Best movies like The Cloud-Capped Star

After moving from Calcutta to New York, members of the Ganguli family maintain a delicate balancing act between honoring the traditions of their native India and blending into American culture. Although parents Ashoke and Ashima are proud of the sacrifices they make to give their children opportunities, their son Gogol strives to forge his own identity without forgetting his heritage.

Set in the turbulent 1930s, this is the story of a poor Chinese hawker selling his merchandise, Chinese silk, in the streets of Calcutta. This was the time when China was repulsing a brutal attack of militarist Japan and when an outraged Rabindranath Tagore wrote to his friend in Japan, the great poet Noguchi: “I wish your countrymen, whom I love so much, not success but remorse”. This film holds the dubious distinction of being the first to be banned (though temporarily) in independent India.

Neerja is a portrayal on the life of the courageous Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers on the Pan Am flight 73 in 1986. The flight was hijacked by a terrorist organization.

'Nishi Padma' is a 1970 Bengali drama film written and directed by Aravinda Mukherjee, based on a short story 'Hinger Kochuri' by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, and starring Uttam Kumar and Sabitri Chatterjee as leads. This film was remade in the Hindi as 'Amar Prem' (1972), directed by Shakti Samanta.

Ganga Singh lives near Gangotri with her brother, Karam. One day she comes to the assistance of a young man, Narendra Sahay, who has come with a group of Calcutta-based college students to study the source of the holy river Ganga, and to get some holy water for his wheelchair-bound paternal grandma. Both are attracted to each other, and on the next Puran Mashi get married, and spend the night in close intimacy. Narendra leaves, but promises Ganga that he will be back soon. Months go by, but he does not return. She gives birth to a son, and as soon she is able to, she starts her journey to Alipor, Calcutta, to confront Narendra and ensure a better future for their son.

The story of a hitman who kills for the mob, but on one job he falls madly in love with a girl, who happens to be the beautiful daughter of an associate.

Kiran is mortified by her growing lesbian desire for the effervescent Delilah in an idyllic Indian village where arranged marriage is the only acceptable form of coupling.

An upper-caste Hindu Brahmin struggles to make ends meet forcing his daughter, Shalini, to take the burden of maintaining the family upon her shoulders

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.

Apu is a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer. An old college friend talks him into a visit up-country to a village wedding...

After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.

Calcutta News (2008) is a Malayalam romantic drama film written and directed by Blessy. The film stars Dileep, Meera Jasmine, Indrajith and Vimala Raman. The music is by Debojyoti Mishra. The film deals with the issue of trafficking in women and how a middle-class girl from Kerala gets caught in it. It showcased Blessy's yet another different genre film and successfully provided Dileep a different character unlike his usual comic

A married family therapist cheats on her husband with a younger man and becomes trapped in her double life, unable to say anything and risk hurting either man in her life.

A devout upper-class Hindu has a vision in a dream that his daughter-in-law is the human incarnation of the Goddess Kali and begins worshipping her.

Fort St. David, Cuddalore, southern India, 1748. While colonial empires battle to seize an enormous territory, rich in spices and precious metals beyond the wildest dreams, and try to gain the favor of the local kings, Robert Clive (1725-1774), a frustrated but talented clerk who works for the East Indian Company and struggles to earn his fortune, makes a bold decision that will change his life forever.

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

Dr. Eli Watt, a widower, comes to a small town, considering himself a failure in his attempt to have a meaningful career in New York. He raises his son Jimmy as well as Letty, a baby whose mother has died in childbirth and whose father blames Watt and abandons the child. Watt dreams of returning to do research studies, but always something gets in the way: an epidemic, his children's needs, or the needs of his generally ungrateful patients. Only with the passing years does he come to find that his future isn't over and his past isn't quite the failure he believed.

After his wealthy family prohibits him from marrying the woman he is in love with, Devdas Mukherjee's life spirals further and further out of control as he takes up alcohol and a life of vice to numb the pain.

An impoverished man and his young son travel to Calcutta and look for work, in order to make money that'll save their ancestral land from being seized by a corporation.

Byomkesh, fresh out of college, agrees to investigate the disappearance of Bhuvan, a chemist. Assisted by Bhuvan's son Ajit, Byomkesh links the case to a larger conspiracy that will unsettle Calcutta.

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 socialite masquerades as a notorious femme fatale to win back her straying husband during a costume party aboard a doomed dirigible.

A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.

Barmaid Stella Claire and blueblood Stephen Dallas have very little in common -- except they've fallen in love. When their relationship fails, Stella decides to raise the child they had, Jenny, alone. But Jenny and Stella are far from the perfect mother-daughter pair.

After divorcing a society man, a small-town woman tries to build a better life for their daughter.

An alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge objects when his free-spirited daughter becomes romantically involved with him.

The Dhanrajs are blessed with a daughter. However, during childbirth, Dhanraj's wife dies and he blames his daughter for his wife's fate. He refuses to see her face and remarries. His daughter, Laxmi, grows up to be a beautiful woman who's ignored by her father and abused by her stepmother. The only person who stands by her is her half-brother. Laxmi soon gets married but fate seems to hold nothing new for her. She has a loving relationship with her husband, but her mother-in-law couldn't stand her and she too physically abuses her.

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

Shongram (struggle) is a romantic drama set during the 1971 liberation struggle of Bangladesh. A British Bengali on his death bed is interviewed by a daring London reporter, where four decades later, Karim is able to recall and finally share his past. We are transported to 1971, when Bangladesh was still East Pakistan and a young Karim (a Muslim) is in love with a beautiful Asha (a Hindu). The peaceful village life is suddenly interrupted by war and Karim must grow up fast to survive in an era where mass killings and abduction was common. He must also carry out his duty and revenge before he can finally search for Asha.

Leah's 30th birthday is on Christmas Eve, the same day as her brother's wedding. Her childhood crush is back in town for the wedding and he is determined to make sure her birthday does not go by the wayside.

Every parent wants the best for their kids, and Shahzad is no exception. Ever since his wife died, he's been trying to keep his two kids Salma and Hassan on track. Salma is growing up quickly, and Shahzad wants to make sure she's set up with the right guy to settle down with It's a promise he made his wife, and part of what he considers his duty as a dad. But what does Salma want? Unbeknown to Shahzad, she's caught up in a whirlwind romance with charismatic charmer Imi. Salma knows Imi is not what her dad is expecting, but can she find a way to make everyone happy? A hard-hitting drama with a devastating finale, Murdered by My Father is a story about the power and the limits of love in communities where 'honour' means everything.

Manorama, the daughter of a rich, orthodox family is married off, leaving her childhood friend Deodhar and his secret love for her, in despair. When tragedy befalls her, and traditions seem unfair, Deodhar must fight for what's right.

After an old college friend offers him a job at an iron foundry, the upright and honest Ishwar leaves a shanty town on the outskirts of Calcutta where he lives with a group of refugees from East Bengal. With plans to forge a solid living for himself, sister Sita and Abhiram, an orphaned boy he offers a home to, Ishwar is accused of selling out and deserting his people.

A financially-strapped mother and her children relocate from the city to a small rural town.

Free as a bird. To wander. To nestle. To take flight. We are not. As India gained its much awaited independence in 1947, a race faced another struggle. Bengal was divided and hundreds of thousands of Bengalis were displaced and divided on the basis of their religion. The Hindus were forced out as East Bengal was made a part of Pakistan and the same fate lay in store for the Muslims of West Bengal. Millions became refugees in their own homeland, and thousands still bear the cross and the scar. The film is a human saga of a truncated land and how people are trying to relive their destiny.