Ten visually stunning Hindi films

Moksha
Ace cinematographer Ashok Mehta made his directorial debut with this often overlooked film starring Arjun Rampal and Manisha Koirala, but one look at the high-contrast black and white opening credits shows you a lensman at the top of his form. It's not a great film, but, as a friend wisely said, it's worth watching on mute. Fantastic visuals.

Mission Kashmir

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Vinod Chopra knows his visuals, and all he needed to do was give Binod Pradhan the leeway to tackle a Kashmir story. The film flip-flops from serene Dal Lake loveliness to gritty terrorist warfare, and the visuals are absolutely spellbinding.

Dil Se
The Mani Ratnam-Santosh Sivan collaboration hit an all-time visual high with Dil Se as the director and cinematographer collaborated over one of the finest soundtracks in modern cinema to craft a constant array of astonishing, unforgettable visuals. From traintops to desertscapes, this one has it all.

Bandit Queen
Shekhar Kapur hit the international league with this hard-hitting film, a world-class product in every aspect. Cinematographer Ashok Mehta must have been only too glad to move out of Bollywood mode, and he gave Kapur a magnificently shot film, right from the infamous and disturbing **** sequence to many cavernous backdrops to moments of pure-blooded action. Gripping stuff.

Gajagamini
India's most iconic artist Mf Hussain made his directorial debut with this wildly experimental tribute to Madhuri Dixit. Ashok Mehta wonderfully captured the master's canvas-like-imagery, as blue and white mingled on a backdrop to theatrically form night and the actress played massive sized instruments as part of her role as the ultimate muse. A phenomenally inventive film in every way, especially in terms of look.