5 Under-Rated thrillers of Bollywood

 1. Stoneman Murders - Arguably, one of the best thrillers of Bollywood. Inspired by real life events of Mumbai (Bombay that time) when mysterious serial killings of ragpickers and street beggars in the Sion-Matunga belt.

A total of 12 killings happened where these suspecting people were attacked and killed by a heavy stone.The movie succeeds in keeping the suspense till the end and stays away from any sub plots or songs and hence the impact is not diluted. The linear narrative makes it a compelling watch and viewers get a shock when they know of the real killer and his motive. 

The director Manish Gupta  and script are the real heroes here and of course backed by a nuanced performance by Kay Kay Menon. 

He is ably supported by Vikram Gokhale and Virendra Saxena's performances. I was fortunate to see this movie in the theatre and had planned a repeat watch but unfortunately the movie did not run for very long in the theatres which is a pity given the fine content.


2. Samay - Inspired by Hollywood movie Se7en, the Sushmita Sen starrer about a serial killer is a taut  thriller keeping the viewers glued to the end. The co-relation of murder with TIME is an intriguing  premise.

The way the protagonist switches various clues to understand killer's mind and his next target has been handled beautifully and the screenplay is taut and editing is on spot too and avoids any  loose moments and the plot doesn't get drifted, no wonder the movie won National Award for best editing. 

The only thing which may not resonate with many viewers is the sad ending.


3. Kaun - This is definitely one of the best works of Ram Gopal Verma. The movie with a runtime of around one and a half hours this songless thriller having just 3 characters and the whole movie was just inside a house. It was definitely an innovative stuff that time. The climax of the movie was an absolute surprise and that is how a good suspense thriller needs to be. Despite, great performances by the cast- Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh, it was the script of Anurag Kashyap and direction by Ram Gopal Verma which were the winners here.


4. Rahasya - Another great movie by Manisha Gupta which again went unnoticed due to lack of promotion probably. The case was inspired by Arushi Murder Case and a same movie Talvar starring Irrfan Khan was also made the same year. Although it is inspired the case, some creative liberties and deviations are there. The 1st half of the movie is really brilliant and one wished the interval would not have been there. The 2nd half though good dragged at times and could be a little more tighter but nevertheless despite this minor fault, it was a great thriller.In terms of performances, Kay Kay Menon shines all the way. It was also great to see Ashish Vidyarthi after a long time. Tisca Chopra and Mita Vashishth are good too.


5. Table No 21 - An interest plot around a couple who suddenly win a trip to Fiji through a lucky draw.Once they reach there they are invited by a man to participate in a contest with a chance of winning big prize money and are asked to participate in various tasks which ultimately links to an incident of their college life. The movie is really creepy at times also and gives you goosebumps. The first half of the movie is a bit slow but things pick up in the 2nd half and you are glued to the end.


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