie's criticism. It is an intense thriller that features Sunny Deol in the key role who has done a scene stealer job in this movie.

7- Jogi 

IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10

Star Cast: Diljit Dosanjh
OTT Platform: Netflix

Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar Jogi is a period drama which is based on friendship and heroism during the anti-Sikh riots. The film was directly released on Netflix.

8- Khuda Haafiz 2

IMDb Ratings: 7.5/10

Star Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Shivaleeka Oberoi
OTT Platform: Zee5

Khuda Haafiz 2 is a sequel to the 2020 digital hit, Khuda Haafiz. The former was released in July 2022 in cinemas and underperformed at the box office. However, it has 7.5 ratings on IMDb and is considered one of the most underrated movies of 2022. 

9- Major

IMDb Ratings: 8.1/10

Star Cast: Adivi Sesh, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prakash Raj
OTT Platform: Netflix

Major is a bilingual film based on the life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. The film was a hit in the Telugu version however didn't get much attention from Hindi moviegoers. It features Adivi Sesh in the main lead role and is available on Netflix.

10- Runway 34

IMDb Ratings: 7/10

Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn
OTT Platform: Amazon Prime

Runway 34 is another Hindi film that underperformed at the box office but received a great response from whoever watched it. 

11- Jersey

IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10

Star Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur
OTT Platform: Netflix

After Vikram Vedha, Jersey is one such film of 2022 which haven't got its due. The film is a remake of a Telugu film of the same name. And is said to be also the reason for its failure at the box office. However, if you haven't watched the original version just watch the Hindi version for the brilliant performance delivered by Shahid and its content.

12- Dasvi

IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10

Star Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Yami Gautam
OTT Platform: Netflix, Jio Cinema

Dasvi is a social comedy movie that focuses the importance of education. The film has Abhishek Bachchan in the main lead who has surprised everyone with his brilliant act. It received 7.8 IMDb ratings.

13-  Sharmaji Namkeen

IMDb Ratings: 7.9/10

Star Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Paresh Rawal
OTT Platform: Amazon Prime

Sharmaji Namkeen was the last film of the veteran actor late Rishi Kapoor. Paresh Rawal featured in scenes not appearing Rishi Kapoor, which was filmed post-demise of the latter. However, staying close to the character played the role with conviction.

14- Jhund

IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10

Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan
OTT Platform: Zee5

Directed by Nagraj Manjule, Jhund is a biographical sports movie based on the life of Vijay Barse. It has 7.4 IMDb ratings and premiered on Zee5.

15- A Thursday

IMDb Ratings: 7.7/10

Star Cast: Yami Gautam, Neha Dhupia
OTT Platform: Disney+Hotstar

A Thursday is a vigilante thriller that features Yami Gautam portraying the lead character Naina Jaiswal. It is said to be the best performance of Yami yet. 

16- Badhaai Do

IMDb Ratings: 7/10

Star Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar
OTT Platform: Netflix

Badhaai Do feature Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar in the main lead and revolves around a couple in a lavender marriage. Despite underperforming at the box office, the film got 7 ratings on IMDb.

17- Daman

IMDb Ratings: 9.1/10

Star Cast: Babhushaan Mohanty and Dipanwait Dashmohapatra

Daman is an Odia movie that after shaking the respective box office, was released in Hindi. The IMDb rating of the movie is 9.1 out of 10. It failed to pull the crowds in the Hindi version compared to the original due to the clash with the blockbuster Pathaan.