Several films had been made in English in India and by the Indians since the talkie first appeared in 1931.during the era of the New Cinema Aparna Sen`s magnificent 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981) was accepted whole heartedly, proving that there was audience for English Films in India. After Aparna Sen it was the turn of Pradip Krishen to make English films in India. Two of his films are worth mentioning.

Massey Sahib is a 1986 flick but the film is set in 1929 somewhere in the rural hinterland of colonial India. It is the story of Master Massey, an Indian Christian clerk (Raghuvir Yadav) attached to the office of the British Commissioner. His next movie was Electric Moon (1991). It purports to illustrate the East West encounter through somewhat familiar trials and tribulations of a group of British tourists playing out their nostalgia for the Raj era in a jungle lodge.

One of the most forceful English language films is Dev Benegal`s English, August (1995). The film is based on Upamanyu Chatterjee`s novel. English, August stars Rahul Bose in the lead. The film deals with a city bred IAS officer who is posted to a remote village. He revolts and escapes the place. English, August abounds in humour and irreverence and is a little masterpiece. However with time the nature of the English films in India changed. The films now represented multilingualism and multiculturalism that is prevalent in India. These films no more deal with the first generation settlers in the foreign countries. By now it is the second and third generation NRIs who undergo the cultural conflicts. This aspect is best represented in one of popular movies, The Namesake (2006), by the same director. The protagonist Gogol undergoes this sort of conflict and he has to sort out his real identity amongst such confusion.

Another film that is worth mentioning is Gandhi (1982), a film based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough. Apart from this, In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones (1989) was based on ten screenplay written by Arundhati Roy. The film had autobiographical elements as Roy penned down her own experiences of studying at an architecture school. Directed by Pradip Krishen the film had Arjun Raina as the title character, Roshan Seth and others in the cast. In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones received two National Awards in 1989.

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s several English films in India were released. Amongst these were East is East staring Om Puri; the controversial flick Fire (1996), directed by Deepa Mehta; Bombay Boys (1998); Hyderabad Blues (1998) and Rockford (1999) by Nagesh Kukunoor; The Making of Mahatma (1996) by Shyam Benegal, starring Rajit Kapoor, Bombay Boys (1998), Split Wide open (1999) starring Rahul Bose and others.

In 2001 came Monsoon Wedding (2001), a film by Mira Nair. The film is set in a Punjabi household where a big fat Punjabi wedding is taking place. With this background Nair explores the nitty gritties of relationships in a joint family. There multiple themes which Monsoon Wedding deals with. During this same period films English films like Everybody Says I am Fine (2001), Mitr, My Friend (2002), Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2003), Freaky Chakra (2003), White Noise (2004) and several others were released in India.

Mitr, My Friend (2002) deserves to be mentioned as it in a way reflects the cross-cultural currents. It portrays a woman`s struggle to keep everything in order: as a wife, as a mother and as a homemaker. This is Revathy`s directorial debut. The film won international acclaims and was recognised for its brilliance by the National Awards.

Mr. and Mrs. Iyer is also a popular English film in India. The film was directed by one of the women directors of East India, Aparna Sen. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer starred Rahul Bose and Konkona Sen Sharma in the lead. The film deals with a situation when these two characters are caught up in the midst of communal riots and the unspoken bond that develop between them during this journey. The film received a worldwide acceptance. The lead pairs were outstanding in their respective roles.

Mango Souffle (2002), Stumble (2003), Leela (2002), Hyderabad Blues 2 (2004), Morning Raga (2005), Bride and Prejudice (2004), Sins (2005), Being Cyrus (2006), Water (2005), Mixed Doubles (2006), Provoked (2007), Parzania (2007), Via Darjeeling (2008) and others are so of the popular and most appreciated English films in India.