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Top 10 Suspense Films

June 19, 2019 12:33 IST

Taapsee Pannu's Game Over released to good reviews even though it failed to make a mark at the box office.

The thrills and chills are fantastically directed, and like our reviewer Sukanya Verma says, 'Game Over is a nifty piece of work that recognises the durability of meaningful entertainment.'

Bollywood has given us quite a few suspense tales before, and many of them have done well at the box office.

Joginder Tuteja lists them out.

 

Badla
Box office collection: Rs 87.99 crore

Badla is probably the second most popular suspense film to get maximum footfalls (we'll get to the first in this genre later).

Director Sujoy Ghosh kept audiences at the edge of their seats in this film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh and Taapsee Pannu.

 

Kahaani
Box office collection: Rs 59 crore

Before Badla, Sujoy Ghosh proved his mettle as a master storyteller of suspense films with Kahaani.

Vidya Balan played along superbly, and what we got was a brilliant movie with a big revelation at the end.

 

Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Box office collection: Rs 50 crore

Bhool Bhulaiyaa could have been just another horror thriller, but Director Priyadarshan paired up with Akshay Kumar to ensure that there was a good comic element as well.

The suspense was seamlessly integrated into the story, which saw good performances by Vidya Balan, Shiny Ahuja, Paresh Rawal and, of course, Akshay.

It was a good remake of Mohanlal's Malayalam hit Manichitrathazhu.

 

Ittefaq
Box office collection: Rs 30.21 crore

Ittefaq (a remake of the Rajesh Khanna-Nanda hit) was set within the four walls of a house.

Sidharth Malhotra and Sonakshi Sinha came together in this suspense tale, which had Akshaye Khanna in a key role.

It was a modern day adaptation, but the twist in the tale surprised many.

 

Talvar
Box office collection: Rs 31 crore

Based on the real life story of Arushi Talwar's murder, Director Meghna Gulzar raised many pertinent questions about what happened that fateful night.

Irrfan Khan, Neeraj Kabi and Konkona Sen Sharma gave it a realistic feel, and brought good reviews.

 

Raaz
Box office collection: Rs 22 crore

Besides Ram Gopal Varma, the one film-maker who has a mastery over this genre is Vikram Bhatt.

He's made quite a few thrillers and horrors but the one that started it all was Raaz.

Set in an isolated mansion on the hillside, this Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea starrer was powered by chartbuster music and was a blockbuster.

 

Gupt
Box office collection: Rs 18 crore

And this is the 'baap' of all suspense thrillers, the most popular movie in this genre.

No one guessed that Kajol was the murderer when Rajiv Rai's film released in theatres.

A major hit back then, this Bobby Deol and Manisha Koirala film was technically brilliant and had hit music as well.

 

Bhoot
Box office collection: Rs 15 crore

Urmila Matondkar's Bhoot was a suspense horror film, where she imagined a 'bhoot' inside her apartment.

Director Ram Gopal Varma defied norms by establishing that a ghost could make an appearance in the day as well, not just the night.

Ajay Devgn, Fardeen Khan, Nana Patekar and Rekha top-lined the cast.

 

13B
Box office collection: Rs 8 crore

A lot of suspense thrillers are set in a home, and have a horror element.

R Madhavan's 13B had the same theme, and this time, it revolved around a television set, which had an evil spirit.

Madhavan was quite good in this well-made tale, which enjoyed a modest run.

 

Kaun
Box office collection: Rs 4 crore

One of the most authentic suspense thrillers of modern times, Kaun was made by Ram Gopal Varma at his prime.

The Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh starrer was an edge-of-the-seat suspense thriller, where silences and background scores did the trick.

JOGINDER TUTEJA