Though few Indian films have crossed over to mainstream success in the U.S., there is no denying how important Bollywood films are to the global cinematic culture. Much more than Slumdog Millionaire, recent Indian films range from the prototypical Bollywood musical to broad, crowd-pleasing comedies to violent gangster films and intense dramas. This is especially evident on Netflix, which bolsters a strong and diverse accounting of titles to stream. For a nice introduction of recent Bollywood films, check out these five recommendations that are now available to stream on Netflix. -AP

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai [Karan Johar, 1998]

Karan Johar’s 1998 directorial debut is a touchstone in the evolution of Global Bollywood. The fourth romantic outing of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, one of Bollywood’s favorite star couples, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai tells the story of Rahul, a widower raising his child alone after the death of his young wife, and Anjali, Rahul’s best friend who has secretly loved him for years. Johar, originally a costume designer by trade, foregoes traditional Indian garb in favor of Western jeans, polo shirts, and tennis shoes that would come to define the new mall culture of the 2000s. The third highest grossing Hindi film of all time, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was one of Hindi-film’s first international hits, beating the box office receipts of Titanic in several countries. -JH

Ishqiya [Abhishek Chaubey, 2010]

Vidya Balan is brilliant as the fierce widow of a local gang-leader, who encounters two small time thieves who fall in love with her. As the thieves bicker over her heart, she realizes that she can use this to her own advantage. A hilarious, sometimes violent, dark comedy, Ishqiya along with Kahaani [2012] cemented Vidya Balan’s claim as one of Bollywood’s toughest and most versatile performers. A perfect anecdote to any conception of Hindi film romance as overly saccharine and dramatic. -JH

Gangs of Wasseypur [Anurag Kashyap, 2012]

Anurag Kashyap’s epic crime drama has lived several different lives, premiering as a six hour feature at the Cannes Film Festival Director’s Fortnight in 2012, later being released in India in two three hour parts, and now being divided up into an eight episode series for Netflix. In any of these forms, Kashyap’s film packs a punch, depicting the fierce competition between three Jharkandi mafia families across three generations, from the early 1940s to the mid-1990s. Bloody, bawdy, and often brilliant, Kashyap films violent spectacle with the visual flare of Tarantino and a spot-on ear for rough dialogue from the margins of society, as epitomized by the soundtrack’s hit song “Hunter.” -JH

Dhanak [Nagesh Kukunoor, 2015]

This feel-good 2015 road trip movie follows the journey of a 10-year old girl and her blind younger brother as the journey across the deserts of Rajasthan in hopes of meeting Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who she believes will pay for an operation to save her brother’s sight. Part travelogue, part coming-of-age story, Dhanak is punctuated by vibrant scenes of Rajasthani and Sindhi culture that takes stardom, Bollywood, and the pantheon of Hindi film heroes as seriously as its two pint-sized stars. -JH

Piku [Shoojit Sircar, 2015]

Another recent road trip film out of India, Piku is a very broad and very entertaining comedy. The film stars Deepika Padukone as the title character, an independent career woman with a difficult relationship with her aging and increasingly antagonistic father [Amitabh Bachchan]. When Piku decides to sell a family estate in eastern city Kolkata, her father vehemently disagrees without explanation, setting the couple off on a cross-country journey. Crossover star Irrfan Khan gets roped in as the owner of the taxi company Piku hires for the trip—when none of his employees are available, Rana begrudgingly chooses to escape his own family problems. Most of the dramatic and comedic material comes within the changing relationships between these three big personalities. Initially, Piku and Rana are at odds mostly because of Piku’s hot temper and unwillingness to get along. Bachchan is surprisingly good as Piku’s father—the character builds nicely over the film, ultimately becoming much more than the broad old man stereotype at the onset. Piku has a nice mix of the flashy Bollywood style with enough touching moments to work against its broad comedy. -AP