Film

Bombay Velvet

Name: Bombay Velvet
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Released: 2015
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar, Kay Kay Menon, Satyadeep Misra

Crime

Bombay Velvet is an ambitious crime thriller set in 1960s Mumbai, following an ordinary man's ruthless climb through the city's underworld and jazz clubs. It's a stylish, violent period piece about ambition and corruption, driven by strong performances and Anurag Kashyap's visual flair. For those who love the swagger of gangster films with a distinctly Indian setting and texture.

TMDb rating

2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like crime stories built on period atmosphere, smoky jazz clubs and a rise-to-power arc where the style carries as much weight as the plot.

Skip it if you need tight plotting, since the film sprawls across its long running time and its many shifting alliances can feel tangled and unfocused.

What it asks of you: Over two and a half hours of patience, with a slow, murky build and plenty of period detail you must absorb rather than be led through.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 12012

A sprawling, violent saga of crime families in industrial India that matches Bombay Velvet's ambition and unflinching brutality. Features ensemble cast, sharp dialogue, and a sweeping narrative that spans decades with real stakes.

But Nearly four hours across two films, with graphic violence and a morally murky world where few characters deserve rooting for. Requires patience and tolerance for bleak outcomes.

Sarkar2005

Amitabh Bachchan as a businessman who controls Mumbai's underworld through legitimate fronts. Explores power, corruption, and moral compromise with style and intelligence, capturing the city's shadow economy.

But The thriller mechanics are sometimes creaky, and it occasionally prioritizes spectacle over coherent plotting. Can feel dated in its action sequences.

Jism2003

Early Anurag Kashyap feature about desire and crime in Mumbai, with a sensual visual style and morally compromised characters. Explores eroticism and violence as intertwined forces in the city's underworld.

But Lurid and sometimes exploitative in its treatment of its female lead. The plot can feel secondary to atmosphere and skin, which won't appeal to everyone.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bombay Velvet

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Natrang2010

Both follow men who construct elaborate personas to escape and dominate their worlds, blurring the line between performance and reality. Both use visual style to externalize internal corruption.

A Marathi-language film about a man obsessed with performing in classical theater who discovers a dangerous alter ego. It's visually inventive, psychologically unsettling, and explores performance and identity with real originality.

But In Marathi with subtitles. Deeply strange and occasionally uncomfortable; the narrative logic is dreamlike rather than conventional, which frustrates linear viewers.

Initial D2005

A claustrophobic thriller about a diamond heist and betrayal set in Mumbai's criminal ecosystem. Sharp, taut narrative with excellent character work and a compelling puzzle-box structure that rewards attention.

But Shot largely in confined spaces with minimal action; dialogue-heavy and slow-burn. If you want kinetic energy, this isn't it.

Agneepath2012

Hrithik Roshan as a man raised by gangsters seeking revenge in Mumbai's criminal underworld. Gorgeously composed, intense performances, and explores how violence perpetuates itself across generations.

But Remakes a 1990 film some prefer; occasionally veers into melodrama. The moral universe is bleak enough to feel exhausting for some viewers.

Ugly2013

A crime thriller about the moral decay of Mumbai that deconstructs its own genre. Anurag Kashyap again—bleak, intelligent, and unafraid to implicate everyone, including the audience, in corruption.

But Deliberately ugly and difficult to watch. No one to root for, no relief from the grime and despair. Feels punitive rather than entertaining.

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai2010

A stylish crime epic about a gangster's rise and fall in 1970s-80s Mumbai. Features charismatic leads, strong period detail, and a nostalgic yet cynical take on the city's criminal golden age.

But Sometimes melodramatic and overly reverent toward its criminal protagonists. Can feel like a fan's love letter to gangsterism rather than a critique.

Shootout at Wadala2013

Sriram Raghavan's stylish action thriller based on a real 1980s gangland shooting. Excellent craft, strong lead performance, and a gripping narrative built on precise historical detail.

But Relies on action sequences that don't always land; the emotional core can feel thin beneath the surface slickness. Some found it style over substance.

Rang De Basanti2006

While ostensibly about idealistic youth, it captures post-millennium Mumbai's anger and corruption with genuine heat. The transformation of its characters explores how the system corrupts even the well-intentioned.

But Uneven in tone, lurching from comedy to violence to romance. The politics can feel muddled, and some find it manipulative in its emotional appeals.

The Long Good Friday1980

Both are period crime films that use the city itself as a character shaped by criminal enterprise. Both show ambition as a form of self-destruction and the underworld's economy as a mirror of legitimate power.

Bob Hoskins as a London gangster whose Easter weekend empire crumbles when his power structure is challenged. A masterclass in tension, wit, and the machinery of organized crime told in real time with no glamour.

But British 1980s visual style and thick accents require adjustment. Violent and cynical about power structures, with a bleak ending some find merely depressing rather than cathartic.

City of God2002

Both use the transformation of a specific urban space to chart how ambition and violence remake cities from within. Both show how criminal systems fill power vacuums and destroy community through organized brutality.

A Brazilian favela transforms over decades from communal space into a warzone controlled by rising criminal empires. Shot with kinetic brilliance and dark humor, it's epic in scope yet intimate in its destruction of innocence.

But Extremely violent, with graphic content involving children. The rapid cutting and hand-held camera create disorientation intentionally; some find it exhausting rather than immersive.