Bollywood is often seen as a film industry completely focused on singing and dancing in the western world. Most of the Hollywood fans and people in the west believe that if Chinese have martial arts as their USP, India has songs and dance.
Being said that one shouldn’t ignore another genre of movies produced in Bollywood. Be it action, drama, romance, comedy, horror or suspense thrillers, the Bollywood film industry has entertained us for more than 100 years with some spectacular movies full of excitement, fun, and thrills.
Today, we bring you a list of 18 suspense murder mystery movies in Bollywood you must watch to raise excitement and fear all at the same time.
List of Best Bollywood Suspense Murder Mystery Movies
Old Hindi Suspense Murder Mystery Movies
Gumnaam (1965)
Starring Manoj Kumar, Nanda, Helen, Pran and Mehmood in the lead roles, Gumnaam is an Indian suspense thriller directed by Raja Nawathe.
The story of the film is adapted from Agatha Christie’s best seller suspense thriller, “And Then There Were None”. The movie was first of its kind suspense thrillers of Bollywood that garnered so many accolades.
The movie starts with a horror theme after a murder believed to be committed by the ghost of a girl who sings “Gumnaam Hai Koi” at night. Apart from the mystery theme, the movie is also known for its music by Shankar-Jaikishan.
Ittefaq (1969)
Ittefaq is a 1969 murder mystery starring Rajesh Khanna and Nanda in the leading roles. An official remake of 1965 American crime film, Signpost to Murder starring Joanne Woodward, Ittefaq was directed by Yash Chopra under B.R. Films.
The film is about a painter convicted of his wife’s murder which he denies and is on the run to prove his innocence. It was recently remade again in Hindi with the same title with the slightly different story starring Sidharth Malhotra and Sonakshi Sinha.
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986)
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is a Hindi adaptation of Golden Bear-winning, American movie, “12 Angry Men (1957),” directed by Sidney Lumet. However, “12 Angry Men” movie was actually a teleplay adaptation of the same name by Reginald Rose.
The movie was directed by Basu Chatterjee and stars some of the prominent actors of Bollywood like Pankaj Kapoor, M K Raina, K K Raina, Annu Kapoor etc. The movie is about 12 jurors who are given the responsibility of convicting a boy whether guilty or not guilty for the murder of his own father.
Dhund (1973)
Dhund is a 1973 murder mystery thriller directed by B.R. Chopra starring Sanjay Khan, Zeenat Aman, Danny Denzongpa, Deven Verma, Navin Nischol and Ashok Kumar in the lead roles.
The movie is adapted from Agatha Christie’s popular play, “The Unexpected Guest” of 1958. The story of the movie revolves around Rani Ranjit Singh played by Zeenat Aman who along with her lover Suresh Saxena played by Sanjay Khan is the prime suspect of the murder of her husband Thakur Ranjit Singh portrayed by Danny Denzongpa.
The film ends with a whole new surprise where neither Rani Ranjit Singh nor her lover is the murderer.
Bees Saal Baad (1962)
One of the early psychological thriller movie in Bollywood Cinema, Bees Saal Baad garnered many accolades and appreciation from the audience.
The movie was a directorial debut of Biren Nag which stars Biswajeet, Waheeda Rehman, Madan Puri, Manmohan Krishna, Asit Sen and Sajjan in important roles.
The movie is loosely based on a 1951 Bengali Super hit thriller Jighansa which was actually inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of Baskervilles. The movie is about the mystery behind a vengeful spirit of the village and how a young educated man finds the real culprit behind this local myth.
Teesri Manzil (1966)
Being listed among Top 25 Must See Bollywood Movies, Teesri Manzil is undoubtedly one of the finest thriller movie ever produced in Bollywood.
Directed by Vijay Anand starring Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh in the lead roles supported by great actors such as Premnath, Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, Helen, K.N. Singh and Salim Khan.
The movie is about solving a murder mystery when a young woman named Roopa falls from the third floor of the hotel at night and the main suspect is famous artist Rocky played by Shammi Kapoor.
CID (1956)
Produced by Guru Dutt and directed by Raj Khosla, CID is a 1956 Hindi feature film starring Dev Anand and Shakila in the lead roles while Waheeda Rehman, Johnny Walker, K.N. Singh and Mehmood in supporting roles.
CID is a story about how Inspector Shekhar played by Dev Anand brings forth the truth about the crime lord Dharamdas in front of everyone.
New Best Bollywood Murder Mystery Movies
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within
Aamir Khan Starer Talaash: The Answer Lies Within is a psychological thriller directed by Reema Kagti. The movie is all about how the car accident of a well-known actor opens up a mystery of something that happened three years ago that involved three friends and a call girl.
Inspect Surjan Shekhawat portrayed by Aamir Khan is the office in charge of the case who solves the mystery piece by piece with the help of Rosie and at the end finds the truth about what happened exactly three years ago with the call girl.
Manorama Six Feet Under
Starring Abhay Deol, Gul Panag, and Raima Sen in the lead, Manorama Six Feet Under is a murder mystery co-written and directed by Navdeep Singh. The story is based on a 1974 Hollywood mystery thriller, Chinatown directed by Roman Polanski starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.
This is neo-noir movie is about an amateur detective from the small town of Rajasthan who finds himself in the middle of the most complicated case that revolves around the murder of Manorama. Manorama Six Feet Under is one of the Most underrated films of Bollywood.
Gupt: The Hidden Truth
Directed by Rajiv Rai, Gupt: The Hidden Truth is a suspense thriller and murder mystery film starring Bobby Deol, Kajol and Manisha Koirala in the lead roles while Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and Raj Babbar in supporting roles.
The movie is all about how Bobby Deol who plays Sahil Sinha is framed for the murder of his step-father Jaisingh Sinha played by Raj Babbar. The murder mystery when opens up it blows the cover-up from many lies around Sahil’s life.
The Stoneman Murders (2009)
Based on real-life incidents of the popular Stoneman serial killings happened in the early 1980s, The Stoneman Murders is a 2009 Hindi feature film starring Kay Kay Menon and Arbaaz Khan in leading roles.
The movie was the first full-length film directed by Manish Gupta. The movie was critically acclaimed for its bold topic and the brilliant performance by all the actors.
Ajnabee (2001)
Ajnabee is Abbas-Mustan film in the list starring Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu in the lead roles. The film is inspired from a 1992 American thriller Consenting Adults directed by Alan J. Pakula.
The film revolves around the murder mystery of Sonia played by Bipasha Basu where Raj Malhotra played by Bobby Deol is the main suspect and is on the run. The rest of the movie opens up so many suspense and offers a lot of thrill and action.
Also Read: Best Courtroom Drama Films in Bollywood
Samay: When Time Strikes (2003)
Inspired by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman stared Se7en, Samay: When Time Strikes is a 2003 action thriller starring Sushmita Sen, Sushant Singh and Jackie Shroff in the lead roles.
The story revolves around a serial killer who has a specific reason behind all the killings as a part of his revenge against the system. Directed by Robby Grewal, the movie is a onetime watch for those who love mystery and suspense thrillers.
Khiladi (1992)
Another Abbas-Mustan movie, Khiladi became the career-defining movie of Akshay Kumar giving him the title of real Khiladi (Player) of Bollywood and earning him the star status as an action Hero in the era of romantic flicks. Khiladi also stars Ayesha Jhulka, Deepak Tijori, Shakti Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Anant Mahadevan and Johnny Lever.
The Film is one of the Best Suspense Thriller Movies, one of the four friends is mysteriously killed after a prank kidnapping. The rest of the story revolves around finding the real killer and stopping him from committing another murder.
Rahasya (2015)
One of the most controversial movies in 2015 which was inspired by all famous Arushi murder case, Rahasya is directed by Manish Gupta. Starring Kay Kay Menon, Ashish Vidyarthi, Tisca Chopra, Mita Vashisht and Ashwini Kalsekar in the lead roles, the movie features the story of a young girl Ayesha Mahajan played by Sakshi Sem who is killed in her own house.
Kay Kay Menon portrays the role of a CBI Chief Sunil Paraskar while Ashish Vidyarthi and Tisca Chopra play the parents of Ayesha. The rest of the story is about the CBI investigation and how a single murder conspiracy turns into a double murder mystery.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015)
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is a 2015 Hindi mystery thriller based on fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi penned by Bengali writer Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.
The film stars Sushant Singh Rajput as the Detective Byomkesh Bakshi with Anand Tiwari and Swastika Mukherjee in prominent roles. Byomkesh is approached by Ajit played by Anand Tiwari to find his father, a chemist who has been missing for more than 2 months.
Initially reluctant, Byomkesh takes up the project and unwinds many conspiracies revolving around opium trade. The rest of the movie is about how Byomkesh Bakshi uncovers the main culprit by following the traces of Ajit’s father Bhuvan Banerjee.
100 Days (1991)
100 Days is a Hindi mystery thriller about a woman with Extrasensory Perception. The film stars Madhuri Dixit and Jackie Shroff in the lead roles while Javed Jaffrey and Moon Moon Sen in the supporting roles.
Directed by Partho Ghosh, 100 Days was an official remake of 1984 Tamil Super Hit Nooravathu Naal. The movie is about Devi played by Madhuri Dixit who is gifted with Extrasensory Perception and dreams about the murder of her sister Rama played by Moon Moon Sen.
Using her gift she finds out the dark history of her husband Ram played by Jackie Shroff as well as catches the real psychopath behind all the murders.
Also Read: Best Horror Movies of Bollywood
Khamosh (1985)
Khamosh is a 1985 Hindi thriller movie produced and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra starring Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Amol Palekar, Soni Razdan, and Pankaj Kapoor in prominent roles.
The movie revolves around a murder mystery of a budding actress at a shooting location in Pahalgam in Kashmir. This was one of its kind movies where notable actors Amol Palekar, Soni Razdan and Shabana Azmi portrayed their own fictional versions in the movie.
Your Turn!
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