Hindi Suspense Thriller Movies: Out of every movie genre, the suspense genre should be considered both the best and the worst genre in cinematic history. You must be wondering, why?
Well, a good suspense film would be one of the most exciting movies, but, in addition, it will also be only a one-time watch as you won’t be enjoying it the next time once the suspense is already revealed. And, that unique factor of such a genre is what makes suspense movies stand out from films from other genres.
The surprise element in this type of Hindi film is the deciding factor that would either make the audience fall in love with the movie or hate it because of the disappointment.
This is the very reason that we don’t find a lot of great movies in this genre as it is very tough to maintain the suspense element. The suspense element should also be very shocking and shun the audience, which is quite hard to create.
However, there are some awesome suspense Movies in Bollywood that you should watch at least once in your life to be on the edge of your seat all the time.
Some Films are missing from this list, We have a separate list for Thriller Murder Mysteries Mysteries of Bollywood.
Note: Spoilers ahead.
Best Bollywood Suspense Thriller Movies of All Time
1. Ugly (2014)
Ugly is a neo-noir psychological thriller film revolving around the kidnapping of a young girl. Directed by Anurag Kashyap; the film stars Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, and Rahul Bhat in the lead roles.
Ronit Roy plays a cop and the stepfather of the kidnapped young girl, whereas Tejaswini plays his wife and the mother of the girl, who is also addicted to alcohol and going through depression.
Rahul Bhat plays the biological father of the young girl and the ex-husband of Tejaswini Kolhapure. Their lives intervene once again after the girl is kidnapped and now they have to work together to find their daughter.
2. 13B (2009)
13B is an interesting Horror thriller film that would scare the hell out of you for the number 13. The film is directed by Vikram Kumar and simultaneously filmed in Hindi and Tamil (as Yavarum Nalam) and released in both versions with a slightly different cast.
The lead roles in the film are played by Madhavan and Neetu Chandra. The film is about mysterious events happening in the apartment house numbered 13B, which happens to be on the 13th floor of the building.
3. A Wednesday (2008)
One of the best simplistic films I have ever watched in my lifetime is A Wednesday. The entire film is basically a conversation between the lead characters of the film, portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher.
The film is about terrorism and a threat by an unknown nameless man, played by Shah, who claims to have placed bombs in different locations of the city. He instructs the Police Commissioner, played by Kher, to release 4 convicted terrorists or else he will explode the bombs that would kill thousands of innocent people, including children.
The film is an ultimate thriller and keeps you engaged throughout the film.
Also Read: Best Films about the Common Man of India
4. Majboor (1974)
Majboor is one of those Amitabh Bachchan films, where he plays an ordinary man and not a larger-than-life character. Directed by Ravi Tandon, the film also stars Parveen Babi, Pran, Madan Puri, Rehman, and Farida Jalal.
The film is about a common man who is struggling in his life with responsibilities to take care of the needs of his family. He becomes helpless when he finds out that he is suffering from a terminal brain tumor with only six months to live.
Being the only financial support for his family, he decides to confess to a murder that he didn’t commit by placing clues against him to bank the ransom money that would be enough to take care of his family after his death.
Well, things get ugly when he recovers from his ailment, he finds himself behind bars convicted of abduction, ransom, and murder. Now, he has to prove himself innocent and catch the real culprit behind the murder.
5. Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997)
Gupt is another mystery-suspense drama that would keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the film. Directed by Rajiv Rai; the film stars Bobby Deol, Kajol, and Manisha Koirala in the lead roles alongside Raj Babbar, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, and many others as the supporting cast.
The film follows the life of Sahil Sinha, played by Bobby Deol, who is arrested and falsely convicted of the murder of his step-father Gov. Sinha. In order to prove his innocence, Sahil has to take matters into his own hands and find the real murderer.
6. Khiladi (1992)
Khiladi is the first film of the series that eventually earned Akshay Kumar, the title of Khiladi (i.e. Player). The film also became Akshay’s breakthrough film giving him the star status during the 90s.
The film also stars Ayesha Jhulka, Deepak Tijori, Prem Chopra, Shakti Kapoor, Anant Mahadevan, and Johnny Lever in important roles. The film follows the life of four college friends, who are devastated when one among them is brutally murdered at the hands of a mystery killer.
While the other three try to avoid any suspicions of them, the mystery killer strikes again trying to kill them as well. Now, they must team up and act smart to uncover the real face of this mysterious killer in order to survive. Whether they are successful or not, forms the rest of the story.
7. Baazigar (1993)
Baazigar is the first of those films that built the anti-hero image of Shah Rukh Khan before he established himself as the King of Romance.
Directed by Abbas-Mustan, the film is not entirely a suspense thriller as the surprising element is not as dark or shocking as other films on the list.
However, the main reason to include the film on this list is the intensity of the back story of the film that is revealed at the end. Alongside SRK, the film also stars Kajol, Shilpa Shetty, Dilip Tahil, Rakhee, and Johnny Lever in important roles.
Also Read: Best Small but Epic roles in Bollywood
8. Kahaani (2012)
Kahaani is one of the best suspense films in Hindi of recent times. Released in 2012, the film is directed by Sujoy Ghosh and stars Vidya Balan in the lead role. The film is about a pregnant woman, played by Vidya Balan, who comes to Kolkatta in search of her missing husband.
From there, an exciting investigating process starts led by Vidya Balan to find her missing husband at any cost. The surprise elements in the film are so breathtaking that it will keep you glued to your place until the end.
9. 100 Days (1991)
100 Days is a psychological thriller film starring Jackie Shroff and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles. Directed by Partho Ghosh, the film follows the life of Devi, played by Madhuri Dixit, who gets sudden visions of the incidents that are yet to happen.
When she gets a vision of her sister being murdered and it comes true as she goes missing, Devi tries to unravel the mystery behind the visions she is getting and learn the whereabouts of her sister. The film also stars Javed Jaffrey, Moon Moon Sen, and Laxmikant Berde.
10. Criminal (1995)
Criminal is a 1995 psychological thriller film starring Annikeni Nagarjuna, Ramya Krishnan, Manisha Koirala in the lead roles. Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, the film follows the life of a doctor couple who are happily living their married life.
However, things go south when the wife is murdered and the husband is the prime suspect. Now, the husband is convicted and sentenced to death, but an accident on his transport to prison helps him escape from the police. He must find the real killer and unravel a mystery that even he is unaware of.
11. Te3n (2016)
Te3n is one of the recent releases on our list. The film stars a pool of talent in the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead roles.
Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, the film is about a Grandfather who is looking for answers behind his granddaughter’s mysterious death when a kidnapping goes wrong. He needs justice for his granddaughter and doesn’t give up even 8 years after the incident, while the lead officer investigating the crime has already quit his job to find peace for his remorse.
Now, a similar incident with the same modus operandi comes to light and the grandfather and the ex-cop join hands to catch the killer and bring him to justice once and for all.
12. Drishyam (2015)
Drishyam is a Hindi remake of the Malayalam film of the same title directed by Nishikant Kamat. The film stars Ajay Devgn in the lead role, alongside Shriya Saran and Tabu as supporting cast.
The film is not entirely a suspense drama for the audience, however, some mystery elements in the film that unravels one by one throughout the film make it interesting and thrilling to watch.
The film follows the life of a happy family living harmoniously in the small town of Pondolem, Goa. Their life is disturbed when something terrible happens on a rainy night and the family has to stick together to survive the aftermath.
13. Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007)
Another remake of a hit Malayalam film, Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a suspense-horror film starring Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Paresh Rawal, Amisha Patel, Mohan Joshi, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav, and many others in interesting roles.
The film revolves around a ghost mystery that is linked with an ancient Odissi dancer hailing from Bengal named Manjulika. Now, Aditya, a psychiatrist from New York is called in to solve the mysterious ghost haunting, and eventually, a lot of mysteries and information about the past get revealed one by one.
Whether he is successful in sustaining peace within the house or not, forms the rest of the story.
14. Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012)
Well, not one of the best films of Aamir Khan, Talaash: The Answer Lies Within did attract some eyeballs at the time of its release. The film follows the life of Police Inspector Surjan Shekhawat, played by Aamir Khan, who is guilt-ridden and recovering from the loss of the death of his 8-year-old son. He tries to distract himself by immersing himself in a case of a mysterious car accident involving well-known Actor Armaan Kapoor. However, the mystery deepens when Rosie, played by Kareena Kapoor, enters the scene and guides Shekhawat into a larger conspiracy. Watch the film to know what happens next!
15. Rahasya (2015)
Based on the famous Aarushi Murder Case, Rahasya tries to dramatize the real events in a fictional way from the perspective of the filmmaker.
Directed by Manish Gupta; the film stars Kay Kay Menon, Tisca Chopra, Ashish Vidyarthi, Mita Vashisht, and Ashwini Kalsekar. The film tries to uncover the mystery behind the famous 2008 Noida Double Murder case and tries to give a version of the unfortunate event.
16. The Stoneman Murders (2009)
The Stoneman Murder is another film on our list based on real-life events. Directed by Manish Gupta; the film follows the investigation of the real-life events of the Stoneman serial killings of the 1980s.
The film stars Kay Kay Menon and Arbaaz Khan in the lead roles as cops in the movie, who are trying to uncover the mystery behind the serial killings.
17. Table No. 21 (2013)
Table No. 21 is a 2013 psychological drama directed by Aditya Datt. The film is basically about a live game show called Table No.21. However, there’s much more to the game that slowly unravels as the story moves further.
The film stars Paresh Rawal, Rajeev Khandelwal, and Tena Desai in the lead roles. Rajeev Khandelwal and Tena Desai play a couple, who participate in the game, whereas Paresh Rawal is the organizer of the live reality game show.
As the game starts getting ugly, the couple realizes that they are in some deep shit and eventually are surprised and shocked as the truth is revealed.
18. Gumnaam (1965)
When it comes to suspense films, the first movie that comes to my mind is the 1965 film Gumnaam.
This suspense thriller film is directed by Raja Nawathe and stars Manoj Kumar, Nanda, Pran, Helen, and Mehmood in interesting roles. The film is about a group of seven people who are stranded on an Island when their plane suffers a malfunction resulting in it an emergency landing.
While on the island, things start getting ugly after a mysterious girl is seen roaming around singing the title song of the film, “Gumnaam Hai Koi” and the people on the island is getting killed one by one. Elaborating the story further won’t do any justice. Watch it once to know what happens next and I guarantee that you won’t regret it.
19. Wo Kaun Thi? (1964)
Wo Kaun Thi? is a black-and-white psychological thriller film featuring Manoj Kumar and Sadhana in the lead roles.
Directed by Raj Khosla, the film follows the life of Dr. Anand, played by Manoj Kumar, who sees or encounters a girl very often in mysterious ways leading him to believe her to be a ghost. However, things turn spookier when his new bride turns out to be the same girl and he starts going nuts over the mystery or the connection between his wife and the unknown girl. However, everyone is shocked, when the truth is finally revealed and the film has a happy ending.
20. Teesri Manzil (1966)
Another great classic suspense movie is Teesri Manzil directed by Vijay Anand. The film stars Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh in the lead roles, alongside Laxmi Chhaya, Premnath, Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, Helen, K.N. Singh, and Salim Khan as supporting cast.
The film is about a murder that involves a young woman jumping from the 3rd floor of a hotel building. The rest of the film reveals some unusual facts that point to many different suspects. You must watch the film to uncover the face of the real culprit as it will be shocking to find out, who the killer is.
Your Turn!
Share, Your Favorite Suspense Movies of All the Time in Hindi Cinema.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Suspense Thriller Hindi Films
Q. Rahasya based on real story?
A. Rahasya is loosely based on the Arushi Talwar murder case, but the film plot is a little bit different from the real story, Talvar is based on that case.
Q. Talaash is a remake of which Hollywood film?
A. Talaash is not a remake of any Hollywood film, but its story is a little bit inspired by The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis.
Q. 13B is a horror film?
A. 13B is a psychological Thriller Horror film, Yes it lands under the Horror genre.
Q. How many versions of Drishyam are made?
A. Drishyam is a film made in many languages, It was originally made in Malayalam, then remade in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Oriya, and Hindi.
Q. 100 Days is a horror film?
A. No it is a suspense thriller, or you can say murder mystery Hindi film.
