Impoverished priest Harihar Ray leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. His wife, Sarbojaya, looks after their rebellious daughter, Durga, and young son, Apu. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life.

This first co-production of the Soviet and Indian cinematographers is dedicated to the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin who in 1466-1472 blazed the trade way from Europe to India. The film is based on Nikitin’s travel notes. Starring in the film are popular Russian actor Oleg Strizhenov and India’s 1950s movie star Nargis.

Set in the 19th century against the backdrop of the Mutiny of 1857, the film is about the bravery of queen Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi, who took up arms and led her army against the British.

1956 Indian Tamil-language historical comedy film

Tenali Ramkrishna is a poet in King Krishnadeva Raya's kingdom. When he learns that the king's enemies are plotting to attack him and conquer the kingdom, he tries to prevent it from happening.

A conspiring uncle separates the twin sons of his sister, the queen. One becomes his uncle's pawn while the other grows to be a brave and honest man, who inadvertently learns of his true parentage.

The Crown Prince of Malabar dallies with Rosita whilst his people suffer at the hands of cruel Portuguese colonists. Whilst voyaging on a Portuguese ship, the Prince is captured by patriots who are rebelling against the foreign invaders. They are led by a girl called Nisha known as "The Falcon" ("Baaz"). The Prince conceals his identity from Nisha and a romance blossoms between them. Together, they rouse the people, rout the Portuguese and free the Kingdom - but can a commoner marry a Prince ?

After the East India Company forces Kattabomman, the king of Panchalankurichi, to pay taxes and be their subordinate, the latter decides to fight against them.

The film chronicles the ascent of Shivaji, the great Maratha warrior who fought for liberty from the erstwhile Muslim rulers in order to establish a secular Hindu kingdom.

1951 Indian Tamil-language historical adventure film

Panduranga Mahatyam is a 1957 Telugu film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and starring N. T. Rama Rao playing the role of Pundarika. The Lyrics written by Samudrala Ramanujacharya are excellent. The songs of Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao particularly Jaya Krishna Mukunda Murari and Amma Ani Pilichina are ever remembered as the best film songs expresses the human feelings of devotion and sorrow.

The story of the complete Ramayana, from the birth of Lord Rama to his Pattabhisheka after completing his exile.

After Kattabomman's execution at Kayattar, his brother, Oomadurai, becomes the ruler of the town Sivaganga. Seeing this as an opportunity, the British attack and invade the town with a powerful army.

Nilachaley Mahaprabhu was a 1957 Indian Bengali biographical film directed by Kartik Chattopadhyay, based on the life of 15th-century mystic Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who started his spiritual journey and Hindu reform movement, part of the Bhakti movement during his years at Nilachal, the shrine of Jagannath at Puri. It stars Asim Kumar in the titular role with Dipti Roy, Sumitra Devi, Ahindra Choudhury, Bhanu Bandyopadhyay, Nripati Chattopadhyay and Chhabi Biswas in supporting roles.

A group of freedom-fighters face betrayal and go on the run from police in British-occupied Hindustan.

Shekhar falls in love with Lilly D'Souza, a performer, only to discover she is a British spy. He hands over Lilly and her sister, Dolly, to the INA, which sentences both to death.

The story is about King Karma Dev who gives a lot of importance to physical beauty. His mother, the Rajmata requests Mahamantri Munjal to find him a nice wife. Karma Dev often dreams of marrying an unknown beautiful woman he had once seen in the Somnath temple. Meanwhile, Mrinalla is the princess of Karnataka, who also dreams of marrying a king she had once seen in the Somnath temple. When Munjal happens to see the beautiful woman Mrinalla, he shows the King's portrait to her and she is happy to finally find the man of her dreams. So she runs away from the palace and searches for Karma Dev to marry him. Soon after, Munjal shows Mrinalla's painting to Karma Dev, who agrees to marry her. On the day of the marriage, the King finds out she is dark and refuses to marry her. After several incidents, Karma Dev realizes his mistake and at last he happily accepts Mrinalla as his Patrani.

1954 film starring Bhanumathi

Based on a popular historical legend, Prince Salim has a passionate love affair with a beautiful, sassy commoner.

The life of Basava, a philosopher and social reformer from Karnataka who lived in the 12th century A.D.

This movie depicts the personal life of Samrat Chandragupt, his trials, tribulations, and frustrations, as well as the challenges he faces to reclaim his kingdom; face-off the threat from Sikander; enlist the assistance of the Yunani Greeks; his love for Helena; and be forced to make a decision of beheading his own mother as per the laws of the land.

Alibaba's brother is killed by dacoit Abu Hussain and the body is kept in the cave. Since Alibaba too has the password, Abu visits him as a merchant with 40 barrels, each one hiding one of his men.

Chitragathan, a young prince, is determined to prove the maxims at a debating society wrong. He undergoes various adventures that makes him realise how much truth these principles hold.

A hagiography of the legendary Tamil saint poetess of the Sangam period.

Driven by the devastation of a famine, a patriotic landlord joins a secret brotherhood of warrior monks to lead a fiery revolt against the British East India Company, embracing the motherland's freedom as a sacred and ultimate sacrifice.

The legend of the romance between Mughal prince Salim and Anarkali.

A 1953 Historical Patriotic Bengali Film directed by Sudhir Mukhopadhyay.

A biopic based on the life of social reformer and revolutionary activist Jyotirao Govindrao Phule - who aspired to attain equality for the people and was considered a pioneer of women's education.

This documentary highlights the achievements of India in the political, economic, and international fields since she attained Independence. The framing of her Constitution, the integration of the States and the general elections, the rehabilitation of displaced persons, the river valley projects, and the setting up of a chain of National Laboratories are some of the achievements shown here.

A Roman military commander falls in love with Ranjana, a devout Christian. The Roman Empire's atrocities toward the Christians prompt the commander to become a rebel soldier to protect the Christian community from the Roman Emperor.

An incident from Mahabharata wherein the Pandavas were exiled.

A stridently nationalistic story of India’s freedom struggle, presented through the experiences of a Bengali family from 1885, when the Indian National Congress was established, to 1947. Important events incorporated into the plot were Gandhi’s satyagraha (1920), the Simon Commission (1928), Vallabhbhai Patel’s Bardoli satyagraha (1928) and the 1942 Quit India agitations. Krishan Chander’s script, Sachin Shankar’s choreography and the acting styles owed much to the IPTA theatre of the 40s. The film, made at Bombay Talkies, was produced by the distributors of the Chicago Radio PA systems label. Kishore Kumar plays the militant hero of this quasi-documentary. Motwane included old documentary footage purchased from Kohinoor and Krishna Film, as well as a shot of Rabindranath Tagore singing his Jana Gana Mana composition, one of India’s national anthems (Arunkumar Roy’s Of Tagore and Cinema, 1994, traces this footage to Ufa, shot when Tagore visited Munich)

A film about Maharani Yesubai, the wife of King Sambhaji, a Marathi ruler who defied the Mughals.

The Portuguese in 16th century India plot to take over the country.

This is a very old Bengali movie which shows Sri Ramakrishna's innocent and pure devotion to the divine mother. India, with her wealth of spiritual tradition, has produced many spiritual giants. One of the greatest was Ramakrishna (1836-1886). His life was a testament to truth, universality, love and purity. Born in a rural village outside Calcutta, Ramakrishna even as a boy naturally gravitated toward leading a spiritual life. This tendency only intensified as he grew older. When as a young man he became a temple priest, he was seized by an unquenchable thirst for union with God, and he immersed himself in intense meditation and other spiritual practices.

Bou Thakuranir Haat is a Bengali drama film directed by Naresh Mitra based on a novel of Rabindranath Tagore in the same name, published in 1883. The film is based on the real-life story of Jessore Raj Pratapaditya. Pratapaditya is described as an antagonist more than a protagonist in this film.

In a fit of rage, King Narendra orders his men to chop off his son Sarangadhara's limbs in a forest. However, Meghananda comes to the rescue of an injured prince and asks him to pray to Lord Shiva.