From Dangal to Maharaja, Watch These Films This Father’s Day!

Fathers tend to exist in the background of sentimentality. They are not usually loud about their love. In contrast to the maternal embrace that society is willing to extol, paternal love tends to be soft-spoken, frequently stoic, and sometimes misinterpreted. But behind each dad joke, each blustering lecture, each clumsy hug, and each forgotten bill lies an intensely complicated emotional universe—one that film, at its finest, has come to navigate with sensitivity. This Father's Day, let's swap the platitudes for something more enduring. Whatever your relationship with your father—whether close, tense, distant, or somewhere in between—these nine movies give a glimpse into the various ways that fatherhood can transform us, and the many forms love can take. Watch them with your dad, or on his behalf. Sometimes the screen speaks louder than our lips can.

1. Udaan (2010): The Flight from Control

In India’s industrial heartland, Udaan follows a teenage boy expelled from boarding school who returns home to a tyrannical father. What unfolds is a tragic tale of stifled aspiration and emotional tyranny, told with restraint and rawness.
Why it matters:
Udaan is not your feel-good Father’s Day movie—but it’s necessary. It exposes what happens when discipline becomes dominance and love is withheld in the name of authority. For those navigating inherited silence, it offers both catharsis and courage.


In a quiet London café, a father and son—estranged by years of distance and disappointment—meet for an afternoon that slowly unravels a lifetime of emotional complications. The Mehta Boys speaks more through silence than speech.
Why it matters:
Every family has its own version of this: unspoken frustration, clumsy apologies, the ache of trying to reconnect. This film doesn’t offer closure—it offers compassion, and that’s sometimes more meaningful.

3. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006): Love in Every Struggle

Based on a true story, this film follows Chris Gardner, a single father navigating poverty and homelessness while trying to provide a better future for his son. Will Smith gives a performance of quiet power and dignity.
Why it matters:
There’s no grand gesture here, only everyday perseverance. A father holds onto his son through despair and displacement. In doing so, he also holds onto hope. It’s a timeless testament to resilience.



A seemingly mild barber’s life is disrupted by a petty theft—but behind this simple event lies unresolved grief and fierce paternal instinct. Maharaja unfolds like a slow-burning thriller, layered with hidden emotion.
Why it matters:
This film honors fathers who suffer silently and still show up as protectors. It’s about strength that speaks not through shouting, but through steadfast presence and quiet sacrifice.

5. Well Done Abba (2010): Laughter, Dignity, and the Everyday Father

In this witty satire, Armaan Ali—a government driver—takes on corruption to get a well built in his village, motivated by his daughter’s dignity and future. Shyam Benegal blends humor with heart.
Why it matters:
Some fathers aren’t chasing greatness—they just want their children to have clean water, dignity, and a chance. This story proves that even ordinary men can carry extraordinary love.

6. Drishyam (2015): A Father’s Moral Dilemma

When a tragic mistake threatens to destroy his family, a simple man constructs a masterful plan to protect them. Drishyam is a thriller on the surface, but underneath lies deep paternal devotion.
Why it matters:
Love is not always noble or clean. Sometimes it’s messy, morally grey, and fiercely protective. This film captures the lengths a father will go to shield the ones he loves.

7. Hi Nanna (2023): Grief, Healing, and the Soft Father

This Telugu-language film tells the story of a widowed father raising his daughter with quiet devotion. When the past resurfaces, emotions run deep, and parenting becomes a mirror of unresolved loss.
Why it matters:
Hi Nanna gently reminds us that fathers feel deeply too. That softness and strength can coexist. And that raising a child often heals parts of the parent along the way.

8. Dangal (2016): Tough Love, Tremendous Belief

Inspired by the real story of Mahavir Singh Phogat, Dangal follows a father who trains his daughters to become champion wrestlers. His love is strict, his belief in them unshakeable.
Why it matters:
Dangal celebrates fathers who break societal norms for their daughters’ growth. It teaches us that discipline, when rooted in deep belief, can be one of the most empowering forms of love.

9. Piku (2015): Love in Irritation, Care in Conflict

Piku is a headstrong woman managing a demanding job and an even more demanding father. Their journey from Delhi to Kolkata is peppered with friction, humour, and moments of unexpected tenderness.
Why it matters:
For every adult child navigating ageing parents, Piku is strikingly relatable. It shows us that love doesn’t always look like a hug—it can also look like a fight about fibre intake.

Final Thought: A Different Kind of Love Letter
These nine films don’t glorify ideal fathers—they honour real ones. Flawed, devoted, awkward, silent, overbearing, supportive. Men who may never say “I love you” but show it in ways we only learn to understand as we grow older.
This Father’s Day, skip the social media posts and sit down with one of these stories. Let them open a door to laughter, reflection, or quiet connection. Let them remind you that love doesn’t always follow a script. Sometimes, it just shows up. And stays. And sometimes, that is all we need.

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1. What are some must-watch films for Father’s Day 2025?Films like Udaan, Hi Nanna, Dangal, Maharaja, and The Pursuit of Happyness beautifully capture different shades of fatherhood.
2. Are these movies suitable for watching with the whole family?Yes, most of these films are family-friendly and offer emotional depth that resonates across generations.
3. Do these films reflect real-life father-child relationships?Absolutely—they portray both the tenderness and complexity found in real father-child bonds.