Bollywood is known for its amazing storyline and narrative experiences. Also, there are plenty of Bollywood films that were based on true events. These movies offer a brief glimpse into Indian tradition, culture, and history. We have put up a list of the top incredible Bollywood movies based on true stories, and they are highly recommended.
List of Bollywood Movies Based on True Stories
Let’s examine the Hindi movies that have won praise for their gripping stories based on actual occurrences.
Ikkis (2026)
Genre: Action, Drama, Biography
Duration: 147 Minutes
Cast: Jaideep Ahlawat, Agastya Nanda, Simar Bhatia, Dharmendra, etc.
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Ikkis was inspired in part by the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who was the youngest recipient of India’s highest military honor, the Param Vir Chakra. The plot revolves around Khetarpal’s valiant acts during the 1971 Indo-Pak war battle of Basantar.
Maatrubhumi (2026)
Genre: Action, Drama
Duration:
Cast: Salman Khan, Ankur Bhatia, Chitrangda Singh, etc.
Streaming Platform: Released in the Theatre
Maatrubhumi is based on the incidents that occurred on June 15, 2020, when 200 Indian soldiers valiantly protected their area from a force of 1200 Chinese Liberation Army forces in the Galwan region. The film will be released in theaters.
Border 2 (2026)
Genre: Action, drama
Duration: 201 Minutes
Cast: Varun Dhawan, Sunny Deol, Ahan Shetty, Diljit Dosanjh, Mona Singh, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
The storyline depicts the reactions of India’s Army, Navy, and Air Force to Pakistan’s Operation Chengiz Khan onslaught. Sunny Deol portrays Lt. Vil. Catch Singh Kaler’s role, who is in charge of an army regiment during the conflict.
Chhaava (2025)
Genre: Action
Duration: 161 Minutes
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Vicky Kaushal, Rashmika Mandanna, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Chhaava’s story is about warrior-king Sambhaji Maharaj, who fights Aurangzeb’s Mughal army to preserve the Maratha Empire following the death of his father.
Article 370 (2024)
Genre: Political Thriller, Action
Duration: 158 Minutes
Cast: Priyamani Raj, Yami Gautam Dhar, Shivam Khajuria, Raj Arjun, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Article 370 is an Indian movie based on true stories that revolves around a special agent, Zooni Haksar, who is assigned a covert operation to stop bloodshed in a conflict-ridden area before a significant constitutional decision.
The Sabarmati Report (2024)
Genre: True Crime, Thriller, Drama.
Duration: 123 Minutes
Cast: Raashi Khanna, Vikrant Massey, Riddhi Dogra, etc.
Streaming Platform: ZEE5
Its suspenseful story and captivating performances are highlighted in The Sabarmati Report (2024). Samar Kumar’s inquiry into the 2002 disaster is the main focus of the plot, and his findings pose a danger to the status quo. Even though Samar’s research was suppressed, it reappears years later thanks to Amrita Gill, who works with Samar to uncover a plot involving powerful people who will stop at nothing to hide the truth.
Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway (2023)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Duration: 144 Minutes
Cast: Anirban Bhattacharya, Neena Gupta, Rani Mukerji, Jim Sarbh, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Another Bollywood movie based on true stories is Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, which revolves around the struggle of an immigrant Indian mother to regain custody of her children from the Norwegian foster care system and the local court system.
12th Fail (2023)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Duration: 146 Minutes
Cast: Anant Joshi, Vikrant Massey, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Medha Shankr, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix, JioHotstar
The 12 Fail is one of the most-viewed Bollywood movies based on true stories. The film centers on IPS Officer Shraddha Joshi and IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma.
The Kashmir Files (2022)
Genre: Political Drama
Duration: 170 Minutes
Cast: Anupam Kher, Mitthun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumar, etc.
Streaming Platform: ZEE5
The 1990s Kashmiri pandit migration from the Kashmir Valley is portrayed in Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Kashmir Files. Because of how it depicts the events and their effects on the Kashmiri Pandit population, the movie has generated a lot of discussion. It offers a viewpoint on a delicate and complicated subject by highlighting the Pandits’ suffering and relocation and drawing attention to the problems behind their departure.
Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022)
Genre: Crime, Biography, Drama,
Duration: 154 Minutes
Cast: Vijay Raaz, Alia Bhatt, Shantanu Maheshwari, Indira Tiwari, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
The narrative of Gangubai Kathiawadi centers on the ascent of a modest girl from the Gujarati small village of Kathiawad, who was forced to accept life’s challenges and turn them to her advantage. Bhansali wrote and directed the film, while Jayantilal Gada’s Pen India Limited and Bhansali Productions produced it.
83 (2021)
Genre: Drama, Sport, History
Duration: 160 Minutes
Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, etc.
Streaming Platforms: Netflix and JioHotstar
83 chronicles the Indian cricket team’s journey through the 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup, all the way to that crucial June 25, 1983, match. Under Kapil Dev’s leadership, the team won India’s first-ever Cricket World Cup.
Shershaah (2021)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Duration: 135 Minutes
Cast: Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra, Nikitin Dheer, Shiv Panditt, etc.
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Vishnu Vardhan is the director of Shershaah (2021), a biographical drama. The life of Indian Army soldier Captain Vikram Batra is the inspiration for the film. Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra are the main stars in this film.
Chhapaak (2020)
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Duration: 120 Minutes
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Deepika Padukone, Anand Tiwari, Madhurjeet Sarthi, etc.
Streaming Platform: Jiohotstar
Chhapaak is another Bollywood movie based on true stories that was released in 2020. Meghna Gulzar is the director of this movie. Laxmi Agarwal, an acid assault survivor, is the subject of Chhapaak. The film centers on Malti, who was attacked with acid on a New Delhi street in 2005.
Super 30 (2019)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Duration: 155 Minutes
Cast: Mrunal Thakur, Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Nandish Sandhu, etc.
Streaming Platforms: Netflix, Prime Video, and JioHotstar
Vikas Bahl is the director of Super 30, a Bollywood biographical drama. The film is centered on the life of Mathematician Anand Kumar, who founded a coaching program to help poor students pass the IIT -JEE exams.
Kesari (2019)
Genre: Action Epic, Drama
Duration: 150 Minutes
Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Akshay Kumar, Mir Sarwar, etc.
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
The Kesari film is based on an amazing historical account of the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi, where 10,000 Afghans and an army of 21 Sikhs engaged in combat.
Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019)
Genre: Action, Drama
Duration: 138 Minutes
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Mohit Raina, Yami Gautam, Kriti Kulhari, etc.
Streaming Platform: ZEE5
Uri: The Surgical Strike is a Bollywood movie inspired by the true stories of the 2016 Uri attack. An elite Para Special Forces unit under the command of Major Vihaan Singh Shergil launches a risky counterattack across the border. He deconstructs a militant cell’s infrastructure, grief, and military bureaucracy.
Raid (2018)
Genre: True Crime, Thriller, Drama
Duration: 121 Minutes
Cast: Ileana D’Cruz, Ajay Devgn, Saanand Verma, Saurabh Shukla, etc.
Streaming Platform: JioHotstar
Raid is another Bollywood movies based on true stories that was released in 2018. The most influential guy in Lucknow has his mansion raided by a daring income tax officer when someone inexplicably alerts him to the evidence.
Pad Man (2018)
Gene: Comedy, Drama
Duration: 140 Minutes
Cast: Radhika Apte, Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor
Streaming Platforms: ZEE5, Netflix, Prime Video
This is one of the true story-based films on the list that you should watch. Pad Man is a biographical film about an Indian social activist named Arunachalam Muruganantham. He invented an inexpensive device to produce sanitary pads, which greatly simplified menstruation for people living in rural areas.
The Ghazi Attack (2017)
Genre: Drama, Action, Thriller
Duration: 123 Minutes
Cast: Atul Kulkarni, Rana Daggubati, Kay Kay Menon, Taapsee Pannu, etc.
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video and Netflix
The film is an epic underwater story about the incredible bravery and unwavering patriotism of the men on board the Indian Submarine S21, which crushed the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi when it entered Indian waters in 1971 with the intention of defeating the INS Vikrant and taking control of the Visakhapatnam port on India’s eastern coast.
MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016)
Genre: Drama Sport
Duration: 190 Minutes
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kiara Advani, Disha Patani, Anupam Kher, etc.
Streaming Platforms: Netflix and Prime Video
MS Dhoni: The Untold Story is another Bollywood movie based on the true stories of the School football team’s goalie, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He emerges as a major state-level cricket player after Bannerjee, a school cricket coach, invites him to join his team and practice with him every day for two hours. However, for a considerable amount of time, luck did not favor him to join the Indian Cricket team. After working as a ticket checker for Indian Railways and playing cricket for the company, Dhoni was chosen for the Indian Cricket team after four years, and he went on to become one of the most outstanding captains in Indian cricket history.
Sarbjit (2016)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Duration: 131 Minutes
Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Darshan Kumar, Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadda, etc.
Streaming Platform: Prime Video
Sarabjit Singh, a farmer from Bhikiwind, Punjab, who lives close to the Indo-Park border, is the subject of this biopic. After a few drinks, Singh crossed the border. He was given the death penalty, nonetheless, because it was thought that he was an Indian spy.
Dangal (2016)
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama
Duration: 161 Minutes
Cast: Sakshi Tanwar, Aamir Khan, Zaira Wasim,
Streaming Platforms: Prime Video and Netflix
Mahavir Singh Phogat, who trained both of his daughters, Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari, to wrestle, is the subject of this biopic. At the Commonwealth Games (2010), Geeta Phogat participated in the games and earned the first wrestler from India to win the Gold medal. On the other hand, her sister Babita Kumari won the silver medal.
Neerja (2016)
Genre: Thriller, Biography
Duration: 121 Minutes
Cast: Yogendra Tiku, Sonam Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Shekhar Ravjiani, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
The real story-based movie is Neerja, which was released in 2016. The tale of brave Neerja Bhanot, who gave her life in 1986 when a terrorist group hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 to save the 359 passengers’ lives.
Manjhi – The Mountain Man (2015)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Duration: 120 Minutes
Cast: Radhika Apte, Gaurav Dwivedi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tigmanshu Dhulia, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
The Indian biography Manjhi The Mountain Man is based on the life of Dashrath Manjhi, also referred to as the Mountain Man, who resided in Gehlaur hamlet, close to Gaya, Bihar, and spent 22 years carving a road through a mountain.
Talvar (2015)
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Drama
Duration: 133 Minutes
Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi, Irrfan Khan, etc.
Streaming Platforms: Netflix and JioHotstar
Another Bollywood movies based on true stories is Talvar. It is based on the actual 2008 Noida Double Murder Case, in which the parents were allegedly the main suspects. The plot centers on the unexplained killings of Shruti, a 14-year-old girl, and Khempal, a domestic helper who worked for her. The Hindi language thriller film became available in 2015. The film earned the International Indian Film Academy Award in 2016.
Mary Kom (2014)
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Sport
Duration: 122 Minutes
Cast: Darshan Kumaar. Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sunil Thapa, etc.
Streaming Platforms: Netflix and Prime Video
An account of the life of Indian fighter Mary Kom, who faced many challenges before boldly realizing her greatest ambition. This is one of the best Bollywood movies that based on true stories you must watch.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)
Genre: Biographical Sport Drama
Duration: 186 Minutes
Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Divya Dutta, Art Malik
Streaming Platform: Prime Video
One of the best true story-based Bollywood movies is Bhaag Milkha Singh, which was released in 2013. The real-life tale of Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, an Olympian and world champion who overcame destitution, the civil war during the India-Pakistan division, and family murder to establish herself as one of India’s most famous athletes.
Special 26 (2013)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Duration: 144 Minutes
Cast: Kajal Aggarwal, Anupam Kher, Akshay Kumar, Jimmy Sheirgill, etc.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
The plot, which is based on actual events that took place in India in 1987-1988, centers on a group of con artists who stole money from well-known politicians and businesses in the 1980’s by posing as CBI or income tax inspectors and carrying out raids. They would seize all of the black money they had accumulated under the guise of raids.
Paan Singh Tomar (2012)
Genre: True Crime, Biography, Action
Duration: 135 Minutes
Cast: Sanjeeva Vats, Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, etc.
Streaming Platforms: Netflix and Prime Video
The tale of seven-time national steeplechase champion and Indian athlete Paan Singh Tomar, who, after retiring, turns into one of Chambal Valley’s most dangerous gangsters.
Black Friday (2004)
Genre: True Crime, Action
Duration: 162 Minutes
Cast: Pawan Malhotra, Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastav
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Black Friday focuses on the investigations that followed the bombings in Bombay in 1993. The many accounts of those involved, police, victims, and middlemen, are presented.
Conclusion
Since we are aware that the stories are not just works of fiction, films based on genuine stories are always more engaging to watch. These stories are even more captivating to watch because they are based on actual people’s lives and experiences. Watch these Bollywood movies based on true stories on the OTT platform.
