Indian Cinema Series 2 - Spy Movies

Indian Cinema Series 2 - Spy Movies - My Favorites

I am a huge Jason Bourne fan. Jason Bourne, James Bond, Ethan Hunt and so on are my favorites. So my next area to explore in Indian cinema was Spy movies; but I am hugely disappointed. We haven't had that many Spy movies in last 2-3 decades, when I searched for movies across different languages.

I am surprised, why we haven't made movies like Raazi before; and there's not many RAW agent movies out there. But anyway, here's my list that involved life of a spy.

1. Raazi - Hindi - 2018 (No Brain'er :) This tops the list)

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7098658/
Plot excerpt from IMDB - A Kashmiri woman agrees to marry a Pakistani army officer in order to spy on Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
Director - Meghna Gulzar
Highlights - Storyline & Performance. Tops my list for amazing performance and direction. No one could have done the role of Sehmat better than Alia Bhatt.

2. Goodachari - Telugu - 2018

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7758160/
Plot excerpt from IMDB - A young NSA agent is framed for the murder of his bosses making him realize that now his mission is darker than expected and has some personal scores to settle regarding his father's death, a former NSA agent.
Director - Sashi Kiran Tikka
Highlights - Performance. A bit commercial but has some good spy scenes.

2. Baby - Hindi - 2015

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3848892/
Plot excerpt from IMDB - An elite counter-intelligence unit learns of a plot, masterminded by a maniacal madman. With the clock ticking, it's up to them to track the terrorists' international tentacles and prevent them from striking at the heart of India
Director - Neeraj Pandey
Highlights - Performance.

3. Vishwaroopam I - Tamil - 2013

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2199711/
Plot excerpt from IMDB - When a classical dancer's suspecting wife sets an investigator behind him, a series of violent events are triggered, revealing his real identity and connection to a darker world.
Director - Kamal Haasan
Highlights - And Actor is Kamal Haasan too. A good story of spy life and only one I could find that tries to match hollywood storyline (not cinematography but story), and with Rahul Bose in negative role, movie keeps you engaged.

4. Baapjanma - Marathi - 2017

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7571148/
Plot excerpt from IMDB - .Bhaskar Pandit is a senior citizen living only with his caretaker Mauli and his dog Tiger. His wife has passed away a few years back and he has a strained relationship with both his children. One day, while going through his journal he realizes that he has been living the exact same routine for many months.
Director - Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari
Highlights - Sachin Khedekar is my favorite actor, and this movie is an insight into how work impacts personal life for an agent. A good cast, and a relaxing movie.

5. D Day - Hindi - 2013

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2385104/
Plot excerpt - A team of experts dispatched to bring in The Most Wanted Man in India almost achieves the unthinkable ... until something goes horribly wrong.
Director - Nikhil Advani
Highlights - Irfaan Khan and Arjun Rampal, an amazing combo; and the way movie showed their life as spy.

6. Madras Cafe - Hindi - 2013

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2855648/
Plot excerpt - An Indian intelligence agent journeys to a war-torn coastal island to break a resolute rebel group and meets a passionate journalist.
Director - Shoojit Sircar
Highlights - John's performance is good. But I felt the story glorifying a politician too much so did not enjoy it much. Papon's Maula re song is another highlight.

7. 16 December - Hindi - 2002

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313844/
Plot excerpt - Based on a plot to destroy the capital city of India, New Delhi with a nuclear bomb on 16 December 2001 – 30 years after the surrender of Pakistan at the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Director - Mani Shankar
Highlights - Decent Spy story, a lot of drama but we don't have many choices anyway.

8. Mukhbir - Hindi - 2008

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1287847/
Plot excerpt - The film revolves around the life and events surrounding an Indian spy.
Director - Mani Shankar
Highlights - Sameer Dattani is of course not an actor. Movie is quite novice; but since we really don't have a huge inventory, this movie qualifies my list for a good storyline.

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