Thriller movies are never out of trend. If you love watching thriller movies that keep you at the edge of your seat with their suspenseful plot lines, then this blog is for you as you will get to know about best indian thriller movies.
Whether it is a murder mystery or a suspense drama, the charm of a tightly-knit, well-shot thriller movie never fades away. The audience sits right, keeping an eye on every detail, trying to solve the meticulously mysterious puzzle unfolding in front of them.
India has produced some of the finest thriller movies which build up enough tension to get your hearts racing with suspense and thrill.
We have created a list of the best movies that Indian cinema has produced in the genre of thriller movies.
Our Top Picks
Best Indian Thriller Movies
1. Kahaani
The movie is about Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman, who comes to Kolkata from London amidst Durga puja to find her missing husband.
However, everyone in the city denies having met her husband. While her search leads to a dead end, she becomes the target of a deadly assassin.
Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, Indraneil Sengupta, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Saswata Chatterjee.
Details
Video review
2. Ratsasan
Arun takes up the job of a police sub-inspector after his father's death, giving up on his dream to become a filmmaker.
Soon, he sets out to identify and arrest a serial killer who targets teenage schoolgirls and brutally murders them. Arun must catch the killer as the victim count increases.
Cast: Vishnu Vishal, Amala Paul, Saravanan, Ammu Abhirami, Munishkanth, and Kali Venkat
Details
Video review
3. Manorama Six Feet Under
Satyaveer Singh Randhawa, a Junior Engineer at Lakhot Municipality's Public Works Department accepts money from Manorama Rathore.
The irrigation minister's wife, to collect evidence of her husband's extramarital affair. However, he is unaware of the fact that he is being deceived.
Cast: Abhay Deol, Sarika, Gul Panag, Raima Sen, Vinay Pathak, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
Details
Video review
4. Samay
ACP Malvika Chauhan investigates the murder of a businessman. The cop who is a widowed mother suspects that the crime was committed.
By a serial killer as more murders happen in the city. The ACP races against time in her pursuit of the serial killer.
Cast: Sushmita Sen, Jackie Shroff, Dinesh Lamba, Rajesh Khera, and Sushant Singh
Details
Video review
5. A Wednesday
Prakash Rathod, the Commissioner of Mumbai police who is retiring, recollects his memories of a case that was never filed but is deeply etched in his memories.
On a Wednesday a man calls Mumbai police and informs them about 5 bombs planted in different parts of the city which are set to go off if four terrorists are not handed over to him.
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Deepal Shaw, and Aamir Bashir
Details
Video review
6. Special 26
A team of con men pose as CBI officers and income tax officers to conduct raids and rob politicians and businessmen of their illegal wealth.
This is one of the top indian thriller movies.
The gang pulls off their biggest heist as they are being pursued by real CBI officers.
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee, Jimmy Shergill, Kajal Agarwal, Anupam Kher, and Divya Dutta
Details
Video review
7. Talaash
Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat and his wife are deeply grieved about the death of their son.
While his wife struggles to deal with the loss, Shekhawat investigates the mysterious death of an actor.
As his marriage falls apart, the inspector finds help from a prostitute named Rosie.
Cast: Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Rajkummar Rao
Details
Video review
8. Karthik Calling Karthik
Karthik Narayan, an abused and ridiculed introvert is perturbed by his boss and witnesses several setbacks in his career until one day.
When he receives a mysterious call from a stranger who promises to transform his life.
Soon after that, he achieves success and even wins the heart of a beautiful colleague.
Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Shefali Shah, Ram Kapoor, and Vipin Sharma
Details
Video review
9. Talvar
A proficient investigator is faced with conflicting theories of murder While investigating a violent double homicide.
The case gets more complicated as the parents of the victim seem to appear
As prime suspects in the murder of their teenage daughter. The mystery seems irreconcilable.
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Neeraj Kabi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Tabu, Sohum Shah, and Atul Kumar
Details
Video review
10. Drishyam
As the mysterious disappearance of a police inspector's son threatens to destroy his family, Vijay Salgaonkar takes extreme measures to protect his family.
Vijay leaves no stone unturned to safeguard his family from the dark side of the law after they commit a crime in unexpected circumstances.
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav, Rajat Kapoor, and Rishab Chadha
Details
Video review
11. Kaun
On a stormy and rainy evening, a woman watches the news on television about a serial killer on the loose.
Her bell rings and she is hesitant to open the door after knowing about the killer.
The man claims to be Sameer Purnavale who is looking for Mr. Malhotra.
Cast: Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee, Sushant Singh, Sunil Singh, and Sushant Kumar
Details
Video review
12. Gupt
When Governor Jaisingh Sinha is murdered, his estranged son Sahil Sinha is arrested.
Despite being suspected as the murderer, Sahil is desperate to prove his innocence.
With the help of Sheetal, he escapes from prison.
However, Inspector Udham Singh is not far behind in his pursuit of Sahil.
Cast: Bobby Deol, Manisha Koirala, Kajol, Om Puri, Prem Chopra, Paresh Rawal, and Raza Murad
Details
Video review
13. Vikram Vedha
Vikram, an experienced police officer accompanied by his partner Simon tracks an elusive and notorious smuggler called Vedha.
However, when Vedha willingly surrenders and offers to tell Vikram a story, Vikram's life changes and is thrown into utter chaos.
This leads to conflict between the titular characters.
Cast: R Madhavan, Vijay Sethupathi, Shraddha Srinath, Kathir, Rajkumar, and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar
Details
Video review
14. Trapped
Shaurya, a call centre employee plans to elope with his girlfriend Noorie before she is married to someone else.
In a hurry to find an apartment for them Shaurya locks himself in an empty apartment in a new high rise complex without food, water, electricity or anybody to help him.
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Geetanjali Thapa, Shiladitya Sen, Rahul Patel, and RN Shukla
Details
Video review
15. Maqbool
This film is the adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Miyan Maqbool is the primary henchman of Jahangir Khan or Abba Ji an influential underworld don of Mumbai.
However, he is secretly in love with Nimmi, the don's mistress, who encourages him to kill Abba Ji and take over the reins of the Mumbai underworld.
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Pankaj Kapur, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Abbas Tyrewala, and Piyush Mishra
Details
Video review
16. U-Turn
Rachana is a young journalist working as an intern with a leading newspaper.
She is working on an article on the incidents of traffic law violations on the Bangalore flyover with the help of crime reporter Aditya on whom she has a crush.
Out of the blue, she gets dragged into mysteries only to become the prime suspect in a murder.
Cast: Shraddha Srinath, Dileep Raj, Radhika Narayan, Roger Narayan, Sudha Belawadi and Krishna Hebbale
Details
Video review
17. Johnny Gaddar
Police officers reminisce about an incident about money gone missing which is rife with lies, betrayal, deceit, and death.
It all starts when five men get entangled in a drug deal arranged by a corrupt police officer.
However, things go out of hand when Vikram, the youngest of the lot, secretly decides to steal the money.
Cast: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Dharmendra, Rimi Sen, Vinay Pathak, Zakir Hussain, Dayanand Shetty; Ashwini Kalsekar, Govind Namdev and Vinay Pathak
Details
Video review
18. Nail Polish
A newly appointed police inspector investigates the 5-year spanning case of brutal killings of children in and around Lucknow.
He comes across a new clue which compels him to arrest an unusual suspect.
However, the courtroom proceedings are thrown into upheaval due to an unexpected turn of events.
Cast: Arjun Rampal, Manav Kaul, Madhoo, Samreen Kaur, Anand Tiwari, Rajit Kapur, and Neha Hinge
Details
Video review
19. Taish
Rohan and Sunny have been best friends since childhood. Sunny goes to the UK to attend Rohan's younger brother's wedding.
However, an accidental meeting between Rohan and Kuljinder, a criminal kingpin, sets a tale of betrayal, loss of innocence, and violence unfolding amidst the wedding.
Cast: Harshvardhan Rane, Jim Sarbh, Pulkit Samrat, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Kriti Kharbanda, and Zoa Morani
Details
Video review
20. Mumbai Police
ACP Anthony Moses manages to track down his friend, ACP Aaryan's murderer when he meets with an accident.
This causes Anthony to lose his memory, and he is unable to arrest the killer.
He starts to investigate again, hoping to remember something.
Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Rahman, Nihal Pillayi, Riyaz Khan, Aparna Nair, Mukundan, and Kunchan
Details
Video review
Conclusion
While thrillers have always been a favourite genre of Indian filmmakers, in recent years several directors have raised the bar.
Meticulously crafted and thoroughly detailed thrillers have hit the silver screen and OTT platforms, which have increased the appetite and expectations of the Indian Audience.
If you want to watch thriller movies
Apart from Bollywood, regional film industries are also producing remarkable films in the thriller genre. If language is not a barrier for you when it comes to enjoying a good film, you should check these out as well.
This article has a painstakingly curated list of the 20 best indian thriller movies. We hope that you enjoy watching these brilliant movies full of suspense and mystery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Which is the No 1 thriller movie in the world?
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is often considered the best suspense thriller of all time. The film has broken several barriers and has left a long-lasting impact on cinema and popular culture.
This cult classic which was one of the most successful films stars Janet Leigh as an absconding woman who decides to spend a night at Bates Motel. What follows is a terrifying revelation.
Q2. Which thriller movie has the highest IMDb rating?
The Dark Knight is a thriller movie which has the highest IMDb rating of 9/10. Directed by Christopher Nolan, this film stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Michael Caine.
This film is about Batman, who must protect the people of Gotham from the malice of the Joker by accepting the unprecedented psychologically and physically demanding challenge.
Q3. Which is the biggest action thriller movie in India?
KGF 2 is arguably the biggest action thriller movie in India with an IMDb rating of 8.8/10. The film is about a gangster named Rocky who rises to power in the Kolar Gold Fields.
The government sees Rocky as a threat to the nation. He must fight challenges from all sides for uncontested domination.
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