Bollywood spy film genre is not exploited to its full potential. We all love spy movies that create thrilling suspense.
We have a great history of Espionage Spy thriller Movies, spy flicks are not new in the Indian film industry there are some good spy films that were released back in the 1950s and 1960s. Spy films still is a less explored genre in India.
Proper spy films need a huge budget, you need gadgets for different foreign locations for the shoot which is not possible for all directors.
Bollywood has given some marvelous Jasoosi movies and we have handpicked 18 best Bollywood Spy movies that every spy Film lover would love to watch and enjoy.
I might have missed your favorite Hindi Spy movie on this list, but do not feel bad about it. Just use the comment box below to add your favorite spy movie and we will try to add your favorite Hindi Spy film to the list to make the list perfectly.
Best Bollywood Spy Thriller Movies of All Time
Also Read: Best Bollywood Movies Based on Real-Life
Best Old Hindi Spy Films of All Time
CID (1956)
CID is an action thriller film directed by Raj Khosla. The movie starred Dev Anand as a Police Inspector investigating a case of the murder of a newspaper editor who was about to expose the Under World.
Farz (1967)
Farz is a Spy Thriller film directed by Ravikant Nagaich starring Jeetendra as an Indian Secret Agent. Jeetendra has to investigate the murder case of his fellow secret agent.
Aankhen (1968)
Aankhen is a 1968 Bollywood spy thriller film directed by Ramanand Sagar. Aankhen was a surprise big hit of its time and is still a popular yesteryear film. Aankhen was full of gadgets like a James Bond Film. Dharmendra was in the lead role in this film.
Jewel Thief (1967)
Jewel Thief is a spy thriller film directed by Vijay Anand and starring Dev Anand. The film revolves around a Jewel Theft and thieves try to put all the blame on the son of the Police Commissioner.
Johny Mera Naam (1970)
Johny Mera Naam is a blockbuster, crime comedy-drama film directed by Vijay Anand and starring Dev Anand. The film revolves around the life of Sohan Kumar, whose father was killed by goons. After Sohan grows up, he is on a mission to find the killers of his father and take Revenge.
The Great Gambler (1979)
The Great Gambler is a 1979 action thriller film directed by Shakti Samanta starring Amitabh Bachchan as a Gambler. The story of the film revolves around gamblers, gangsters, spies, and secret agents.
Latest Hindi Spy Movies of Bollywood
6 December (2002)
16 December is a Bollywood Spy Thriller movie directed by Mani Shankar. The story of the film revolves around the plot that some Pakistanis are trying to destroy the city of New Delhi with nuclear Weapons on 16 December 2001. The film is all about how the Group of Secret Agents finds the clue from the black money Transactions about the attack, The film was selected to be screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
Baadshah (1999)
Baadshah is a 1999 film starring Shahrukh Khan as a Detective, directed by Abbas Mustan. Baadshah is an action comedy. The film was inspired by the films, Nick of Time, Rush Hour, and If Looks Could Kill. Baadshah was a romantic comedy Detective film which gives you a dose of laughter with the style of a Detective.
D Day (2013)
D-Day is a spy thriller film directed by Nikhil Advani. A team of Secret agents of India had to go to Pakistan to bring India’s Most Wanted criminal. This movie is based on a dream Assassination of Dawood Ibrahim. Although the never said that movie is related to him but after watching you can understand that this movie is based on the same issue.
Ek Tha Tiger (2012)
Ek Tha Tiger is a Romantic action spy film of Bollywood directed by Kabir Khan starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. Salman Khan was in the role of an Indian Spy or Indian Raw agent and Katrina was a Pakistani Spy or Pakistani ISI agent. Both agents fall in love with each other and elope, and the Security Agencies of both countries try to search for them.
Baby (2015)
Baby is a 2015 spy thriller film directed by Neeraj Pandey. It stars Akshay Kumar, Tapsee Pannu, Rana Daggubati, and Danny Denzongpa in the lead roles.
The film is a perfect Bollywood Spy film. It shares the personal life of a Spy and also shares how they deal with terrorists and plan covert operations in other countries.
Kahaani (2012)
Kahani is a 2012 thriller film directed by Sujoy Ghosh and starring Vidya Balan. A simple woman is on a mission to investigate a case and find the killers of her unborn child and a loving husband to take Revenge. It’s not a Spy film but the way she finds the murder of his husband was similar to an SPY.
Madras Cafe (2013)
Madras Café is an Indian Political Espionage Thriller film directed by Shoojit Sircar. The film starts with the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The film revolves around LTTE and Terrorism.
The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003)
The Hero: Love Story of a Spy is a movie based on Raw agent directed by Anil Sharma and starring Sunny Deol as an Indian Secret agent working for RAW. Sunny Deol trains Preity Zinta for a mission and falls in love with her. Preity Zinta dies, and Sunny Deol has to move ahead with his work. Sunny gets engaged to another woman for a mission when he finds out his beloved Preity is still alive.
Phantom (2015)
I feel Phantom is an underrated Hindi Spy film of Bollywood. Phantom is directed by Kabir Khan and Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif are in lead roles. Phantom is the story of an army officer who was suspended but RAW gave him a mission to eliminate all the suspects in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014)
Holiday is another Bollywood spy thriller film starring Akshay Kumar in the lead roles. The holiday is the remake of the Tamil film Thupakki starring Vijay. It was directed by A.R. Murugadoss, who also directed the Hindi version of the film.
The film is the story of an Indian army officer, but secretly he is working undercover for RAW, his mission is to eliminate sleeper cells in the country.
Naam Shabana (2017)
Spin-off films are very rare in Bollywood. Naam Shabana is a Hindi spy thriller directed by Shivam Nair and produced by Neeraj Pandey. Naam Shabana is a spin-off film from Baby. based on Shabana Khan, A character shown in Baby played by Tapsee Pannu.
Naam Shabana shares the story of Shabana Khan and her recruitment to the Intelligence agency and how she became a field agent.
Raazi (2018)
Raazi starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal in the lead roles. Raazi is based on the true story of the 1971 wartime. Alia Bhatt plays Sehmat a RAW agent, who is married to an officer of the Pakistan Army.
She is there to find out their secrets and plans and for that, she has to survive and do unimaginable things, now Meghna Gulzar has come up with another film on the 1971 War, Sam Bahadur starring Vicky Kaushal.
RAW Romeo Akbar Walter (2019)
RAW short for Romeo Akbar Walter is a Hindi spy film starring John Abraham in the lead role, it is loosely based on the real-life Raw Agent Ravindra Kaushik also known as Tiger. Indian Intelligence Agency RA&W looking for an agent for Pakistan’s mission, they found a bank employee who was good in acting and makeup and his father was in the army, so they recruited him for a mission to Pakistan.
Mission Majnu (2023)
Mission Majnu is based on the life of real-life Raw Agent Ajit Doval, it shares the story of a man who is posted in Pakistan as an undercover agent, he has a team and his task is to uncover Pakistan’s nuclear program’s secrets.
Siddharth Malhotra nailed the character of a Raw agent in this film, and if you love espionage thrillers then this film is for you.
Your Turn!
These are the most-watched Bollywood Spy Movies of All Time. If You have a list of films in the same genre then you can share it in the comment section.
