Bollywood police dramas usually end with the cop hero overcoming the villain after many blows, blow-ups, car chases and literal cliff-hanger climax.
This usually formed the bulk of masala films which dominate the industry. Yet, there are some films which are slick and manage to grip until the end. They may be few and far between but have stayed in the memory.
Here are five such films which are ideal for the weekend.
Sarfarosh (1999)
Cast: Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre, Naseeruddin Shah, Mukesh Rishi, Nawazuddin Siddique
Director: John Matthew Matthan
It took the director seven years to make but the final product is an excellent police drama on cross border terrorism which won many awards.
Aamir Khan is ACP Ajay Singh Rathod, a tough cop and a fan of singer Gulfam Hassan (Naseeruddin Shah) from Pakistan. An attack on a bus carrying a wedding party leads the ACP to a gun handler Bala Thakur.
This becomes a long and hard haul for the ACP which leads him to the scene of action in Rajasthan. It then turns out that the Pakistani singer is not what he seems to be and more drama follows before the final shootout.
The film is well-made with Aamir, Naseer and Bhendre excelling in their roles.
Zanjeer (1973)
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Pran, Ajit
Director: Prakash Mehra
A police officer has nightmares from childhood after the murder of his parents. He becomes reticent and later an honest cop. He comes across a woman who sees the death of many children after a planned accident but is paid for her silence by the bad guy.
The inspector is put in charge of the case. He takes the woman to the morgue where she has a change of heart after seeing the dead children. She spills the beans and the bad guy’s henchmen now follow her.
The inspector finds many crimes linked to the bad guy. Finally he learns that the same person killed in parents and seeks revenge.
This was a landmark film in crime during an era of romance and set a new trend in Bollywood. It was a big breakthrough for Bachchan too and launched him on to the ladder of his ultimate success.
Shool (1999)
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Raveena Tandon, Sayaji Shinde
Director: E Nivas
An honest and dedicated police officer gets tangled in dirty politics in the state of Bihar. A local MLA and his gang commit mayhem and resort to murder for political gains.
The officer takes them on but has to pay the price as his he loses both his wife and his child in the process. He then decides to take the law into his own hands and goes after the MLA.
It is truly an engrossing film and Manoj Bajpayee does an excellent job as the police officer. It is very realistically handled which is why it won awards.
Ab Tak Chhappan (2004)
Cast: Nana Patekar, Mohan Agashe, Revathi, Prasad Purandare, Hrishitaa Bhatt
Director: Shimit Amin
An encounter cop takes on the underworld in this tale of double cross and murder. Sadhu Agashe has a reputation of being an encounter specialist and has the maximum number of such incidents.
This leads to jealousy among his own men. But Agashe is single-minded in his approach and bravely pursues his targets.
However, the murder of his wife at a function hardens his resolve and he goes after the killer with great resolve. Patekar excels with his dialogue delivery and acting.
Gangaajal (2003)
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Gracy Singh, Mukesh Tiwari, Mohan Joshi
Director: Prakash Jha
The pouring of acid or Gangaajal becomes the focal point of this police story set in a lawless town in Bihar. The townsfolk are terrorised by a local goon and his son.
However, a top cop vows to bring justice and gets caught up in a tale of rape, murder and mayhem. Slowly and steadily he works towards achieving his goal.
The angry townspeople want to throw the acid at the goon and his son when they finally corner the two. But the cop says the courts will mete out justice. But that doesn’t work and the people have their revenge. The film was a big hit on release and is worth a watch.
Enjoy your weekend !
#All images used for representation only. All views expressed in this column are the authors.
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