Must watch espionage movies of Bollywood

Over the years, Bollywood has progressed quite a bit in many niche genres such as horror, thriller, and black comedy among many others. However, the genre of espionage or spy movies remains largely unexplored and movie patrons have to still resort to Hollywood flicks for their dose of spy thrillers. But there is still hope for B-town in the form of Meghna Gulzar’s upcoming spy film 'Raazi' which stars Alia Bhatt. After the riveting trailer of the film, people are waiting with bated breath to catch the film on May 11th. So before the big release, here are a few quality espionage movies of Bollywood that will get you in the perfect mood…

'16 December' is an Indian spy thriller film that set the trend for other films of the genre for years to come. Featuring an ensemble cast of actors like Milind Soman, Gulshan Grover, Danny Denzongpa, Sushant Singh among many others, the movie is a nail-biting thriller of a secret agency’s efforts to stop an imminent nuclear attack on India from a terrorist group. Of course, the day of attack has to be December 16th thus signifying the title of the film. It also marks the day when Pakistan surrendered to India during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Overall, with some heavy political undertones, '16 December' is a must watch spy flick.

'D-Day' is another gripping spy thriller that is based on an imaginary scenario of Indian special agents invading Pakistan in order to catch a high ranking criminal. The movie boasts of a strong cast with actors like Irrfan Khan, Arjun Rampal, Rishi Kapoor, Huma Qureshi among many others. Irrfan is particularly impressive as Wali, an Indian agent who acts as a spy on the Pakistani soil as he gathers intel on his target and informs his supervisor. The film is dark, gritty and goes to places where few Bollywood films go, making it a flick that is hard to miss.

Even though it did not become a big box-office hit, the Saif Ali Khan starrer is a nice addition to Bollywood spy films. 'Agent Vinod' sees the actor playing an international spy and has an almost James Bond-like quality to him that was just really exciting to watch on the big screen. Not to forget the fact that the movie has some brilliant action sequences, some clever spy work to get secrets and of course the nonchalant nature of Saif in the entire film which gives it an additional shade of dry humour. So to sum it up, in spite of it being a little long and disjointed, 'Agent Vinod' definitely has its brilliant moments.

This 1967 classic is perhaps one of the oldest spy films in Bollywood. 'Jewel Thief' is the story of Vinay, son of a police commissioner who is mistaken for a notorious jewel thief Amar. Vinay then decides to get Amar arrested as he impersonates Amar and enters his gang in order to spy on their activities. Of course, the case of mistaken identities makes this film a really compelling watch with Dev Anand’s power-packed performance as an added bonus.

'Ek Tha Tiger' is also a film that brought the modern day spy genre to life, with plenty of mind-blowing action sequences. Salman Khan plays a RAW agent in the movie who lands himself in trouble when he falls in love with an ISI agent Zoya, which is played by Katrina Kaif. Of course, it being a Salman film has plenty of massy moments as well as light-hearted moments, which the actor pulls off with ease. So 'Ek Tha Tiger' is a great cocktail of a sophisticated spy story along with typical Bollywood masala, making it an easy to watch the film.

The Shoojit Sircar directorial is one of the most realistic and gripping spy films ever made. The movie stars John Abraham as an Indian agent who is sent to a civil war-torn Sri Lanka in order to stop the rebel groups who are at war with the government. Having a lot of political undertones and a continuous sense of tension, 'Madras Café' will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. Moreover, the angle of preventing Indian Prime Minister’ assassination is very similar to the real-life incident where PM Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a Tamil rebel group operative and hence also acts as a history lesson.

'Baby' is a no holds barred, action-packed spy thriller that is an utterly nail-biting experience from start to finish. The film is about the last mission of an Indian covert unit named Baby whose duty is to prevent further terrorist attacks in the country. With a brilliant star cast with actors like Akshay Kumar, Rana Daggubati, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, the film is filled with action, drama and deceit to the brim, making it a quintessential spy film. It is not altogether surprising that 'Baby' is such a good film, as it helmed by the very able Neeraj Pandey who is a master storyteller.