10 Top Feel Good Bollywood Films to Watch

When relaxing and for pure entertainment and humour, feel good Bollywood films are definitely worth a watch.

These movies vary by their respective genres, which have a common connection to their narrative and storyline. Whilst comedy dominates these Bollywood films, romance, action and drama are also on offer.

However, many believe that feel good Bollywood films, reflect a genre of its own. Nevertheless, these movies are forever green.

Spread over many decades, these films target many groups of people. They also realistically provide something to ponder over or learn about, according to different situations, conditions and circumstances.

Additionally, many A list stars feature in feel good Bollywood films. They include Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor.

So, here we compile a list of 10 super feel good Bollywood films that are a must-watch.

Naya Daur (1957)

Director: BR Chopra
Stars: Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Ajit, Jeevan, Nazir Hussain, Chand Usmani

Naya Daur is the first to feature in our list of feel good Bollywood films. The original black and white film has a sports feel to it.

Naya Daur has to rank amongst the top films made by director BR Chopra. Shankar (Dilip Kumar) is the main protagonist in the film. He transports passengers via his tanga (horse cart) to earn an honest and decent living.

But his business and that of others come under threat due to the actions of Kundan (Jeevan). Being the son of Seth Maganlal, (Nazir Hussain), a landlord, he also commences a bus service along the same direction.

Hence, the horse cart pullers suffer a loss in business, particularly with customers opting to take their journey on a bus.

Feeling a sense of demoralisation, the tanga wallas protest to Seth Ji. To settle the matter, Shankar accepts Kundan’s challenge of a race involving a tanga and bus.

In preparation for this contest, the village people construct a new path.  In between all this, Shankar also faces a big dilemma. This is when he finds out that his close friend Krishna (Ajit) also loves the woman of his life, Rajni (Vyjayanthimala).

The whole situation causes Krishna and Shankar to part ways with their friendship. Furthermore, complications arise with Shankar’s sister, Manju (Chand Usmani), having deep feelings for Krishna.

Krishna initially wishes to severely disrupt Shankar’s victorious ambitions, However, Manju makes him realise that he has misunderstood Shankar.

Krishna does the right thing for his friend as Shankar is triumphant. Shankar and Rajni are glad to be back together, with the film ending on a positive note.

Viewers will experience the tension of the race, urging on Shankar to win the final battle. Kiran Bali of Upperstall in her review touches on the high-point of the film, writing:

“You cannot help but feel good at the end as man finally defeats the machine!”

This Hindi-Urdu film was an Independence Day release, coming out on August 15, 1957. A full-colour release also made it’s way later in 2007.

Junglee (1961)

Director: Shubodh Mukherjee
Stars: Shammi Kapoor, Saira Bano, Lalita Pawar, Shashikala, Moni Chatterjee, Azra

Junglee is a musical-comedy movie, with Bengali filmmaker Shubodh Mukherjee directing and producing it. The film revolves around an eminent family who is very firm on discipline.

After finishing his studies in London, Chandrashekhar/Shekhar (Shammi Kapoor) returns home to manage the family business.

Shekhar and his hard-regulating mum (Lalita Pawar) are also humourless, adhering to family principles.

However, Mala (Shashi Kala), the younger sister of Shekhar is an exception. She has to face the brunt of her discreetly rebellious nature.

The mother has to take drastic action with Mala. This is after finding out that she has fallen in love with, Jeevan (Anoop Kumar) who works under Shekhar.

As result, the siblings are sent to Kashmir, separating Mala and Jeevan. Upon arrival in the beautiful valley, a doctor (Moni Chatterjee) informs Mala that she is pregnant.

The doctor and his energetic daughter Rajkumari (Saira Banu) hide this fact from Shekhar. Whilst they take care of Mala, Rajkumari is on a mission to change Shekhar’s pompous personality.

Rajkumari manages to transform Shekhar into a wild person after the two fall in love during a horrendous storm. After returning home, the carefree attitude of Shekhar comes as a shock to his mother and staff.

Viewers can watch his comical acting in the song ‘Suku Suku’ with the false princess (Azra).

In the climax, Shekhar has to fight off a rogue family with bad intentions. Shekhar’s mother finally softens her stance. She accepts Rajkumari as Shekhar’s bride to be.

She also gives blessings to Mala, Jeevan and her baby grandson. This super-hit Hindi-Urdu film came out on October 31, 1961.

Professor (1962)

Director: Lekh Tandon
Stars: Shammi Kapoor, Kalpana, Lalita Pawar, Pratima Devi, Parveen Choudhry

Professor is one of the best comedy-musical feel good Bollywood films around. Lekh Tandon is the director of the film, with FC Mehra producing it. The film has Shammi Kapoor (Pritam Khanna/Professor Saab) in the title role.

With his mother, Mrs Khanna (Pratima Devi) having tuberculosis, Pritam hatches a plan to pay for her treatment in a sanitorium.

Thus, Pritam changes his appearance by becoming an old professor. He is then eligible to teach two sisters and their younger brothers in Darjeeling.

The two sisters Neena Verma (late Kalpana) and Rita Verma (Parveen Choudhry) in particular have it tough at home. They have to abide by the rules of their strict aunt Sita Devi Verma (Lalita Pawar).

As the film comically unfolds, Sita Devi and Neena Verma not knowingly fall for the same man. Neena has beautiful facial expressions, leading up to he Mohammad Rafi-Lata Mangeshkar classic:

“Main chali main chali, pichhe pichhe jahaan, yeh naa poochho kidhar
ye naa poochho kaha.

“Sajade mein husn ke, jhuk gaya aasman, lo shuru ho gayi, pyaar ki daastan.”

The film finishes with Mrs Khanna recovering from TB and Sita Devi also accepting Preetam’s relationship with Neena. The on-screen chemistry between Preetam and Neena is a treat to watch, especially with their modesty.

This Hindi-Urdu film came out on May 11, 1962, proving to be a box office hit.

Gol Maal (1979)

Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Stars: Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt, Bindiya Goswami, David, Manju Singh, Dina Pathak

Gol Maal is a rom-com family, with Hrishikesh Mukherjee taking the director’s chair. The plot is about a simple man Ramprasad Dashrathprasad Sharma (Amol Palekar) who has no choice but lie to get a job.

Ramprasad faces losing his new job after yet another lie. This is after his orthodox box Bhavani Shankar (Utpal Dutt) sees him at a Pakistan versus India hockey match.

Ramprasad then has to control the complex situation with a series of lies, fooling Bhavani in the process.

He convinces Bhavani that he has a foolhardy identical brother Lakshmanprasad Dashrathprasad Sharma without a moustache.

His sister Ratna Sharma (Manju Singh) along with acquaintances, Doctor Kedar Mama (David) and Deven Verma (himself) come to his rescue.

Mrs Kamala Srivastava (Dina Pathak) also has to create a look-alike as Vimla Sharma in aid of Ramprashad.

However, as Lucky alias Ramprashad and Bhavani’s daughter Urmila (Bindiya Goswami) fall in love, the film heads for a fun finale.

But as they say “all’s well that ends well.” The film has a happy ending for everyone.

With so many twists and turns, viewers will be laughing out loud when watching this hilarious film. The film also reflects the urban middle-class culture of the 70s.

In addition, the film has many good dialogues, with one that thunders Bhavani:

“Tumhari shaadi ussey nahi hogi jissey tum prem karti ho, tumhari shaadi ussey hogi jissey mein prem karta hoo.”

Amol went on to bag ‘Best Actor’ at the 27th Filmfare Awards in 1980 for Gol Maal. RD Burman scores excellent music, which goes well with the theme of the film.

This Hindi language comedy film hit the theatres on April 20, 1979.

Andaz Apna Apna (1994)

Director: Rajkumar Santosi
Stars: Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal

Andaz Apna Apna is a Hindi evergreen romantic-comedy film, courtesy of Raj Kumar Santoshi.

The film is revolving around two daydreamers, Amar Mahor/Amar Singh (Aamir Khan) and Prem Bhopal/Prem Khurrana (Salman Khan).

Whilst the two are slackers, they also have good hearts. With the two middle-class individuals having no scope for progress, they immediately start focusing on rich fake heiress Raveena (Raveena Tandon).

Raveena arrives in India with her fake secretary Karishma (Karisma Kapoor). The duo head for Ooty, with both wishing to lure and marry Raveena. She is the daughter of multi-millionaire Ram Gopal Bajaj  (Paresh Rawal).

Amar and Prem chaotically and amusingly fight for Kareena. In the midst of all this, Ram’s evil twin brother Shyam ‘Teja’ Gopal Bajaj (Paresh Rawal) wants to kill Raveena.

Shyam’s assistants Robert (Viju Khote) and Vinod Bhalla (Shahzad Khan) fail to execute Teja’s plans. Therefore, Teja has to take matters in his own hands, as he kidnaps brother Ram, hoping to become rich.

Amar shortly realises that he is actually in love with Karishma (Raveena Tandon) and not Raveena Bajaj (Karishma Kapoor.

Similarly, Prem finds out that his love interest Karishma is in fact Raveena. After coming to know the truth, Amar and Prem save Ram from the clutches of Shyam.

Amar and Prem also overcome Crime Master Gogo (Shakti Kapoor) during the climax. Viewers can watch his film every time, feeling good and having a laugh with its whacky comedy.

Andaz Apna Apna is a film to watch in one go. This film saw its release on November 4, 1994. The movie has a running time of 160 minutes.

Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003)

Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Stars: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Gracy Singh, Sunil Dutt, Bomani Irani

Munnabhai M.B.B.S. is a comedy-drama film that touches the heart. Besides directing it, Rajkumar Hirani is the co-writer of the film with Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

The film centres around Murli Prasad Sharma (Sanjay Dutt), also fondly known as Munna Bhai in the film. As the titular character suggests, Munna Bhai is a goon, but with deeply good intentions overall.

At the start, he pretends that he is a doctor in front of his parents. His dad Shri Prasad Sharma (Sunil Dutt) and mum Parvati Sharma (Rohini Hattangadi) are very proud of his son.

But things all go pear shape for Munna Bhao. This is after his prospective marriage proposal with Dr Suman ‘Chinky’ Asthana (Gracy Singh) falls through.

Chinky’s father Dr Jagdish Chandra Asthana (Boman Irani) blows Munna Bhai’s cover in the presence of his parents.

Upset by this, his parents immediately head back home. Following humiliation, with the help of his close friend Circuit (Arshad Warsi) Munna Bhai takes admission into medical school to become a doctor.

Despite fulfilling enrolment requirements, the dean, Dr Ashtana, has several question marks over Munna Bhai. Nonetheless, Munna Bhai is successful in changing the attitudes of doctors when managing certain patients.

His ‘Jaadu Ki Jappi; (tight hug), which is also a popular phrase in the film, works magic. This has a big impact on hospital staff and patient, Zaheer Ali (Jimmy Shergill).

In the end, with the Munna Bhai effect, hospital patient Anand Banerjee (Yatin Kareyakar) recovers from his illness.

With this final miracle, Munna Bhai wins over Chinky and Dr Asthana. He also reconciles with his parents, who are very happy with their son.

The film won ‘Best Film (Critics)’ at the 49th Filmfare Awards in 2004. Releasing on December 19, 2003, this Hindi film has a running duration of 150 minutes.

Jab We Met (2007)

Jab We Met is one of the greatest rom-com feel good Bollywood films. The Hindi movie is directed and written by ace filmmaker Imtiaz Ali.

It is a story about a young wealthy businessman, Aditya Kashyap/Aditya Kumar, (Shahid Kapoor) who feels a touch of depression.

But then lady lucky comes in his life. He meets the free-spirited and courageous Punjabi woman, Geet Dhillon, Geet Aditya Kashyap (Kareen Kapoor) on a train.

After isolating at a railway station, Geet initially invites Aditya to her house. Later, Geet also asks Aditya to assist her escape.

The main highlight of the film is the life-changing experience that Adiya goes through. The vibrant Geet beautifully influences Aditya who is on the brink of suicide to give life another shot.

This is the fourth time that Shahid and Kareena came in a film together.

They were also several good supporting acts in the film. They include Geet’s family members – Suryendra Dhillon (Dara Singh), Amrita Dhillon (Kiran Juneja) and Prem Dhillon (Pavan Malhotra).

Additionally, the film has some cute and interesting dialogues, including:

“Main apni favoutite hoon”, “Akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarha hoti hai” and “Sikhni hoon Bhatina ki.”

The film also has the full of life song, ‘Yeh Ishq Hai.’  Snowy mountains and colourful people is the setting and surrounding for this track.

Shreya Ghoshal collected ‘Best Female Playback Singer’ for ‘Yeh Ishq Hai’ at the 55th National Film Awards in 2007. Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, India is one of the locations for the shooting of this film.

Viewers can brighten up their mood by watching this film, especially during a dull or demoralising day. With a running time of 142 minutes, Jab We Met released on October 26, 2007.

3 Idiots (2009)

Director: Raj Kumar Hirani
Stars: Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani
 
3 idiots is yet another Rajkumari Hirani direction, which falls under the comedy-drama genre. It is amongst the top feel good Bollywood films.

The film takes inspiration from the novel Five Point Someone: What not to do at IIT (2004) by Chetan Bhagat. The film focuses primarily on three friends who study at an engineering college.

Ranchoddas “Rancho” Shamaldas Chanchad / Chhote / Phunsukh Wangdu (Aamir Khan) is a very influential and creative character.

Whereas photographer Farhan Qureshi (R. Madhavan) and Business Executive Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi) have their own unique characteristics.

During their academic days, the trio have some interesting encounters, especially with stern college director, Dr Viru Sahastrabuddhe ‘Virus’ (Boman Irani).

They even get the better off over clever Ugandan-Indian student Chatur Ramalingam ‘Silencer’ (Omi Vaidya) in the film.

Dr Pia Sahastrabuddhe (Kareena Kapoor) plays the love interest of Ranchoddas.

The film has three key medical situations, concluding happily for the friends. The first instance includes Raju’s father, Mr Rastogi (Mukund Bhatt) recovering from paralysis.

The second case is when Raju recovers from his injuries after a suicide attempt. The third emergency results in Pia’s elder sister Mona Sahastrabuddhe (Mona Singh) having a baby within the college compound.

Despite, Ranchoddas helping others in all circumstances, he eventually leaves with no sight of his whereabouts. This prompts Raju, Farhan and Silencer to find him.

On their final destination, they whisk away Pia from her wedding so that she can rekindle her relationship with Phunsukh Wangdu.

The three friends reunite, with Pia back with her beau. Silencer has a surprise, which really backfires his agenda. Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra went onto collect ‘Best Film’ for 3 Idiots at the 55th Filmfare Awards in 2010.

3 Idiots was a Christmas Day release, coming out on December 25, 2020. This Hindi film has a duration of 171 minutes.

English Vinglish (2012)

Director: Gauri Sinde
Stars: Sri Devi, Adil Hussain, Navika Kotia, Shivansh Kotia, Mehdi Nabbou

English Vinglish also a comedy family movie is helmed by director and writer Gauri Shinde. The film tells the story of a small entrepreneurial woman, Shashi Godbole (Sri Devi) who makes snacks.

Shashi’s personality depicts quietness and a sweet temperament. Her refined husband, Satish Godbole (Adil Hussain) and daughter, Sapna Godbole (Navika Kotia) make a mockery of her English skills.

With the family slightly slurring her, Shashi enrolls in an English class to speak and understand the language. After passing her course with a distinction, Shashi’s family respect her hugely.

The film has two lessons. Firstly do not put anyone down, just because they lack in some area. Secondly, a little smear can often spur someone to reach peak heights.

There also several other impressive characters in the film. They include Sagar Godbole (Shivansh Kotia), Laurent (Mehdi Nabbou), Radha (Priya Anand) and Manu (Sujata Kumar)

For the main protagonist role of Shashi, Gauri took inspiration from her Marathi speaking mum. Gauri received ‘Best Debut Director’ for English Vinglish at the 2013 Filmfare Awards.

The film had positive critically acclaimed reviews from across the globe, receiving a standing ovation at cinema halls too. The performance of Sri Devi was phenomenal, especially considering that she made her come back after a fifteen-year hiatus.

The film had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 14, 2012. This Hindi film had its worldwide general release from October 12, 2012.

Viewers will enjoy every aspect of this film, which is 134 minutes in duration.

Dear Zindagi (2016)

Director: Gauri Shinde
Stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt, Ali Zafar, Ira Dubey

Dear Zindagi is a Hindi romantic coming-of-age drama. Gauri Shinde has written and directed this cult classic.

Shinde, Karan Johar and Gauri Khan are the producers of this film under their respective banners. These include Hope Productions, Dharma Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment.

The film shows Kaira (Alia Bhatt), a promising Director of Photography (DoP) being unhappy with her life. After meeting an unconventional psychologist, Dr Jehangir ‘Jug’ Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), she gains a fresh perspective of life.

With the help of Jug, Kaira also realises that contentment links with discovering personal well-being, especially when coming to terms with the imperfections of life.

Ali Zafar (Rumi) and Iray Dubey (Fatima) are some of the other big names in the film. Rumi is a former boyfriend of Kaira. Fatima is a friend of Kaira in the film.

Viewers will roam into a happy mood after watching this film. The film has a mix of fantastic performance, thought-provoking dialogues and memorable tracks.

Rating the film with four stars, Christine Iyer from The National particularly praises the acting of the main star:

“Shah Rukh Khan absolutely shines in the role of soft-spoken therapist Jehangir ‘Jug’ Khan in this gentle drama.”

Dear Zindagi certainly provides a reassuring vision of Zindagi (life). Coming out on November, 23, 25, 2016, the film is 150 minutes in duration.

Naturally, there are also many more feel-good Bollywood films that viewers may want to watch. These include Chupke Chupke (1975), Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Queen (2014).

Except a few, most of the movies on our list are perfectly viable to watch as a family. These feel-good Bollywood films are also watchable anytime, be it day or night.

Interestingly, many people will permanently add these movies as their favourites, watching them again and again. Most importantly, feel-good Bollywood films are motivational, as well as positively rejuvenating and energising.

Bollywood fans can view such movies on streaming sites, DVD’s and on South Asian TV channels broadcasting across the globe.