Below is a structured index of Hindi movies released between January 2016 and December 2021. Each entry includes the title, genre, lead cast, and a brief note on its significance.
The most significant shift is indexed by platform. Prior to 2020, OTT was a post-theatrical window. From March 2020 onward, films premiered directly.
Netflix India Originals (Hindi, 2020-21):
Amazon Prime Video (Hindi, 2020-21):
Disney+ Hotstar (Hindi, 2020-21):
Implication for the Index: A film's "release date" now has two meanings: theatrical and streaming. Our index tracks both. For example, Shershaah (2021) – no theatrical run, but indexed as the most-watched Hindi film of the year on Prime.
If you landed here searching for an "index of Hindi movies 2016 2021" for practical purposes, here is what you can do: index of hindi movies 2016 2021
Note: The term "index" is often used by archivists or Plex server owners to catalog file names. If you are looking for a downloadable database (CSV/Excel) of this list, you can copy this table into a spreadsheet tool.
| # | Movie Title | Genre | Key Cast | Verdict | |---|-------------|-------|----------|---------| | 1 | Wazir | Thriller | Farhan Akhtar, Amitabh Bachchan | Hit | | 2 | Airlift | Historical Drama | Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur | Super Hit | | 3 | Saala Khadoos | Sports Drama | R. Madhavan, Ritika Singh | Underrated | | 4 | Neerja | Biopic/Thriller | Sonam Kapoor, Shabana Azmi | Blockbuster | | 5 | Kapoor & Sons | Family Drama | Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt | Hit | | 6 | Fan | Thriller | Shah Rukh Khan | Average | | 7 | Baaghi | Action | Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor | Hit | | 8 | Udta Punjab | Crime Drama | Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor | Cult Classic | | 9 | Sultan | Sports Drama | Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma | Blockbuster | | 10 | M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story | Biopic | Sushant Singh Rajput | Blockbuster | | 11 | Dear Zindagi | Drama | Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan | Hit | | 12 | Dangal | Sports Biopic | Aamir Khan | All-Time Blockbuster |
Key Takeaway from 2016: This was the year of the "thinking man's blockbuster." Dangal became the highest-grossing Indian film ever, while Udta Punjab sparked conversations on drug abuse. Below is a structured index of Hindi movies
Rather than list every title, we index by thematic clusters that defined the era.
| Thematic Cluster | Representative Films (2016-2021) | Key Characteristics | Peak Year | |----------------|-----------------------------------|---------------------|------------| | The Middle-Class Small-Town | Dangal (2016), Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), Badhaai Ho (2018), Dream Girl (2019) | Family-centric, non-metropolitan, social comedies | 2018 | | The Biopic Wave | M.S. Dhoni (2016), Sanju (2018), Padmaavat (2018), Super 30 (2019) | Nationalist or heroic figures, often revisionist | 2018 | | Social Thriller / Critic of Modernity | Pink (2016), Raees (2017), Andhadhun (2018), Thappad (2020) | Noir-inflected, addressing consent, morality, class | 2019 | | The Failed Franchise | Housefull 3 (2016), Judwaa 2 (2017), Total Dhamaal (2019) | Multi-starrers, slapstick, declining returns | 2016-17 | | COVID-Era OTT Originals | Gunjan Saxena (2020), Ludo (2020), Sardar Ka Grandson (2021) | Designed for streaming, shorter runtimes (90-110 min) | 2020-21 |