The Best Drama Movies on Amazon Prime Video

After a poor Delhi autorickshaw driver (Rupinder Nagra) is named as the sole inheritor by a local billionaire (Naseeruddin Shah) just before his death, he must decide whether to keep it.

Rajesh Khanna stars as the eponymous happy-go-lucky man, who doesn’t let his diagnosis of a rare form of cancer get in the way of enjoying what’s in front of him. Told from the viewpoint of his doctor friend (Amitabh Bachchan). Hrishikesh Mukherjee directs.

A Tamil language social satire from a debutante writer-director, Aruvi follows the eponymous young woman (Aditi Balan), who is going through a bout of existential crisis, and decides to shine a light on the consumerist and misogynistic behaviours in her society.

After his plane crash-lands in the Pacific, a FedEx employee (Tom Hanks) wakes up on a deserted island and must use everything at his disposal and transform himself physically to survive living alone.

Ostracised and vilified by the press and public, a former Muslim men’s hockey captain (Shah Rukh Khan) plans to redeem himself by coaching the unpolished Indian women’s hockey team to glory. Praised for its exploration of religious bigotry, ethnic prejudice, feminism, and sexism, though its narrative sticks to sports-movie conventions and clichés. Inspired by the real-life team’s win at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Set in the eponymous Andhra Pradesh town, this Telugu film spans four love stories across religion, caste, and age — from a schoolboy to a middle-aged unmarried man. A debut for writer-director Venkatesh Maha, featuring a cast mostly made up of non-professional actors.

Refusing to accept a death sentence from his doctor after being diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s, the true story of an electrician and hustler (Matthew McConaughey) who smuggles banned medications from abroad.

In Konkona Sensharma’s feature-length directorial debut, a shy and sensitive Indian student (Vikrant Massey) pays a heavy price for his gentleness, while on a road trip with his conceited relatives and family friends. Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin star alongside.

In the wake of a school shooting, a high school student — navigating the emotional fallout — forges new friendships, redefines her view of the world, and re-evaluates her relationship with her family.

Brad Pitt and Edward Norton star in this cult hit from David Fincher, about a white-collared insomniac disappointed with his capitalistic lifestyle, who forms an underground fight club with a devil-may-care soap maker, which evolves into something much more.

Winner of five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe, this Ridley Scott-directed film tells a moving story of a Roman general (Crowe) who loses everything — his family and rank —to end up as a slave and then seeks vengeance on the perpetrator (Joaquin Phoenix).

Following an arranged marriage into a traditional and patriarchal Malayalam family, an educated Bahrain-born dancer (Nimisha Sajayan) tries to fit the conventional submissive mould her husband and his family expect her to. But soon, she starts feeling she wants more from this life.

An aspiring, young street rapper (Ranveer Singh) from the slums of Mumbai sets out to realise his dream, while dealing with the complications that arise out of his personal life and the socioeconomic strata to which he belongs. Zoya Akhtar directs, and Alia Bhatt stars alongside.

Though historically inaccurate in various aspects, Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn as British mathematician Alan Turing who helps the Allies decrypt the Nazi intelligence codes, Morten Tyldum’s direction, and the work of its strong supporting cast brought it much success and acclaim.

After their mother leaves them two letters for close family members they never knew existed, twin Arab immigrants travel to the Middle East to fulfil her last wishes and discover their family history. Inspired by the Lebanese Civil War. Denis Villeneuve directs.

Aishwarya Rai made her acting debut with a dual supporting role in Mani Ratnam’s biographical film, which is inspired by the real-life rivalry of 1980s Tamil Nadu political icons M.G. Ramachandran (Mohanlal) and M. Karunanidhi (Prakash Raj).

A 19-year-old petty criminal turned FBI informant (Lakeith Stanfield) infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in late-1960s, where he’s asked to keep tabs on their charismatic leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), and then struggles with the impact of his actions.

Upon learning that she is adopted, a young girl embarks on a journey across civil war-ravaged Sri Lanka to find her biological mother who is part of the revolutionaries. Mani Ratnam directs.

An honest cop’s son (Mohanlal) finds himself on a slippery slope after defending his father (Thilakan) from a local mobster in this Malayalam-language drama. Sibi Malayil directs.

Four brothers who share a love-hate relationship stand behind one of their own in matters of the heart in this Malayalam-language family drama that explores masculinity with nuance and in detail. Directorial debut of Madhu C. Narayanan.

Denied a release for six months by India’s censor board, this black comedy centres on four women (Ratna Pathak Shah, and Konkona Sen Sharma among them) in small town India who set out on a journey to discover freedom and happiness in a conservative society.

An overlooked veteran boxing trainer (Clint Eastwood, who also directs) reluctantly agrees to train a former waitress (Hilary Swank) to help achieve her dreams, which leads to a close father-daughter bond that will forever change their lives.

A South Korean immigrant (Steven Yeun) moves his family from California to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own “American Dream” in writer-director Lee Isaac Chung’s semi-autobiographical retelling of his upbringing. There, they must navigate natural challenges, the son’s heart condition, and a growing rift between husband and wife (Han Ye-ri).

Two 14-year-old boys (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) come across a fugitive (Matthew McConaughey) hiding in a boat stuck in a tree, trying to escape from bounty hunters, and decide to help reunite him with his lover (Reese Witherspoon).

The late renowned writer-director J. Mahendran made his directorial debut with this Tamil-language drama that eschewed industry conventions of melodrama, overacting, and duets for its story of a cable trolley winch operator and a doting brother (Rajnikanth) who clashes with his boss. Partly based on Uma Chandran’s novel of the same name.

In February 1964, civil rights activist Malcolm X, boxer Muhammad Ali, American football player Jim Brown, and singer-songwriter Sam Cooke met to celebrate Ali’s surprise title win. Regina King, in her directorial debut, offers this fictionalised account.

An idealistic young man from a poor, oppressed caste family strikes a friendship with a much wealthier female classmate at law school in this Tamil-language film, earning him the wrath of her relatives and the society at large. Debut for writer-director Mari Selvaraj.

After his wife abandons him and their cerebral palsy daughter for another man, a single father (Mammooty) working as a cab driver in Dubai must return home and raise his only kid, while on the brink of homelessness. Originally in Tamil.

An idealistic government investigator (Adam Driver) uncovers shocking secrets as he dives into the CIA’s post-9/11 use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” — in simpler words, torture — and faces severe pushback from those in the know. An Amazon original.

Leonardo DiCaprio and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu won Oscars for their work on this semi-biographical Western film set in the 1820s, which tells the story of frontiersman Hugh Glass and his quest for survival and justice amidst severe winters.

Brie Larson supervises troubled teenagers at a group home in this semi-autobiographical drama from writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton, while working through her own feelings and future with her long-term boyfriend whom she lives with.

After a poor Delhi man’s (Rajesh Tailang) 12-year-old son goes missing while away on work hundreds of kilometres away in Punjab, he sets out across the country to find him, fearing he’s been trafficked.

After he begins to lose his hearing, a heavy metal drummer (Riz Ahmed) sets out on a challenging personal journey, all the while secretly holding onto the dream of expensive in-ear implants. Credited for its sound design that puts you in the protagonist’s shoes. An Amazon original.

An ambitious young drummer (Miles Teller) is pushed to his limits and beyond by an abusive instructor (J.K. Simmons) in what became writer-director Damien Chazelle’s breakthrough.