Emotional films are strong stories that strike a deep chord with viewers and evoke a spectrum of emotions from happiness to sadness, hope to despair. These narratives frequently explore the intricacies of interpersonal connections, individual challenges, and life-changing experiences. Their portrayal of unvarnished, genuine situations that accentuate the human spirit’s resiliency captivates the audience. Stories with strong emotional resonance can have a long-lasting effect by promoting introspection and empathy.

1. Dil Bechara (2020)

The helpless heart, or Dil Bechara, is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age tragic romance film produced by Fox Star Studios and directed by Mukesh Chhabra in his feature film debut. Shashank Khaitan and Suprotim Sengputa wrote the screenplay for the movie. The film features Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi as terminal cancer patients, with an ensemble supporting cast and a cameo by Saif Ali Khan. It is based on John Green’s 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars and its 2014 American film version. In the movie, Rajput makes a surprising postmortem cameo after passing away on June 14, 2020, one month prior to the movie’s premiere.

After Fox Star Studios purchased the rights to an Indian remake in 2014, the film saw four years of screenplay and casting revisions. By late June 2018, filming for the movie Kizie Aur Manny has begun. All save the last scene, which was filmed in Paris, France, the movie was filmed in Jamshedpur and Ranchi, with irregular schedules in Mumbai. A. R. Rahman created the music and score, while Amitabh Bhattacharya wrote the lyrics. Setu and Aarif Sheikh handled the editing and cinematography, respectively.

The COVID-19 outbreak and post-production delays hindered the theatrical release. Rajput’s passing on June 14, 2020, compounded this, leading to a digital release on July 24 on the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service. In observance of Rajput Day, it was made freely available on the site in India and a few other countries. The film won appreciation from critics who praised its length, Rajput and Sanghi’s performances, the director, the plot, the character development, the soundtrack, the script, and coherence.

2. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)

Under his own production company, Dharma Productions, director, producer, and writer Karan Johar released the 2016 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which translates to “O Heart, It Is Difficult.” Starring in the movie are Aishwarya Rai, Anushka Sharma, and Ranbir Kapoor. Fawad Khan and Shah Rukh Khan make cameo appearances.

On October 28, 2016, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was released globally in conjunction with the Diwali holiday. Pritam’s music for the movie, which featured songs sung by Arijit Singh and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya, became an instant hit, adding to the film’s already considerable excitement. It did not stop working after clashing with Ajay Devgn’s Shivaay, making ₹237.56 crore (US$28 million) at the box office globally. The movie turned out to be among the highest-grossing movies of the year both domestically and internationally. Critics gave it mixed reviews when it first came out, praising the cast’s performances as well as the film’s direction, score, and cinematography—they were especially complimentary of Sharma, Kapoor, and Rai’s work.

The 62nd Filmfare Awards saw Ae Dil Hai Mushkil win four awards, including Best Music Director (Pritam), Best Lyricist (Bhattacharya for “Channa Mereya”), and Best Male Playback Singer (Arijit Singh for “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil”). The film received a record nine nominations (tying with Udta Punjab), including Best Film, Best Director (Johar), Best Actress (Sharma), and Best Actor (Kapoor).

3. Super 30 (2019)

Produced by Phantom Films, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment, and HRX Films, Super 30 is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film with a ₹60 crore budget. It is helmed by Vikas Bahl and features Hrithik Roshan as mathematics teacher and educator Anand Kumar. It is based on the life of Anand Kumar and the educational program of the same name.

Phantom Films’ final output was this movie. The movie debuted in theaters on July 12, 2019. Roshan was widely praised for his performance. The movie became a huge commercial success and one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2019 with a global gross of ₹208 crore.

4. Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017)

The 2017 Indian romantic comedy film Badrinath Ki Dulhania, also known as Badrinath’s bride, was written and directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Dharma Productions. Starring Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, the movie is a spiritual successor to Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014). It tells the tale of an ambitious small-town independent air hostess who defies her chauvinistic fiancé’s patriarchal expectations.

It is the Dulhania franchise’s second installment. The main photography was conducted in Panvel, Singapore, and Kota, starting in May 2016. During the Holi weekend on March 10, 2017, the movie was released in theaters in India. It was a commercial success, grossing over ₹200.45 crores globally.

Badrinath Ki Dulhania won Best Male Playback Singer (Arijit Singh for “Roke Na Ruke Naina”) and was nominated for eight awards at the 63rd Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Actor (Dhawan), Best Actress (Bhatt), and Best Director (Khaitan).

5. Aashiqui 2 (2013)

The 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical drama film Aashiqui 2 (transl. “Romance 2) was directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, Bhushan Kumar, and Krishan Kumar under the banners of Vishesh Films and T-Series Films. Mahesh Bhatt acted as presenter. A Star is Born is a film that is a spiritual successor to the 1990 musical Aashiqui. It is an adaptation of the 1937 original and the 1976 remake of the American cult classic A Star is Born.[4] Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor play the main roles, while Mahesh Thakur and Shaad Randhawa play supporting roles. Salil Acharya makes a cameo appearance.

This is the second part of the Aashiqui series franchise, and it is set in the early 2010s. It revolves around the turbulent romantic relationship between a failing singer named Rahul Jaykar and his protege, aspiring singer Aarohi Keshav Shirke. Rahul’s problems with alcohol abuse and temperament have an impact on the relationship.

The Indian media first expressed a number of worries that it wouldn’t be able to match the original’s high caliber and popularity. On a budget of ₹18 crore (US$2.2 million), main filming for the movie commenced in 2011 and was shot in Cape Town, Goa, and Mumbai.

6. The Notebook (2004)

Based on Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 novel of the same name, The Notebook is an American romantic drama film from 2004 that was directed by Nick Cassavetes and written from a script by Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi. In the movie, Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling play a young couple who fall in love in the 1940s. An old guy reads their story to another patient of a nursing facility in the current day, taking the narrative from a notepad.

On May 20, 2004, The Notebook made its international debut at the Seattle International Film Festival. On June 25, 2004, the movie was distributed in theaters nationwide. Gosling and McAdams received special recognition for their roles despite the critics’ usually negative assessments of their performances. With a $117 million box office take against a $29 million budget, the movie was a sleeper smash and has since gone on to become a cult classic. An expanded version with deleted sequences reinserted into the original plot debuted on ABC Family on November 11, 2012.

Numerous awards were given to the movie, including the 2005 MTV Movie Awards’ Best Kiss for Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Gena Rowlands won Best Supporting Actress – Drama at the 9th Golden Satellite Awards, while James Garner was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role at the 11th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

7. Titanic (1997)

Titanic is a 1997 American epic romantic catastrophe movie that James Cameron co-wrote, co-produced, co-edited, and directed. Based on stories of the RMS Titanic disaster in 1912, it combines elements of fiction and history. Starring as members of various socioeconomic strata who fall in love during the ship’s inaugural trip are Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. A group of actors including Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Nucci, David Warner, and Bill Paxton also appear in the movie.

The movie Titanic debuted on December 19, 1997. It received accolades for its plot, emotional depth, director, soundtrack, cinematography, production values, visual effects, and performances—especially DiCaprio, Winslet, and Stuart. It tied Ben-Hur (1959) for the most Academy Awards won by a movie when it won 11 of the 14 Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture and Best Director. Titanic was the first movie to break the $1.84 billion mark globally with its first-ever box office haul.

8. A Walk to Remember (2002)

Based on Nicholas Sparks’ 1999 novel of the same name, A Walk to Remember is a 2002 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Adam Shankman and written by Karen Janszen. Producers Denise Di Novi and Hunt Lowry worked with Warner Bros. Pictures to create the film, which stars Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote, and Daryl Hannah.

The producers were worried that the novel’s 1950s setting may not be appealing to young viewers, so they decided to put it in the late 1990s or early 2000s for the film adaptation. 39 days were dedicated to filming the movie in Wilmington, North Carolina over the summer of 2001. A large number of the sets were taken from the TV show Dawson’s Creek. Like the novel, the movie is devoted to honoring the memory of Sparks’s sister Danielle, whose battle with cancer served as the inspiration for the narrative.

On January 25, 2002, A Walk to Remember was released in theaters and, despite a budget of $11.8 million, brought in $47.5 million worldwide. The movie was deemed “wholesome” but also “bland and oppressively syrupy” by Rotten Tomatoes.

9. Before Midnight (2013)

The 2013 American love drama film Before Midnight was directed by Richard Linklater, who also co-wrote the script with Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. Third in the Before trilogy, it is the follow-up to Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004). The movie follows the now-married Jesse (Hawke) and Céline (Delpy) as they take their kids on a summer vacation in Greece.

In 2011, Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy started working on a third movie, hoping to maintain the nine-year interval that separated the previous two parts. August 2012 saw the start of principal photography, which was conducted exclusively on Southern Greece’s Peloponnese shore, including the former residence of novelist Patrick Leigh Fermor in Kardamyli. Similar to its forerunners, Before Midnight features a sparse storyline and a significant amount of screen time devoted to character dialogue.

On January 20, 2013, Before Midnight had its Sundance Film Festival debut. On May 24, 2013, it launched a restricted domestic release. On June 14, 2013, it was made available to the public. With a $23 million global box office haul, it was the highest-grossing movie of the trilogy. It was highly praised by critics, especially for the way it explored aging and romance, as well as for the writing, directing by Linklater, and actor performances. In addition to receiving several awards, the movie was shortlisted for three major writing awards: the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Delpy.

10. Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

Gábor Csupó made his directing debut in 2007 with the American fantasy drama film Bridge to Terabithia, which was based on a script by Jeff Stockwell and David L. Paterson. Based on Katherine Paterson’s 1977 novel of the same name, it stars Josh Hutcherson, Robert Patrick, Bailee Madison, Zooey Deschanel, and AnnaSophia Robb. Teenagers Jesse Aarons (Hutcherson) and Leslie Burke (Robb) in the movie build an imaginary world called “Terabithia” as a way to escape their difficult real-life situations and spend their spare time together.

The screenplay for the movie was written by Paterson’s son, whose childhood experiences served as the basis for the original novel. Csupó joined the cast in late 2005, and the other members were added shortly after. The main photography took conducted in Auckland from February to April of the same year. This movie served as cinematographer Michael Chapman’s final project before he retired and passed away in 2020.

Buena Vista Pictures released Bridge to Terabithia in the United States on February 16, 2007. Critics gave it favorable reviews, praising its fidelity to the original work as well as its cast performances and graphics. Globally, the movie brought in $137.6 million. The movie took home all five of the 29th Young Artist Awards’ nominations.