20 Greatest Bollywood Movies of the 60s You Should not Miss

Waqt (1965)

Waqt is a 1965 epic family drama and one of the earliest films featuring the lost and reunite formula in Bollywood. Directed by Yash Chopra, the film features an ensemble cast of Balraj Sahni, Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana, Sharmila Tagore, Madan Puri, Achala Sachdev, and Rehman as important characters. The film actually revived the
“lost and reunite formula” where the family of Lala Kedarnath played by Sahni is separated after an earthquake and later is reunited at the end of the film.

Guide (1965)

Guide is a 1965 romance drama directed by Vijay Anand. The film is considered to be one of the best films of Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman. Adapted from R.K. Narayanan’s novel The Guide, the film has also successfully established its popularity as a cult classic over the years. The film tells the love story of a young tourist guide who falls in love with the wife of an aging archaeologist. Whether he is successful or not forms the rest of the story and we consider Guide as the Best film of 60s era.

Arzoo (1965)

Arzoo is a 1965 film directed by Ramanand Sagar. The film is a love triangle much similar to earlier mentioned Sangam with certain turns and twists. Arzoo features Sadhana, Rajendra Kumar, and Feroz Khan in the lead roles. The film is a love triangle featuring social elements such as “hating a disabled”.

Teesri Manzil (1966)

Teesri Manzil is a musical thriller Bollywood film starring Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh in the lead roles. Directed by Vijay Anand, the film revolves around the murder mystery of Roopa who is killed when she falls from the third-floor balcony, justifying the title of the film. Besides the murder mystery, the film also impresses with the spectacular R.D. Burman music.

Love in Tokyo (1966)

Love in Tokyo is a 1966 romantic Hindi film directed by Pramod Chakravorty. Starring Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh as the lead pair in the film, Love in Tokyo depicts a love story set in the capital city of Japan as the title suggests. It was the 2^nd film of Joy Mukherjee’s “Love in” trilogy and became a super hit at the box office.

Upkar (1967)

Upkar is a 1967 patriotic themed Bollywood film starring Manoj Kumar and Asha Parekh in the lead roles. The film also marks the debut of Manoj Kumar with his patriotic Bharat persona. The film tells the story of a young village man Bharat who sacrifices everything for his brother’s welfare and education. The film also features a patriotic theme when Bharat enlists himself as a soldier during Indo-Pak war as well as other social elements such as family planning promoted by Asha Parekh’s character of a doctor in the film.

Jewel Thief (1967)

Jewel Thief is another Vijay Anand film that makes it to our list of best Bollywood films of the 60s. Starring Dev Anand, Vyjayanthimala, and Ashok Kumar in the lead roles, the film revolves around a jewel thief named Amar and his lookalike Vinay, both played by Dev Anand. The film is a mystery thriller and makes you go nuts as the truth is disclosed at the end. Besides the lead actor, the film also stars Tanuja, Helen, Faryal, and Anju Mahendru in several supporting characters.

Ram Aur Shyam (1967)

Ram Aur Shyam is a 1967 Hindi film starring Dilip Kumar in double roles. Directed by Tapi Chanakya, the film tells a story about twin brothers separated at birth and united at the end of the film. The film is actually a remake of Telugu blockbuster film Ramudu Bheemudu starring N.T. Rama Rao. The film also set a trend for this double role theme with multiple remakes such as Seeta Aur Geeta, Chalbaaz, and Kishen Kanhaiya featuring Hema Malini, Sri Devi, and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles respectively.

Hamraaz (1967)

Hamraaz is a 1967 suspense thriller film starring Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, and Mumtaz in the lead roles. Directed by B.R. Chopra, the film is a suspense thriller where the murder suspects of a woman are the characters portrayed by Sunil Dutt and Raaj Kumar, one of whom is her current husband and the other is the previous husband who was pronounced dead at the front. As the mystery unfolds, we find out the real truth and the culprit behind everything.

Padosan (1968)

Padosan is a 1968 Hindi comedy Film directed by Jyoti Swaroop. It is the official remake of Telugu blockbuster film Pakkinti Ammayi directed by Chittajallu Pullayya. The film features an ensemble cast of Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu, Mehmood, Kishore Kumar, Mukri, Keshto Mukherjee and others. Mehmood’s portrayal of a South Indian music teacher was one of the biggest highlights of the film and is even today considered as one of the best comic character portrayal ever.

Aradhana (1969)

Aradhana is a 1969 romantic drama directed by Shakti Samanta. The film actually set the success run for Rajesh Khanna as it was the first of the 17 consecutive hits of the original romance king of Bollywood between 1969 and 1971. The film also marks the debut of the actor-director pairing of Rajesh Khanna and Shakti Samanta who together collaborated in 8 films giving some of the biggest blockbusters of all times. The film also stars Sharmila Tagore, who is another favorite star of Shakti Samanta besides Rajesh Khanna.

Over to you!

That’s it. This is our list of best Bollywood films of the 60s. It is always difficult to choose the top 20 films from the golden era of Bollywood. Well, you can add your favorite films from the 60s in this list by commenting them below.