Gangsters may always fall, but it’s a thrilling, infamous ride. And Bollywood has encashed on this and some of the best film directors have produced some incredible gangster movies. The guns, the power struggles, the bonds, the betrayals and, most of all, the violence and blood have made gangsters and the cinema perfect partners in crime.
There are a lot of movies which are inspired by real life gangsters and we have compiled them in this Bollywood Gangster Movies List
Don (1978) : Amitabh Bachchan is Don, a big time smuggler and ruthless criminal. However this Don meets his nemesis in the DSP D’Silva (Ifthekar) and is killed. To nab the entire gang, the DSP devises a master plan. He hires a street artiste and Don look-alike Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) to impersonate Don and infiltrate the criminal gang. This movie was classified a golden jubilee by Box Office India.
Deewaar (1975) : This blockbuster film of the 70’s was based on the story of a dockworker, played by Amitabh Bachchan who goes on to become a dreaded underworld don. The film is supposed to be based on the life of Haji Mastan.
Vaastav: The Reality (1999) : Director Mahesh Manjrekar Vaastav is allegedly based on the true-life story of underworld gangster Chota Rajan. This hard-hitting film delves into the realities of the underworld. Known to be one of Sanjay Dutt’s best performances, Vaastav was successful in its attempt to show that the underworld is not just about bloody fights, but consisted of human beings who are capable of emotions. The film, it was said, was partly financed by Rajan himself.
Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007) : In the film Shootout at Lokhandwala, Vivek Oberoi essayed the role of Maya Dolas, an underworld goon. The film is based on the Lokhandwala Complex shootout that took place in 1991.
Shootout at Wadala (2013) : Director Sanjay Gupta’s film is said to be based on the life of Mumbai gangster Manya Surve, who was active at a time when criminal gangs were trying to spread their influence beyond Mumbai. Surve, played on screen by John Abraham, was an educated criminal who knew how to plan robberies like an expert. Later, the police killed Surve in Mumbai’s first recorded “encounter” or staged gun fight.
Satya (1998) : This Ram Gopal Verma film follows the story of a young man who comes to Mumbai in search of a job. What follows are a series of events that draw him into the underworld. Satya is regarded to be one of the best gangster films ever made.
Company (2002) : This Ram Gopal Varma’s film was loosely inspired by the relationship between mob bosses Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Rajan, who were once very close before falling out over the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai that were masterminded by Ibrahim with the backing of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. Company, not only received positive reviews, but also went on to become the highest grossing Hindi film of 2002.
Kaminey (2009) : The desperate lives of two separated twin brothers meet over missing drugs, politics, racial prejudice, corrupt cops and an unplanned pregnancy.
Maqbool (2003) : An adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth by directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, is the a powerful underworld don. Pankaj Kapoor was awarded the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the movie.
Gangster (2006) : Mahesh Bhatt’s Gangster was based on the life of Abu Salem. The film traced the relationship between Salem and Monica Bedi played by Shiney Ahuja and Kangana Ranaut respectively.
Godmother : This one tells the story of mafia queen and former Janata Dal MLA Santokben Jadeja. Godmother is allegedly based on crime and violence in Gujarat’s Porbandar area.
Agneepath (2012) : Agneepath was an iconic film, that was based on the underworld. The film follows the struggle of a common man, Vijay Chauhan, as he seeks revenge from Kancha Cheena, for wrongly framing and murdering his father in the island village of Mandwa. In the process he befriends an underworld drug lord Rauf Lala and falls in love with a loquacious girl, Kaali Gawde.
Black Friday (2004) : Based on S Hussain Zaidi’s book of the same name, this is the most authentic film to date on Mumbai’s gangsters and the links of some mob bosses to Pakistan’s intelligence set-up. Director Anurag Kashyap’s docu-drama probed the 1993 blasts in Mumbai that killed 257 people and the riots that occurred after the bombings. It shows how Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon planned and executed the serial blasts.
Sarkar (2005) : The authority of a man, who runs a parallel government in Mumbai, is challenged. His son rises to face his enemies.
Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) : Anurag Kashyap’s movie set a new benchmark for gangster films. It focused on the coal mafia of Dhanbad and the war between criminal dynasties. Apart from being commercially successful, the film won numerous accolades at film festivals and also went on to bag several awards.
Gangs of Wasseypur II (2012): This is the second installment of the Gangs of Wasseypur saga, and is all about the conflicts among three influential crime families. Politics, crime and revenge rule the roost in this segment, too. Violence, blood and gore are unleashed in full throttle in this epic crime drama.
Nayakan : Varadarajan Mudaliar was like a Robin Hood to people from South India living in Mumbai during the 1980s. Kamal Haasan played the lead role of Sakthi Velu aka Velu Nayakan and went on to win several awards for his portrayal of an unsophisticated don. Later, Feroze Khan made Dayavan, which was based on the same story, with Vinod Khanna in the lead. Both films met with phenomenal commercial success.
D-Day (2013) : Rishi Kapoor played Iqbal Seth aka Goldman, a Pakistan-based gangster in this Nikhil Advani film. Some Indian spies are on a mission to kidnap Iqbal, who is wanted in many cases in India.
Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) : This film throws light on an era when Mumbai’s underworld was slowly getting organised under the leadership of Haji Mastan, who was active in the 1960s and 1970s.
Parinda (1989) : Two brothers are caught on the different sides of a gang war. It is considered by many to be the turning point in reality in the hind gangster flicks of Indian cinema
Arjun (1985) : Arjun is the story of a reluctant gangster who is made due to the poverty and bad circumstances of life.
There are some more movies from our Bollywood Gangster Movies List. We will share about some more of these shortly.
Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster (2011)
Yeh Saali Zindagi (2011)
Dum Maaro Dum (2011)
Khalnayak (1993)
Zulm Ki Hukumat (1992)
Don 2 (2012)
Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006)
D (2005)
Sarkar Raj (2008)
Hathyar (2002)
Shiva (1990)
Risk (2007)
Footpath (2003)
Agneepath (1990)
Ab Tak Chhappan (2004)
Kaante (2002)
Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! (2013)
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