Top 10 Bollywood Movies Based On Kidnapping

The concept of crime thrillers has been explored well in Bollywood. Murders, kidnappings, etc, form the central theme of many good movies. Also, sometimes these motifs are used unconventionally in a few Bollywood movies to serve a greater purpose and establish some other theme. In this list, we’ll look at 10 such Bollywood movies which centered around a kidnapping. It need not be a crime film necessarily, it might even be a comedy or a romantic story. That shows the uniqueness of Bollywood.

1. Highway

Highway is a 2014 film directed by Imtiaz Ali and starring Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt in central roles. The plot of the film revolved round a rich young girl, Veera, who is kidnapped by a gang of criminals, including Mahabir. The film has been made like a coming-of-age story which also explores the theme of Stockholm syndrome. Veera, lonely and tortured by the bondages of her sheltered life, learns to find freedom on the journey with her kidnappers. That journey helps her come to terms with her life and herself. The movie was brilliant and quite successful in impressing the viewers.

2. Te3n

Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, Te3n is the story of an old man, John Biswas, struggling to cope up with the loss of his granddaughter Angela who had been kidnapped and murdered. His quest of finding the culprit connects him to Father Martin who was once in the police force. When another boy is kidnapped in the same way, they resume their search and come across new revelations. The cast of this movie included Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vidya Balan, and Sabyasachi Chakrabarty.

3. Madaari

Directed by Nishikant Kamat and starring Irrfan Khan in the role of the protagonist, Madaari is a well-made film that incorporates the theme of kidnapping into a social and political thriller. The story depicts the kidnapping of Rohan, the son of the Home Minister, from his hostel. Surprisingly, the kidnapper does not ask for ransom. Instead, he demands to know the whereabouts of his son from the authorities, whom he had lost in an incident caused by the negligence and corruption present in the Government. The other actors in the movie include Vishesh Bansal, Jimmy Shergill, Uday Tikekar, etc.

4. Jazbaa

Hailed as the comeback film of beautiful actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jazbaa was a crime thriller based on the kidnapping of the daughter of a criminal lawyer, Anuradha Verma, played by Rai. The demand of the kidnappers is that the lawyer defend a man accused of rape and murder and win the case to get her daughter back. A story of lies and deceit follows where the line between right and wrong is blurred. The rest of the cast includes actors like Irrfan Khan, Sara Arjun, Shabana Azmi, Jackie Shroff, etc.

5. Ugly

Ugly is a psychological thriller film directed by Anurag Kashyap and starring Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Surveen Chawla, etc. The story centers round the kidnapping of the step-daughter of police chief, Shoumik Bose, named Kali. What follows is the struggle to find Kali’s kidnapper and rescue her before it is too late to do so. Ugly is a brilliant film and has been critically appreciated. All the actors have done a great job, making the film racy, interesting, and hard-hitting.

6. Filmistaan

Directed by Nitin Kakkar, Filmistaan is a comedy film starring Sharib Hashmi, 'Inaamulhaq', Kumud Mishra, etc. It tells the story of a struggling actor in India who works as an assistant director in films. He is mistakenly kidnapped and taken to Pakistan by a group of terrorists who had intended to kidnap an American and use him to further their demands. The story shows how films and entertainment can connect people across the border, making us realize that we are not so different from each other after all.

7. Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya

This is another romantic comedy directed by Mandeep Kumar and starring Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia DSouza. The film tackles the issue of kidnapping lightly where the victim, Mini, gets herself kidnapped willingly to escape getting married to a stranger. She runs away with the kidnapper, Viren, to his family home. There she bonds with his family and they fall in love. The movie is equally funny and romantic. It received positive reviews from critics and viewers upon release.

8. Guddu Rangeela

This comedy film has a lot of social elements incorporated into the storyline. Two cousins, Rangeela and Guddu, look for shortcuts for earning money. They chance upon the idea of kidnapping a girl from a rich family and asking for a hefty ransom. This deed lands them in a lot of trouble, leading to funny situations and instances. The cast of this film includes Arshad Warsi, Amit Sadh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Ronit Roy, etc.

9. Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande

This movie tells the story of a gang of four people who indulge in an illegal job to earn money and pursue their dreams. The film has been directed by Parvin Dabas. They get involved in a kidnapping case which throws their life out of balance and puts them in several difficult situations. They encounter many weird people while doing this job which impacts their lives and thoughts. The actors in this film are Parvin Dabas, Ashish Nayyar, Sharat Saxena, Anupam Kher, Preeti Jhangiani, etc.

10. Shaitan

Shaitan is dark thriller film directed by Bejoy Nambiar and featuring actors like Rajeev Khandelwal, Gulshan Devaiah, Kalki Koechlin, Kirti Kulhari, Raj Kumar Yadav, etc. The movie was critically acclaimed and appreciated for its gripping narrative and hard-hitting theme. It depicts the experiences of a group of friends who commit a crime while indulging in one of their regular drunk escapades. They get blackmailed by a cop and decide to fake the kidnapping of one of them to raise the money for paying him off. Their life goes downhill after this and is lost amid all the deception and ruthlessness.