Sorry, I am not quite knowledgable of old movies, so cant comment on past.But there are some recent ones which in my view were quite superior movies with hardhitting story line , strong message, excellent acting , but never really caught the attention of the masses maybe because of poor publicty stunt which is so necessary for a movie to make it in the boxoffice nowadays.
Akele Hum akele tum:
Our hindi movies always ends with puppy love ending in a marriage.But actually the real story starts after the marriage and how the sweet dreams may turn into a nightmare.This movie exactly started from where the other movie ends and different from the ususal ones.
Astitva:
Dealt with a very senstive social topic of an illegitimate child and questioned the mindset of the so called urban highly educated liberated youth.Tabu again stealing the show through her gritty acting.
Chandni Bar:
Tabu in one of her best roles todate.A very powerful, moving, sad movie dealing with the harsh reality of a world which I cant even imagine, worse is when I think there exists people really going through the trauma day in and day out.It was truely a touching movie.
Mitr:
A different genre of movies, highlighting the plight of NRI’s , their dilemma, clash of cultures, questions about the tradeoff in choosing between the quality of life and family ties.Sometimes light hearted , but finally at the end does send out a strong message.An obscure cast lineup, but each doing jsutcie to their role.I would like to mention Hyderabad blues here, which was the first to set the trend.
Terrorist:
Another daringly different stunning movie, based on the life of suicide bomber.Eventhough not a perfect movie , but quite commendable considering the standard of our bollywood movies.
So there is my list.