Films about prostitution in India

Bhagwat: Chapter One – Raakshas is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film directed by Akshay Shere. The film follows the investigation of a prostitution racket.

1988 film by Mira Nair

2014 film directed by Farah Khan

2022 film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali

2016 film directed by Abhishek Chaubey

Deewaar ( The Wall) is a 1975 Indian action crime film directed by Yash Chopra, from a story by Salim–Javed. The film stars Shashi Kapoor, and Amitabh Bachchan alongside an ensemble cast of Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi, Iftekhar, Madan Puri, Satyen Kappu and Manmohan Krishna. The music was composed by R. D. Burman, while cinematography and editing were handled by Kay Gee Koregaonkar and T. R. Mangeshkar-Pran Mehra. In the film, two impoverished brothers struggle to survive in the slums of Mumbai and eventually find themselves on opposing sides of the law. The film's title signifies th

2001 film by Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla, Mastan Alibhai Burmawalla

Pyaasa (; ) is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who also stars in the film alongside Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, the film tells the story of Vijay (played by Dutt), a disillusioned Urdu poet whose works are underestimated by publishers and criticized for focusing on social issues rather than romantic themes. The narrative follows Vijay's encounters with Gulabo (Waheeda Rehman), a kind-hearted prostitute, and Meena (Sinha), his former girlfriend. Gulabo helps him get his poetry published, leading to the success of his

Saawariya () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1848 short story White Nights. The film marked the debuts of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. It was the last film appearance of both Zohra Sehgal and Begum Para before their deaths. Co-produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, it is the first Indian film to receive a North American release by a Hollywood studio and is one of the first Indian films to be released on Blu-ray Disc.

Pakeezah (; ) is a 1972 Indian musical romantic drama written, directed, and produced by Kamal Amrohi. The film stars Meena Kumari as the eponymous lead, alongside Ashok Kumar and Raaj Kumar. It tells the story of Sahibjaan, a Lucknow-based tawaif. While asleep on a train, Sahibjaan receives a note from a stranger praising her beauty. Later, evacuating from a broken boat, she takes shelter in a tent and finds out its owner, a forest ranger named Salim, wrote the letter. Sahibjaan and Salim plan to get married, causing conflicts with Sahibjaan's professional background.

Mardaani () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Pradeep Sarkar and produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films. The film stars Rani Mukerji in the lead role, with Jisshu Sengupta, Tahir Raj Bhasin, and Anant Vidhaat Sharma in supporting roles. It is the first instalment in the Mardaani Trilogy. The narrative follows Shivani Shivaji Roy, a policewoman whose interest in the case of a kidnapped teenage girl leads her to uncover the secrets of human trafficking by the Indian mafia.

1954 Indian film

2012 film by Reema Kagti

Dev.D is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. It is a modern-day adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1917 Bengali novel, Devdas. The film stars Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechlin in lead roles. The film is set in modern-day Punjab and Delhi, and follows Devendra Singh "Dev" Dhillon (Abhay Deol), a privileged young man who descends into alcohol and drug addiction after a failed relationship with his childhood love Parminder "Paro" Kaur (Mahie Gill), eventually forming an unexpected bond with Chanda (Kalki Koechlin), an escort na

2003 film by Anant Balani, Sudhir Mishra

2001 film by Madhur Bhandarkar

Sadak (; ) is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language romantic action thriller film directed by Mahesh Bhatt. It stars Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt. The film is one of the highest-grossing movies of the year 1991. It is an unofficial remake of 1976 American film Taxi Driver. This film was remade in Tamil as Appu (2000). A sequel, Sadak 2, was released on 28 August 2020 on Disney+ Hotstar, to extremely negative reviews.

2007 film by Pradeep Sarkar

2006 film by Anurag Basu

1975 film directed by Gulzar

1958 film by Baldev Raj Chopra

Manichitrathazhu () is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language epic psychological horror film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Shobana. It also features Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Innocent, Vinaya Prasad, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sridhar, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, Sudheesh.

2017 Hindi film by Srijit Mukherji

2005 film by Mohit Suri

2011 film directed by Mohit Suri

Parched is a 2015 Indian drama film written and directed by Leena Yadav and produced by Ajay Devgan under his banner Ajay Devgn FFilms. It premiered at the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. In India, the film was released on 23 September 2016.

1983 film by Shyam Benegal

thumb|Manoos thumb|x220px|Aadmi Manoos, also called ''Life's for Living, is a 1939 Indian Marathi social melodrama film directed by V. Shantaram. The movie was simultaneously made in Hindi as Aadmi''. The film was based on a short story called "The Police Constable". The story was by A. Bhaskarrao, with screenplay and dialogue by Anant Kanekar. The cinematographer was V. Avadhoot and the music was composed by Master Krishna Rao, with lyrics by Kanekar. The cast included Shahu Modak, Shanta Hublikar, Sundara Bai, Ram Marathe, Narmada, Ganpatrao and Raja Paranjpe.

2014 film by Nagesh Kukunoor

2008 film by Hansal Mehta

1975 Indian film directed by Shakti Samanta

1988 Telugu film directed by B. Narsing Rao

2004 film by Deepak Shivdasani

2013 film directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan

1998 film by Raj N. Sippy

2022 Marathi film directed by Prasad Oak

2004 film by Florian Gallenberger

1995 film by Krishna Vamsi

Naayak () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language action comedy-drama film directed by V. V. Vinayak who co-wrote the film with Akula Siva. The film was produced by DVV Danayya and presented by S. Radha Krishna under the banner Universal Media. The film stars Ram Charan (in a dual role), Kajal Aggarwal, and Amala Paul in the lead roles. S. Thaman composed the film's score and soundtrack. Chota K. Naidu was the cinematographer and Gautham Raju the film's editor.

2013 film directed by Ajay Bahl

1994 Tamil film directed by Santhana Bharathi

2003 film by Suneel Darshan

2010 Telugu film directed by Krish

2014 film by Jeffrey D. Brown

1968 film

Kajraare () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Pooja Bhatt, starring Himesh Reshammiya and Sara Loren in the lead roles. Reshammiya plays a singer who falls in love with a bar dancer and the film is centred on how they find true love. It is the first Hindi film to be shot in Petra.

romantic action film directed by Maqbool Khan

Dhada () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action film directed by Ajay Bhuyan and produced by D. Siva Prasad Reddy. The film features Naga Chaitanya and Kajal Aggarwal. The music composed by Devi Sri Prasad, cinematography by Gnana Shekar V.S of Vedam fame, editing by Dharmendra Kakarala of Prasthanam and LBW - Life Before Wedding fame.

2015 film by Puri Jagannadh

1973 Tamil film directed by K. Balachander

2002 film by Fareeda Mehta

2014 Indian Hindi-language film by Hansal Mehta

2000 film

1936 film by Franz Osten

1997 film by Basu Bhattacharya

2013 film directed by Rajesh Touchriver

Rajkahini ( Tale of Kings, can also be called Tale of the Raj) is an Indian Bengali-language epic period action drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji. The shooting of the film was completed in June 2015 and the film was released on 16 October 2015. The film has an ensemble cast of eleven major female characters led by Rituparna Sengupta and also stars Saswata Chatterjee, Kaushik Sen, Jisshu Sengupta, Abir Chatterjee and Jaya Ahsan in other pivotal roles. The film was a critical and commercial success. It has since then been remade in Hindi by Mukherji as Begum Jaan.