We often think of ‘freedom’ as a singular, fixed condition: the right to choose, to speak, to move, to live as one wishes. But in India, and across the world, the experience of freedom is rarely so straightforward. It is shaped by caste, class, gender, disability, sexuality, economic precarity, institutional power, and the expectations of family and society. The Constitution may guarantee certain freedoms, but the ability to exercise them is often determined by the material and social conditions in which people live.

Indian cinema has long grappled with these contradictions, using everything from political satire and social realism to melodrama and romance to ask what freedom actually looks like when it collides with the structures of everyday life. From a village’s struggle for basic infrastructure in ‘Swades’ and a farmer’s desperate ploy to save his family from crushing debt in ‘Peepli Live’ to a woman’s refusal of sexual violence in ‘Mirch Masala’ and a disabled woman’s pursuit of sexual autonomy in ‘Margarita with a Straw’, these films depict freedom and its many expressions as ideals that must be fought for, negotiated and, continuously reclaimed. Here are seven Indian films that explore different expressions of freedom and the forces that deny, complicate or constrain them.

Ashutosh Gowarikar’s ‘Swades’ examines the concept of freedom by questioning whether individuals can truly be liberated when their material conditions restrict their autonomy. When expatriate Mohan Bhargava (portrayed by Shah Rukh Khan) returns to India in search of his childhood caretaker, Kaveri Amma, he visits the fictional village of Charanpur. As Mohan observes the profound caste divisions, poverty, illiteracy, superstition, and inadequate public infrastructure, notably the absence of electricity, Gowarikar complicates the notion of returning to one’s roots. The village compels Mohan to reevaluate his definitions of freedom, progress, and a community’s capacity to determine its own future, rather than relying on systems that marginalise it. ‘Swades’ leaves viewers with a burning question: what is the purpose of political freedom if one lacks the means to access and exercise it?

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Guzaarish’ follows former magician Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan), who is paralysed from the neck down following an accident. As Ethan petitions the court for permission to end his life through euthanasia, the film asks one of the most difficult questions surrounding freedom: does the right to live also include the right to die? ‘Guzaarish’ is ultimately a film about bodily autonomy that raises several important questions about disability, the right to dignity, euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2005 film ‘Black’, loosely inspired by the life of American author, activist, and educator Helen Keller, follows the life of Michelle, a deaf, blind, and mute Anglo-Indian woman. As Michelle grows older and learns to live a full life despite her disabilities with the help of her teacher (Amitabh Bachchan), Bhansali positions access to language and the ability to communicate as an expression of personal freedom — perhaps the most fundamental expression of personal freedom.

In the early years of her life, Michelle is excluded from society’s symbolic systems. Without language, she cannot communicate her desires or understand the people around her. Her confinement isn’t only physical; it is epistemic. She is denied access to the means by which human beings make themselves understood. Education becomes the mechanism through which she eventually acquires agency. Here, Bhansali presents learning as more than academic achievement; he frames it as the instrument of freedom, enabling Michelle to negotiate her place in a world not designed for her. ‘Black’ consequently challenges the assumption that disability automatically equates to helplessness. Michelle’s lack of freedom stems not only from her impairment but, more profoundly, from a society and family structure that initially cannot imagine her as an autonomous subject.

Kundan Shah’s black comedy follows two idealistic photographers, Vinod and Sudhir, who set up a small photography studio. While investigating corruption linked to a major construction project, they accidentally photograph Tarneja, a powerful builder, murdering municipal commissioner D’Mello. They try to expose the crime but become entangled in a surreal web of politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, journalists and police officers who try to suppress the evidence. If ‘Swades’ questions whether freedom is possible without material development, ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ questions whether freedom is possible when institutions themselves are corrupt.

Anusha Rizvi’s critically acclaimed ‘Peepli Live’ follows Natha, a poor farmer facing the loss of his land because of an unpaid bank loan. When he learns that his family might receive government compensation if he dies by suicide, Natha jokingly suggests doing so. The remark reaches the media, transforming him into a national news story. Politicians, journalists, activists and television channels descend upon his village, each trying to exploit the situation for their own purposes. ‘Peepli Live’ is a story about the consequences of economic freedom (or lack thereof) through a satirical take on farmers’ suicides in India. Natha is nominally free to make choices, but his choices are structured by debt, land ownership, poverty and government policy. The absurdity of the situation — that his family might be economically better off after his death — reveals how thoroughly the poor can be stripped of agency by modern economic systems.

Shonali Bose’s ‘Margarita with a Straw’ follows Laila Kapoor (Kalki Koechlin), a young woman with cerebral palsy who leaves her home in Delhi to study for a semester at New York University. During the semester, she begins a relationship with Khanum — a young, blind Pakistani-Bangladeshi activist played by Sayani Gupta — whom Laila meets in New York. As Laila comes to terms with her sexuality as a woman with disabilities, ‘Margarita with a Straw’ examines sexual freedom, bodily autonomy, emotional independence, and freedom from familial protection through her experiences.

Set in colonial-era Gujarat, Ketan Mehta’s ‘Mirch Masala’ follows a predatory colonial tax collector who becomes obsessed with a married village woman. When Sonbai, the woman, refuses his sexual advances, he pursues her and eventually attempts to enter the chilli factory where she works. As the watchman, Abu Mian, and the women workers attempt to protect her, the film questions colonial authority, patriarchal power, and women’s bodily autonomy within patriarchal societies. ‘Mirch Masala’ frames Sonbai’s refusal of Subedar’s sexual advances as symbolic of a woman’s refusal to accept the idea that her body belongs to her husband, her community, the state or any other man. 

Here’s more from Homegrown:

The Curious Case Of Caste Representation In Mainstream Indian Cinema

From Propaganda To Social Dramas: The Evolution of Nationalism in Hindi Cinema

India’s Freedom Struggle & National Pride – 11 Films To Watch This Independence Day