Best movies like Banaras

The year is 1938, and Mahatma Gandhi's groundbreaking philosophies are sweeping across India, but 8-year-old Chuyia, newly widowed, must go to live with other outcast widows on an ashram. Her presence transforms the ashram as she befriends two of her compatriots.

This surreal Tamil entry tells the story of Rudran, who is abandoned as a child in Kasi and grows up to be a mystic who indulges in strange rituals and believes that he has power over life, death and rebirth.

A shopkeeper takes God to court when his shop is destroyed by an earthquake.

A Film Journey to the Soul of India documents the life of sitar master Ravi Shankar in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following him on his return to India to revisit his guru, Bengali multi-instrumentalist and composer, Baba Ustad Allauddin Khan. It further explores Shankar's life as a musician and teacher in the United States and Europe, initiating those in the West to the exceptional world that is Indian classical music and culture. Through rare and candid footage shot in both India and the United States, Raga sheds light on Shankar's influences and collaborations, from Allauddin Khan to his famed dancer brother Uday Shankar, to his associations with Western musicians Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. Fully narrated by Shankar himself, the film reveals music as the soul of India and of Shankar's life.

Shiva, a tribal vagabond lives with his mother in hamlet, stays away from the traditional Daivaradhane and Bhoota Kola legacy due to an unforgettable childhood incident. He is happy loafing around with his friends and doing petty jobs for his landlord. When Forest officer Murali enters the scene, it gives a fresh dimension to the man-vs-nature fight. Can Shiva save the forest from Murali? Or is Murali just a dummy bait cast by bigger fish?

During the British Raj, the orphan of a British soldier poses as a Hindu and is torn between his loyalty to a Buddhist mystic and aiding the English secret service.

The film is set in the India of the tumultuous 1930's when nationalists fighting for the country's independence rose up as one, urging the British to quit. At this time, a young Indian, Kisna befriends and then shields a British girl Katherine, from an enraged mob of nationalists including Kisna's own uncle and brother. Katherine is the young daughter of a ruthless British collector. Kisna takes it upon himself to escort Katherine to the safety of the British High Commission in New Delhi, who will arrange for her to board a ship home. A tender attraction develops between Kisna and Katherine during the journey, a love story that is torn between 'Karma' (the noble deed) and 'Dharma' (the duty). Laxmi, the Indian girl Kisna is engaged to, forms the third point in an emotional triangle involving the Indo-British romantic pair

Bollywood action comedy film with a lost and found theme, about three brothers separated during their childhood who grew up in three homes, adopting three religions. They meet in their youth to fight a common villain. It was the biggest blockbuster of 1977, and won several awards at 25th Filmfare Awards including Best Actor, Best Music Director and Best Editing.

Aparajito picks up where the first film leaves off, with Apu and his family having moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Varanasi (then known as Benares). As Apu progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother. This tenderly expressive, often heart-wrenching film, which won three top prizes at the Venice Film Festival, including the Golden Lion, not only extends but also spiritually deepens the tale of Apu.

A wandering baba initiates a widower layer and his youngest daughter, irritating her boyfriend Satya and the ever-skeptical Nibaran.

The film begins in 1857, when India was ruled by the British East India Company. Mangal Pandey is a sepoy, a soldier of Indian origin, in the army of the East India Company. Pandey is fighting in the Anglo-Afghan Wars and saves the life of his British commanding officer, William Gordon. Gordon is indebted to Pandey and a strong friendship develops between them, transcending both rank and race.

A few political goons, disguised as Muslims, cause trouble at the temple and kill Raghuraman's family. Later, Raghuraman joins an extremist group and decides to avenge his family's death.

A stranger in the city asks questions no one has asked before. Known only by his initials, the man's innocent questions and childlike curiosity take him on a journey of love, laughter and letting go.

While on a journey of discovery in exotic India, beautiful young Ruth Barron falls under the influence of a charismatic religious guru. Her desperate parents then hire PJ Waters, a macho cult de-programmer who confronts Ruth in a remote desert hideaway. But PJ quickly learns that he's met his match in the sexy, intelligent and iron-willed Ruth.

In 1890s India, an arrogant British commander challenges the harshly taxed residents of Champaner to a high-stakes cricket match.

A bus is setting out to Calcutta from a village in West Bengal. Meenakshi Iyer, who is from a strict orthodox Hindu background, is leaving to Chennai for her husband, with her young child, after the vacation with her parents. By chance, she gets a co-passenger who is also to Chennai, Rajah, a photographer, introduced by one of the friends of her father. During the journey they build a good relationship. But a Hindu-Muslim communal riot sets out in the meantime, in some areas they had to travel. Then she comes to face the fact that Rajah is not a Hindu but a Muslim whose real name is Jehangir. Even though she curses herself at that time while some Hindu fanatics evade their bus she saves him introducing as Mr. Iyer. But they have to reach their destination while the other passengers know Rajah as no one else but Mr. Iyer.

A woman threatens to leave her husband unless he installs a toilet in their home. To win back her love and respect, he heads out on a journey to fight against the backward society.

The year is 1975, the place is Mahim, Bombay, and this is the story of Tikku, a eunuch, the only child of yesteryear Bollywood actress Nazneen Begum, who has fallen upon hard times, is virtually destitute and is dependent on Tikku, who does make-up/hair-dressing of Bollywood actresses. When she passes away, Tikku is beside himself with grief. After the funeral, he witnesses a woman leaving a child in a garbage bin.

A Hindu man and a Muslim woman fall in love in a small village and move to Mumbai, where they have two children. However, growing religious tensions and erupting riots threaten to tear the family apart.

An ominous dream convinces 77-year-old Dayanand Kumar that his end could be near. He takes the news to his son Rajiv, knowing he wants to breathe his last in the holy city of Varanasi and end the cycle of rebirth, by attaining salvation. Being the dutiful son he is, Rajiv is left with no choice but to drop everything and make the journey with his stubborn father. Daya and Rajiv check into Mukti Bhawan (Hotel Salvation) in Varanasi, a guesthouse devoted to people who want to die there. But as the days go by, Rajiv struggles to juggle his responsibilities back home, while Daya starts to bloom in the hotel. Rajiv gives his father a shot at salvation but as family bonds are tested, he finds himself torn, and not knowing what he must do to keep his life together.

A woman awaiting surgery recalls her life as a revolutionary along with seven other countrymen.

The Aatmalingam of the Himalayas possesses enormous divine powers. Once every 72 years, the Akasa Ganga from the sky flows into Aatmalingam. Those who drink Akasa Ganga 's holy water become immortal and gain supernatural powers.

A girl believing in God marries an atheist, who is consumed by doubt. They decide to spend their honeymoon in India...

Anwar is the story of a young man, an artist, who leaves his home and everything he knows in order to escape a world he no longer recognizes. All he ever wanted was a love story, Instead, his mentor abandons him and his best friend and his one true love betray him. Devastated, emotionally exhausted, he takes refuge in an old building, only to wake up the next morning to find his world turned upside down. Mistaken for a terrorist, Anwar finds himself in the midst of an unusual set of circumstances that resonate deeply with the modern Indian Condition and indeed with the Human Condition in this present-day global village.

A filmmaker's insight into the biggest gathering on earth -the Kumbh Mela.

Raj is a Mafia member. One day he meet a girl (Meera) while chasing by his rival gang and falls in love with her. Later he finds out that this girl is the daughter of the leader of his rival gang. Yet their love story continues until he was shot by his girlfriend upon a deep misunderstanding. After that incident these two lovers lives separate until their siblings fallen in love. With this new love story their paths intertwines again.

Legend knows him as an archer of unwavering focus, the soldier who fought a battle in his own heart before taking up arms against his enemy. This is the untold story of Arjun, hero of the Mahabharata. A precocious talent plunged from boyhood and innocence into a murky world of deceit and betrayal, coming of age to become the most powerful warrior of his time. From the dusty plains of Hastinapur to the icy peaks of the Himalayas, Arjun: The Warrior Prince is the story of a man discovering what it takes to be a hero.

In the week when Hindus celebrate the holy festival of Diwali, this documentary tells the story of one of their faith's most sacred symbols - the swastika. For many, the swastika has become a symbol synonymous with the Nazis and fascism. But this film reveals the fascinating and complex history of an emblem that is, in fact, a religious symbol, with a sacred past. For the almost one billion Hindus around the world, the swastika lies at the heart of religious practices and beliefs, as an emblem of benevolence, luck and good fortune.

February 2013, Allahabad, India. Over the next 55 days, nearly a hundred million people will come here, to the Great Kumbh Mela. This incredible and awe-inspiring celebration of the world's oldest religion happens every 12 years at the place where Hindus believe two sacred rivers meet. For many Hindus this is their most important pilgrimage, and it happens at one of the most holy sites in India. Hindus come to cleanse themselves in the sacred waters of the river Ganges, to pray and emerge purified and renewed. This follows British pilgrims as they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. A journey that will take them into the heart of Hinduism - its philosophy, its beliefs and its traditions. A journey that will culminate in the largest ever gathering of humans in one place.

In the ancient city of Varanasi, which embraces an intricate history of Hinduism and Islam, a sari weaver and an orchestral dancer live their respective lives, until an incident occurs...

The story is based in Banaras and is about a Hindu Priest Chaturvedi who follows the scriptures to practice Hindu religion. When a child is abandon by a woman and brought in his house by his daughter - after initial hesitation but due to requests from his wife - the family adapts the child; only to know after 4 years that the child is a Muslim. The family gives away the child and Chaturvedi engulfs himself in the purification process to cleanse his body, mind and soul due to contact with a Muslim soul. By the time, Chaturvedi thinks he is fully purified – the child reappears – seeking refuge, due to Hindu- Muslim riots. This is the time Chaturvedi finally realizes that the true religion is - religion where humans help humans – humanity.

Karma Aur Holi is entirely shot in New York and its suburbs and Priceton/New Jersey. The film deals with relationships of many dimensions, their conflicts and resolutions on the day of Holi, which is an indian festival of colors that signifies a new beginning. A contemporary film, wherein the story revolves around the identity of Indian families living in the USA, the cross cultural differences in evolution - do Indians, having migrated from their native land adapt to the difference in culture and are they ready to give up their inherent cultural inhibitions. "Karma, Confessions and Holi" is a film about Indian families, their relationships with fello Americans. their own internal and inter-personal conflicts. First English language film with prominent Indian and International stars.

A band of displaced untouchables in Western Ghats of India embrace Buddhism in order to escape from caste oppression.

The plot revolves around the personal turmoil faced by the parents of a child who is to be inducted into priesthood by a monastery. The boy who led a carefree life until now has been identified as having a deep understanding of religious philosophy and scriptures at a very young age by the priests of a holy shrine. They request the family to induct the boy into priesthood to which the grandfather of the boy readily agrees to; for, he himself had aspirations of joining the shrine in the past. The parents, though not keen on parting with their child are compelled to give in on the basis of the word given by the elders of the family.

A wealthy businessman is murdered for the sake of wealth. His daughter Sapna is in love with Vinod. Dhanpat Rai, the businessman's cousin, despises Sapna's relationship with Vinod and sends her to a hostel. However the two decide to go straight with Dhanpat Rai and head to his grand manor. Soon the lovers find Dhanpat Rai dead and stuffed in a suitcase. Sapna and Vinod pair up with the police to speed up the investigation. Meanwhile the other members in the manor are being brutally killed by a burnt-face assailant, who has plans of his own.