IMDb; Undeniable & Readable Write Up Of Bollywood Movies!

IMDb (Internet Movie Database) is very in vogue among all movies buff for its immense and authentic information related to movies, personalities, television programs and many other details that make it abundant useful for us everyone. In origion of India too, it gained enormous popularity in last few years and also increasing by passing time. Alexa (a web informer) shows that India is 3rd biggest country in term of IMDb's viewership only behind  than America and China.

Well, apart from what IMDb is, we have come to analyse or give write up about of delineation of Hindi movies (we are refering to Bollywood) rating on IMDb. We're looking up what kind of strategy or mindset Bollywood movies lovers consider when rate any movie on IMDb. We'll also clarify some of accusation often we obtrude on IMDb for users of the site being biased towards their favorite stars, overrating or underrating movies, overseas and domestic box office performance, effectiveness of its rating etc.

For making picture clear, we have collected data from IMDb that makes fact easier to understand. This data is featuring highest rated Hindi-language feature films with atleast 10,000 votes. Have a look below:

S. No.	Movie's Title	Year	IMDb Rating	No. Of Votes
1	Andaaz Apna Apna	1994	8,7	15 300
2	Dil Chahta Hai	2005	8,6	21 900
3	Sholey	1975	8,6	16 200
4	Rang De Basanti	2006	8,6	35 100
5	Taare Zameen Par	2007	8,6	46 200
6	Gangs Of Wasseypur	2012	8,6	20 400
7	A Wednesday	2008	8,5	15 200
8	Bhaag Milkha Bhaag	2013	8,5	17 900
9	3 Idiots	2009	8,5	101 000
10	Munna Bhai M.B.B.S	2003	8,5	15 300
11	Swades	2004	8,5	25 500
12	Hera Pheri	2000	8,4	11 000
13	Lagaan	2001	8,4	32 100
14	Udaan	2010	8,3	16 600
15	Barfi	2012	8,3	31 700
16	Paan Singh Tomar	2012	8,3	10 900
17	Chak De! India	2007	8,3	19 000
18	Kahaani	2012	8,3	22 000
19	Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge	1995	8,2	18 500
20	Black	2005	8,2	16 200
21	Lage Raho Munna Bhai	2006	8,2	12 000
22	Dev D	2009	8,1	13 200
23	OMG: Oh My God!	2012	8,1	12 800
24	Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara	2011	8	24 800
25	Jab We Met	2007	8	13 600
26	Kal Ho Na Ho	2003	8	19 600
27	Vicky Donor	2012	7,9	14 500
28	English Vinglish	2012	7,9	11 400
29	Special 26	2013	7,8	12 400
30	My Name Is Khan	2010	7,8	37 400
31	Kai Po Che	2013	7,8	10 600
32	Water	2005	7,8	10 600
33	Raanjhana	2013	7,7	11 300
34	Kuch Kuch Hota Hai	1998	7,7	13 500
35	Veer Zaara	2004	7,7	14 900
36	Jodhaa Akbar	2008	7,6	11 100
37	Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na	2008	7,6	10 800
38	Rockstar	2011	7,6	13 800
39	Devdas	2002	7,5	14 800
40	Monsoon Wedding	2001	7,4	16 800
41	Talaash	2012	7,4	16 400
42	Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Ghum	2001	7,4	15 800
43	Ghajini	2008	7,3	17 200
44	Fanaa	2008	7,2	11 200
45	Aashiqui 2	2013	7,2	11 600
46	Don	2006	7,2	13 000
47	Don 2	2011	7	24 500
48	Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi	2008	7	15 100
49	Jab Tak Hai Jaan	2012	7	27 500
50	Main Hoon Na	2004	6,8	10 200
51	Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani	2013	6,7	11 600
52	Om Shaanti Om	2007	6,5	14 800
53	Dabangg	2010	6,3	12 200
54	Chennai Express	2013	6	19 800
55	Dhoom 3	2013	6	17 900
56	Ek Tha Tiger	2012	5,3	13 000
57	Ra.One	2011	4,7	20 000
58	Bodyguard	2011	4,4	10 400
59	Gunday	2014	1,3	42 000

Note: This data is till February 2014 and we have taken adjoint neighbouring for No. of votes.

Fectual error by IMDb: Delhi Belly has 12,100 votes. Still it's not included in this list.

There are only 59 movies which are capable to enter into this list. Although this numbers are quite less considering what number of movies bollywood produce every year, still it's sufficient to reckon some facts. Have a look:

• After having a look of this chart, it's very clear that the new generation of Bollywood cine-goers has shown their inclination to vote for contemporary movies on IMDb. In other words the new age generation vote their own generation movies in majority. There are only 4 movies of pre 2000's listed into this chart unlike Hollywood movies where we can see many old movies having good numbers of votes, even some of them give nice competition to new released movies. Well, we have too some of internal played out masterpiece from pre 70's, many of them having above 8 IMDb rating. But hadn't listed according to its criteria.
• It's also clear that IMDb is getting more attention from multiplex audiences. Movies like Gangs Of Wasseypur, Udaan, Kai Po Che, Dev D, Black which had less mass appeal and also failed to gross sufficient box office numbers, having nice number of votes., where blockbuster movies like Ready, Rowdy Rathore, Dabangg 2 etc don't have good numbers of votes. In other words, may people enjoy masala genre movies in theaters but they come to vote movies on IMDb which usually being considered quality movies or which are critical acclaimed. They want to show their applaud to those movies. We would like to mention that quality of a movie may be state of mind. So, no offence here.
• About accusation on IMDb ratings being biased by superstars-fan culture and amount of votes dependent on bigger star, we partially agree, not fully, cause there are always big stars-impact and it should be. Please have a look again at list. It has Shahrukh's 17 movies, Amir Khan's 10 movies, Salman Khan's 4 movies and Hrithik Roshan's only 2 movies out of 59 movies. Don't all these deserve what they have got? We say, of course they got what they should have had. If, it would have been only fan based rating, then this list should have been dominated by the films which starred big superstars like Salman, Shahrukh, Aamir, Hrithik etc. Here we take an example, look at Dev D (2009) and Devdas (2002) and number of votes both movies have got, There is a difference of approx 1,600 votes. Devdas had big star cast and it was a hit at box office window, on the other hand Dev D, without face value & despite the failure at box office, managed to get so many votes. If we go with this accusation then there should be a really big difference and Devdas rating should be much much more than Dev D. But, here's the point; Dev D has higher rating (8.1) whereas Devdas has 'only' 7.5. It makes Dev D a better movie than Devdas. So, it's all about judging quality of movie.
• As Margaret Fuller says, "Nature provides exceptions to every rule", how IMDb could discrete to it. Let's see an example; Gunday has got huge votes and vey very low rating and that too in just of few days after release. Where a Bollywood movie takes couple of years to cross 30K votes, Gunday gained that number of votes in just one week. Infact, Gunday has gained 1st rank in IMDb Bottom 100. Well, we have visited many other trusted sites, collected plenty of reviews' rating and averaged it. We've come to know that it is not that awful movie as IMDb rating shows. But unfortunately it's being said that in Gunday, it's shown something offensive about Bangladesh and that it was a try to manipulate the history of Bangladesh. The votes Gunday got, are only based on the hatred towards the movie over offensive portrayal, not related to the movie's actual worth. So, we shouldn't be dubiousness on efficacy of IMDb taking one or two movies.
• Don't worry if you see different releasing year/date of any movie because IMDb consider the first release date as release date, not when they get theatrical release in India. It means that the release date on IMDb can be the date when a Bollywood movie is shown in another country or in any film festival before release in India. That is why 'Ship Of Theseus' & 'Shahid' (both films had their world premiere at the '2012 Toronto International Film's Festival') releasing year is shown as 2012 on IMDb whereas it got theatrical release in 2013 in India. You can also vote for such movies before they get released in India since IMDb voting is automatically started after its first release. As Anurag's next psychological thriller Ugly's voting has been started despite the fact that it hasn't gotten theatrical release in India yet. It was screened at the '2013 Cannes Film Festival' and is going to release in India this year.

Some Statistics:

Only two directors' (considering who has directed at least two movies) all movies are included in the list of 'Highest Rated Hindi-Language Feature Films' with atleast 10,000 votes. 

1. Rajkumar Hirani: Munna Bhai M.B.B.S (2003), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), 3 Idiots (2009)
2. Neeraj Pandey: A Wednesday (2008), Special 26 (2013)

Both Shahrukh Khan & Aamir Khan's all post 2006 movies are included in list of 'Highest Rated Hindi-Language Feature Films With Atleast 10,000 Votes' If we don't take Billu (2009) and Dhobi Ghat (2011) into account as they were not lead stars in those movies.

There are only 5 Bollywood movies have managed to enter in the list of 'IMDb Top 250' and surprisingly 4 out of 5 movies are Aamir Khan starrer. It vindicates Aamir Khan's perfection for sure.

1. Taare Zameen Par (2007): 8.6, Top 250 #123

2. 3 Idiots (2009): 8.5, Top 250 #127

3. Rang De Basanti (2006): 8.6, Top 250 #142

4. Lagaan (2001): 8.4, Top 250 #200

5. Swades (2004): 8.5, Top 250#231

*Gangs of Wasseypur might join this list very soon.

Note: IMDb uses some methods for IMDb Top 250 list. Because of that you will see different rating of all movies listed in this chart as compared to actual rating of the movies. Among above mentioned movies except Swades, all four have 8.2 rating on IMDb Top 250 page which is different to their actual rating. We woluld like to share the reasons:

- Only non-documentry theatrical releases running at least 45 minutes with over 25,000 votes are considered. Before July 2012 minimum numbers of votes needed to be included in this chart were 3,000. But, in an effort to keep this chart and voting system relevent and accurate, they have changed it.

- The 'Top 250' rating is based on only the rating of "regular voters", all other user's rating is ineligible. Although, who are these "regular voters", it has been kept secret. IMDb has stated that to maintain the effectiveness of the top 250 list they deliberrately do not disclose the criteria used for a person to be counted as a regular voter. 

-  Top 250 films are based on a weighted rating formula reffered to in actuarial science as a credibility formula.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai was first Hindi feature film (also 1st Indian) who entered in IMDb Top 250 on 13 July '07 but came away in next few days. Infect, a lot of movies enter and come away to this list many times. All those are:

1. Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) first entered on 13 May '07 (Not in current Top 250).
2. Taare Zameen Par (2007) first entered on 31 Dec '07. Came away on 16 July 2012 due to 25,000 votes needed policy. Re-entered on 22 January '13 when it had finally completed 25,000 votes. 
3. Rang De Basanti (2006) first entered on 26 Sep '08. Came out and re-entered on 16 November '13.
4. Dev D (2009) first enterd on 6 March '09. (Not in current Top 250)
5. Andaz Apna Apna (1994) first enterd on 4 Aug '09. (Not in current Top 250)
6. 3 Idiots (2009) first entered on 11 Jan '10. Came away on 16 July '12. Re-entered on 22 January '13.
7. Kahaani (2012) first entered on 8 April '12. (Not in current Top 250)
8. Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012) first entered in the list on 16 July '12. (Not in current Top 250)
9. Lagaan (2001) first entered on 15 Dec '13.
10. Swades (2004) first entered on 24 Feb '14.

There're four Bollywood movies feature in the list of IMDb Bottom 100 With At Least 1,500 Votes:

1. Gunday (2014): 1.2, Bottom 100 #1
2. Himmatwala (2013): 2.1, Bottom 100 #28
3. Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag (2007): 2.1, Bottom 100 #40
4. Tees Maar Khan (2010): 2.4, Bottom 100 #82 

There're only four Hindi feature movies in list of IMDb Top 50 Highest Rated Thriller Films:

1. Sholay (1975): 8.6, Top 50 #15
2. Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012): 8.6, Top 50  #18
3. A Wednesday (2008): 8.5, Top 50 #25
4. Paan Singh Tomar (2010): 8.3, Top 50 #47.

We have created a separate table for another Top 13 Lowest Rated Hindi Feature Films With At Least 1,000 Votes. Have a look below:

S. No.	Movie's Title	Year	IMDb Rating	No. Of Votes
1	Gunday	2014	1,3	42 000
2	Himmatwala	2013	2,1	2 800
3	RGV'S Aag	2007	2,1	2 800
4	Aap Ka Surroor	2007	2,2	1 100
5	Jani Dushman	2002	2,3	2000
6	Tees Maar Khan	2010	2,4	4 900
7	Love Story 2050	2008	2,6	1 400
8	Joker	2012	2,6	2 100
9	Rascals	2011	2,8	1 200
10	Jism 2	2012	2,8	2000
11	Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage	2000	3,1	2 000
12	Drona	2008	3,1	1 400
13	Cash	2007	3,4	1 300

Because of an unidentified reason, on January 2013, IMDb has enhanced rating of many Bollywood movies adding 0.3 or 0.4. We tried hard to find out the reason, but couldn't succeed, since IMDb keeps its policy confidential.

Hollywood director Alfred Hitchcock has most number of films in IMDb Top 250. And this huge number is 9. Another interesting fact is that all these films are pre-60's.

Some Of The Best Hindi-Language Featured Movies Of Pre-90's:

S. No.	Movie's Title	Year	IMDb Rating	No. Of Votes
1	Anand	1971	8,8	6 200
2	Gol Maal	1979	8,5	3 900
3	Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro	1983	8,4	4 500
4	Chupke Chupke	1975	8,3	2 600
5	Guide	1965	8,3	2 400
6	Pyasa	1957	8,2	2 300
7	Mughal-E-Azam	1960	8,2	2 800
8	Masoom	1983	8	1 600
9	Salaam Bombay!	1998	8	5 400
10	Deewar	1975	8	3 414
11	Mother India	1957	7,9	3 100
12	Awaara	1951	7,9	1 800
13	Kaagaz Ke Phool	1959	7,9	1 959
14	Abhimaan	1973	7,9	1 300
15	Mera Naam Joker	1972	7,9	2 000

It's interesting to see that many films from our industry has been listed in Best Feature Films Of World Releasing Every Year With At Least 1,000 Votes. Have a look below at the Best Feature Films Of Last Ten Years (At least 1,000 Votes):

Year : 2013
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	Bhaag Milkha Bhaag	8,5	17 900	2nd
2	The Lunchbox	8	6 400	29th
3	Madras Café	7,9	8 400	32th
4	Special 26	7,8	12 400	45th
5	Kai Po Che	7,8	10 600	48th

Year : 2012
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	Gangs Of Wasseypur	8,6	20 400	2nd
2	Barfi	8,3	31 700	5th
3	Kahaani	8,3	22 000	7th
4	OMG: Oh My God	8,1	12 800	13th
5	Ship Of Theseus	8,1	2 100	16th
6	Vicky Donor	7,9	14 500	18th
7	English Vinglish	7,9	11 400	19th
8	Shahid	7,8	1 800	33th

Year : 2011
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara	8	24 800	11th
2	Pyar Ka Panchnama	7,7	6 700	30th
3	Delhi Belly	7,7	12 068	40th

Year : 2010
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	Udaan	8,3	16 600	6th
2	Paan Singh Tomar	8,3	10 900	7th
3	I Am Kalam	7,9	1 600	20th
4	My Name Is Khan	7,8	37 400	27th
5	Do Dooni Chaar	7,7	2 100	42th

Year : 2009
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	3 Idiots	8,5	101 000	1st
2	Dev D	8,1	14 200	12th
3	Gulaal	8,0	4 900	14th
4	Wake Up Sid	7,6	9 800	48th

Year : 2008
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	A Wednesday	8,5	15 200	2nd
2	Rock On!!	7,9	7 700	24th
3	Mumbai Meri Jaan	7,9	2 900	25th
4	Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye	7,9	6 600	28th
5	Dasvidaniya	7,9	3 300	29th
6	Aamir	7,8	4 200	34th
7	Jodhaa Akbar	7,6	11 100	49th
8	Jaane Tu… Ya Jane Na	7,6	10 800	50th

Year : 2007
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	Taare Zameen Par	8,6	46 200	1st
2	Chak De! India	8,3	19,000	4th
3	Jab We Met	8	23 700	16th
4	Johnny Gaddaar	8	4 800	17th
5	Manoroma Six Feet Under	7,9	2 400	29th
6	Guru	7,7	8 200	41th

Year : 2006
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	Rang De Basanti	8,6	35 300	1st
2	Khosla Ka Ghosla	8,3	6 700	5th
3	Lage Raho Munna Bhai	8,2	12 000	8th
4	Omkara	8,1	6 700	9th
5	Dor	7,9	3 000	24th

Year : 2005
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	Black	8,2	16 300	3rd
2	Iqbal	8,1	4 700	5th
3	Water	7,8	10 600	26th
4	Sarkar	7,8	5 600	28th
5	Socha Na Tha	7,8	3 300	29th
6	Rocket Singh	7,8	3 900	30th

Year : 2004
S. No.	Movie's Title	IMDb Rating	Votes	Rank
1	Swades	8,5	25 300	1st
2	Black Friday	8,4	4 800	3rd
3	Ab Tak Chhappan	7,9	2 400	30th
4	Lakshya	7,9	7 000	31th

So, It was our write up about IMDb with lot of hope that Bollywood may do better and better, set benchmarks in international films industry and enter into every top IMDb list by huge numbers. Any question and suggestion is welcomed.

About The Author: Ankit Prakash is not a writer. He is just a simple movie lover who likes quality movies. He is a member of Team Bollywood CineTalk. This write up was written by him accidently ;-)

Contact: Facebook, Twitter