I don’t have a ton of recommendations so I’m clubbing these all together. First movies, then music, then books. For Ladakh travel recommendations, see my Leh post and other Ladakh posts.
Movies
In my Leh post I briefly talk about the movie theaters in Leh. Check that out if you’re interested.
Many Indian films shoot in Ladakh, but not many actually take place there, it’s mainly just used as an exotic backdrop, often for songs. The exceptions would be war films about Kargil and other conflicts in Ladakh, but those are pretty disconnected from Ladakhi culture. Excluding war movies, the only mainstream Indian movie I can think of that actually takes place here is Dil Se, but even that doesn’t go much further than exotic backdrop territory. There’s a decent selection of independent stuff to watch, though (largely not by Ladakhi filmmakers, it seems). Unfortunately I haven’t seen any, so this is my personal watch list.
The biggest film I know of set in Ladakh is Samsara by the well-regarded director Pan Nalin (this is unrelated to the better known Ron Fricke documentary, which also shot some footage in Ladakh) which is about a Buddhist monk in Ladakh and is actually in the Ladakhi language. It got some great reviews and was distributed by Miramax in North America though I can’t find anything about its release. Trailer here, looks awesome.
I’m not sure if Nalin’s follow-up film Valley of Flowers specifically takes place in Ladakh, but it shot there and is the only movie I know of to shoot in Ladakh to have a historical Silk Road setting (though I’m not sure how big of a portion that is in the film, it is a globe-trotting, era spanning affair). Another awesome trailer, though this one strangely has no reviews. I unfortunately haven’t seen either of these and I’m not sure if high quality versions are available for streaming (neither are available on Blu-ray, and I can’t even find good quality trailers), but I will definitely watch them one day.
Another good looking Ladakhi language film is Walking with the Wind, by the director Praveen Morchhale who I hadn’t previously heard of but seems good, and like Nalin he hails from central India but makes movies all over India. Unfortunately this is my least favorite genre, a “kids in the village” movie, but it has a donkey as a supporting character so that cancels out the kid thing. Nice trailer, beautifully shot, it will probably bore me but I’ll give it a chance.
The film Ri by Achal Mishra is shot entirely in Ladakh. I can’t find a trailer and am not sure if it’s available to watch anywhere, though it premiered at a film fest in 2023 so should be available soon. I periodically see Mishra called one of India’s best independent filmmakers today, though I haven’t seen his work yet. This is said to be experimental and light on narrative, and the reviews are mixed, but is widely acclaimed for being stunningly shot.
There’s also In Retreat by Maisam Ali which played in the ACID section at Cannes in 2024. One review called it “an understated 75-minute drama about a man who returns to a mountain town that he left many years ago.” The descriptions and the clip I watched honestly make it look boring to me, but I’ll watch it one day. I think this is the only film on my list that’s actually by a filmmaker who lived in Ladakh, though I’m not sure he identifies as Ladakhi. I wish there were movies about the director’s ancestors, and other similar subjects: “My forefathers, originally from Kashmir, were traders. They lived in Ladakh but would also travel for trade to parts of Central Asia and China.” Maybe I should start a gofundme for that movie. There's so many interesting, amazing stories that India's mainstream filmmakers ignore, but then the independent filmmakers just want to make stuff like "an understated examination of dislocation" or whatever.
Another promising film I came across is Chuskit by Priya Ramasubban, who I’m not familiar with. “To chase her dream of going to school in her remote Himalayan village, a feisty paraplegic girl locks horns with her tradition-bound grandfather.” It looks like a good, well-made movie, if not exactly my thing, and a good portrait of life in Ladakh. Here’s the trailer.
Lastly, there’s a short film (50 minutes) starring Irrfan Khan called Road to Ladakh, which shot there but doesn’t seem to have much of a focus on the local culture. I haven’t heard anything about it but the director Ashvin Kumar got an Oscar nomination for his next short, so maybe it’s good. Not sure if it’s available in good quality anywhere.
These films are mostly by outsiders and are made for film fests moreso than for local consumption, but there is a small “local” Ladakhi film industry. The films don’t look so good, unfortunately. They do have a lot of promise, though, with great locations, an old world Ladakh setting, and a quasi-western feel. They’re just bogged down by low production values and soap opera-y aesthetics. Here’s one random trailer which looks pretty representative of them:
I also spent a few minutes skimming through the 2005 hit film Delwa on Youtube. I love what it’s going for and there’s some killer visuals, but I suspect it’d be tough to sit through. Still, I wonder if there are some potential trashterpieces and hidden gems of local Ladakhi cine