Film

Badmaash Company

Name: Badmaash Company
Genre: Crime
Released: 2010
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Meiyang Chang, Vir Das, Anupam Kher

Crime

Badmaash Company follows four friends whose get-rich-quick scheme in counterfeit currency spirals into a crime thriller. It's a slick, energetic Hindi film that balances heist thrills with character drama, anchored by Shahid Kapoor's charisma. Made for anyone who enjoys watching smart people make catastrophic decisions.

TMDb rating

2.9

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Rang De Basanti2006

A group of idealistic young Indians transforms into activists fighting corruption. Like Badmaash Company, it's about friendship tested by ambition, but trades crime for civic rage—same emotional engine, different fuel.

But The patriotic messaging can feel heavy-handed, and the shift from comedy to thriller is abrupt. Some find it manipulative.

Dil Chahta Hai2001

Three friends navigate love, loyalty, and growing up across continents. It's lighter than Badmaash Company but shares that intoxicating focus on male friendship and the moment it fractures under pressure.

But The romantic subplots overshadow the core friendship story for some viewers. Also quite long and deliberately paced.

Udaan2010

A young man rebels against his father's control, colliding with expectations and ambition. Like Badmaash Company, it captures the suffocation of being trapped by circumstances and the dangerous allure of escape.

But It's contemplative and bleak, with little humor or release. Expect tension without catharsis—that's the point, but it's not always comfortable.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Badmaash Company

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Satya1998

Both trace how friendship and loyalty become the machinery of your own destruction. Badmaash Company is Satya's lighter cousin—same poison, sweeter delivery.

Ram Gopal Varma's masterpiece about a man pulled into Bombay's underworld. It's the spiritual ancestor of Badmaash Company—the same descent from innocence into crime, but with far greater moral weight and aesthetic precision.

But It's violent, nihilistic, and offers no redemption. The Mumbai accent and slang are thick. Watching it means surrendering to darkness.

Ab Tak Chhappan2004

A cop kills 56 criminals in an ambiguous moral landscape. Both films explore how good people justify bad choices when the system fails them—gritty, fast-paced, morally murky.

But The violence is brutal and the protagonist is difficult to root for. It's blunt about corruption in a way that can feel cynical.

Khosla Ka Ghosla!2006

A family cons a conman to recover stolen land. Smaller in scope than Badmaash Company but equally clever about how ordinary people become criminals when provoked—witty and tightly plotted.

But The humor is very Delhi-specific and won't land everywhere. The second half relies heavily on contrivance.

Johnny Gaddaar2007

A crime heist built on double-crosses and betrayal between characters who trust each other. The paranoia and moral decay parallel Badmaash Company's trajectory from camaraderie to suspicion.

But It's convoluted and the twists can feel arbitrary. Multiple viewings are almost required to follow it cleanly.

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!2008

A small-time Delhi hustler's rise through cons and charm. It has Badmaash Company's energy and that seductive appeal of living outside rules, with a keener eye for Delhi's underbelly.

But The protagonist's amorality gives some viewers nothing to hold onto. It's gleeful about theft in ways that don't sit right with everyone.

Vicky Donor2012

A young man enters the sperm donation business for quick money, then watches it unravel. Like Badmaash Company, it's about a seemingly simple scheme that exposes deeper moral questions and personal cost.

But The tone is uneven—it tries to balance comedy with drama and doesn't always land both. The second half loses steam.

Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story2020

Same core story—smart, charismatic men convinced their scheme is unassailable, until the system they bent snaps back. Badmaash Company in 144 minutes; this is the leisurely ten-hour version.

A 10-part series about a stockbroker's meteoric rise and inevitable fall. Gorgeously made, utterly gripping—it captures that same intoxication with getting rich fast and the hubris that precedes catastrophe.

But It's a slow burn for the first few episodes. If you need immediate action, it demands patience before the house of cards crumbles.

Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story poster

Gulaal2009

Both show how young men rationalize their crimes through ideology or circumstance. Badmaash Company says 'we're just making money'; Gulaal says 'we're fighting for power.' The justifications differ; the rot is identical.

A student gets sucked into campus politics and organized crime. Kay Kay Menon is terrifying; the film is visually inventive and morally complicated in ways that linger. It understands how ideology masks ambition.

But The plot is deliberately labyrinthine—clarity isn't the goal. Some find it pretentious; it rewards attention but won't hold your hand.