Daku (1955)

Welcome to a cinematic fever dream where every melodramatic twist is a delight and every costume hides a dagger—or at least a magic trick. Daku (1955) is a gloriously chaotic, pulp-masala gem from the Wadia Brothers, directed by Babubhai Mistry, the godfather of lo-fi epic fantasy. It stars a young, irrepressible Shammi Kapoor, just beginning to resemble the rakish icon we’d come to adore in the '60s. Add in the fierce and fabulous Shashikala as his heroine, and the ultra-glam Kuldip Kaur as the royal vamp, and you've got the makings of pure, vintage Bollywood joy.