Do you agree with us or not? Movies based on real-life crimes are always an interesting watch. After all, Bollywood is not just about dance and drama, it has also produced cult crime films such as Haider, Satya, Gangs of Wasseypur, Madras Cafe, etc. So, why not take a ride on such spine-chilling murder mysteries that are inspired by real-life unsolved cases with intriguing origin stories of criminal masterminds? So let’s get started.
Movies based on real-life crimes
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Bandit Queen (1994)
Phoolan Devi, popularly known as the Bandit Queen, is known for her act of revenge on those who abused her because she belonged to a lower caste. This film was based on her life. In the case of Bobby Art International v. Om Pal Singh Hoon & Ors (1996), this film faced censorship issues due to adult scenes, wherein the SC set aside the judgment of the Delhi High Court and held that the scenes showing frontal nudity, indecency, immorality were an important artistic expression for narrating her true story & the producer's right under Article 19(1)(a) cannot be restricted for the reason that it poses a threat to the moral system of the society.
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Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010)
Based on the life of Dawood Ibrahim, who rose to become the ‘Don’ of Bombay, the movie portrays the growth of crime and smuggling in Bombay (now Mumbai). Ibrahim is an Indian mafia gangster & was designated a global terrorist by India and the US in 2003; he had a suspected role in the 1993 Bombay bombings for which Yakub Memon was hanged later. Even the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, his close aide Chhota Shakeel and three other members of the ‘D Company’ founded in the 1970s - a name used for Ibrahim’s transnational organised criminal syndicate.
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No One Killed Jessica (2011)
Inspired by a true event, No One Killed Jessica (2011) is a story of a girl named Jessica Lall, who was assassinated. On April 29, 1999, Manu Sharma, son of a former Indian National Congress leader, shot the model Jessica Lall after she refused to serve him liquor at the Tamarind Court restaurant owned by socialite Bina Ramani. Supreme Court upheld Manu Sharma’s conviction, but he walked out of jail on remission as Lt Governor Anil Baijal agreed. Under Sec. 433A of CrPC, any convict who had served 14 years in jail can file for remission (early release or reduced sentence) if the person hadn’t committed a heinous crime when he or she was out on parole.
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Rustom (2016)
For those who haven’t seen movies like ‘Rustom’, it is based on the 1959 trial of Naval Commander K. N Nanavati, who shot & murdered his wife’s lover, After shooting his wife’s lover, Nanavati turned himself into the local police and was put on trial for murder wherein the jury supported the acquittal of Nanavati, but the judge reversed the jury’s verdict holding him guilty and hence, it is said that the jury’s failure to convict Nanavati led to the abolition of jury trials in India. (K.N Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra, 1962)
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Talwar (2015)
Who wouldn’t have heard about the famous Aarushi Talwar murder case (2008 Noida double murder case)? This murder mystery of India still has no answers. The movie ‘Talwar’ is based on the double murder of Aarushi Talwar & Hemraaj, which features the internal issues of investigation departments and the failure of the police department & CBI to handle evidence. In November 2013, the parents were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, but this ruling was based on weak evidence. The Talwars challenged the decision in the Allahabad High Court, which acquitted them in 2017.
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Raman Raghav (2016)
The Bombay of the swinging Sixties, with its glamorous nightclubs and jazz music, was also home to another world. A terrifying wave of murders arose when Raman Raghav used to terrorise Mumbai in the 1960s with a series of random murders, which remained a psychological puzzle. He was also known as "Jack the Ripper of India, he constantly killed for three years consecutively. Raghav was spared of a death sentence because of his mental illness and later was sentenced to life imprisonment; but he died in a hospital while in prison custody in 1995
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Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)
The town referred by Anurag Kashyap's in the two-part saga “Gangs of Wasseypur” is as gruesome in reality as it is shown in the film, its coal mines is a battlefield for brutal mafia families. The film although portrays real-life gang wars which took place in the region of Dhanbad, Jharkhand, however there are several differences in the film which contradict actual documented events, especially Faizal Khan’s role (based on Faheem Khan), who dies in the climax.
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The Attacks of 26/11 (2013)
The most shocking terror attack that shook the nation to its core, wherein it is said that 10 gunmen carried out the attacks believed to be connected to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation. This epic movie displays the unforgettable night of 26th November 2008, i.e., the Mumbai terror attack. The National Investigation Agency, or the NIA, was formed after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, specifically to probe and tackle terror-related cases in the country.
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Madras Cafe (2013)
Madras Café is a political spy thriller concerning the Sri Lankan war. The film depicts how our then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Major Vikram Singh (played by John Abraham) is an Indian Army Officer recruited by Research and Analysis Wing. Among the assassinators, accused A G Perarivalan and S Nalini filed for release to the Tamil Nadu government 2018 resolution. The government contended that they had completed their jail term as the Supreme Court commuted their death sentence to life – all the seven remained in jail for 31 years since their arrest in 1991.
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Shahid (2013)
Based on Shahid Azmi, the movie is a biographical film on the life of an advocate Shahid Azmi. He was best known for fighting cases on behalf of persons accused of terrorism. He was arrested for violence during the 1992 Bombay riots & was brutally tortured by police, and forced to admit the crime. A fellow jailmate motivated him to start his college education. So, after walking out of jail, Shahid moved to Mumbai to study law. The film clearly portrayed how a lawyer who fought for innocent people but was killed in his office for representing clients he believed to be falsely implicated in terror crimes.