Film
Karma
A 1986 Bollywood revenge epic where a grieving police inspector recruits three death row inmates to hunt down the terrorist who destroyed his family. It's a sprawling, operatic action film that swings wildly between tender character moments and extravagant set pieces. Perfect for anyone who loves stakes, spectacle, and the kind of movie that commits fully to its own excess.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love old-school Bollywood spectacle, where a grizzled hero, a rogues' gallery of stars and a melodramatic plot all go full throttle, and you don't mind a story that trades subtlety for sheer ambition.
Skip it if you want a lean, modern thriller; at a runtime pushing three hours, with broad melodrama and heavy sentiment, its pace will test your patience.
What it asks of you: Settle in for just over three hours, a patient build and frequent emotional swells, with the mood shifting from gritty to operatic and back without much warning.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Sholay1975
The template for everything Karma attempts: two antiheroes bonding while hunting a criminal mastermind, mixing ballads with bloodshed. If you love one, you'll recognize the DNA in the other.
But Nearly three hours, and it moves at the pace of a man who knows no one's leaving—you need patience and willingness to let scenes breathe.
Rambo: First Blood Part II1985
Released the year before Karma, it's got the same blueprint: a damaged man assembling a small team for a revenge operation across multiple countries with mounting chaos.
But It's lean and propulsive where Karma luxuriates; if you want tight plotting over spectacle, this prioritizes action economy.
The Godfather Part II1974
Both films use parallel revenge narratives to explore how violence corrupts even righteous men. The moral weight of what Vishwa becomes matters as much as what he destroys.
But Glacially paced by modern standards, and its restraint is the opposite of Karma's emotional excess—you won't get the same rush.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Karma
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Insomnia1997
Both ask whether vengeance corrodes the avenger beyond recovery, just through completely different cinematic languages.
A Scandinavian thriller about a damaged cop hunting a killer while gradually becoming morally indistinguishable from his prey. Same core: a man's corruption in service of justice. Infinitely quieter, infinitely more claustrophobic—the opposite register, same moral question.
But Slow, cold, psychologically grueling. No spectacle, no romance, no relief. If you watch Karma for the action and music, this will feel punishing.
More like this (8)
Once Upon a Time in the West1968
A patient, mythic revenge film where three damaged men converge on a single enemy. It shares Karma's sense that vengeance is operatic and that character matters more than plot efficiency.
But Nearly three hours of deliberate pacing and long silences. If you need constant momentum, you'll find it punishing.
Dhoom2004
Modern Bollywood action that shares Karma's international scope, team-building structure, and commitment to both spectacle and character development. Slicker, but recognizably descended.
But It's more interested in style than depth, and the action takes precedence over the emotional stakes that drive Karma.
Escape from Alcatraz1979
Recruits death row inmates for a dangerous mission—the same engine, smaller scale. Clint Eastwood's quiet intensity shows a different way to play a man forged by loss.
But A prison escape procedural, not an international revenge saga. Intimate where Karma is grandiose.
The Great Escape1963
A diverse team of prisoners planning and executing an ambitious, impossible escape. The camaraderie between men bonded by circumstance and shared purpose mirrors what Karma builds.
But It's a heist more than a revenge film, and the emotional core is about freedom, not vengeance—a fundamentally different energy.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol2011
A ragtag team moving across continents to dismantle a terrorist organization. The same globetrotting architecture, just updated for the action grammar of the 2010s.
But Slick and modular rather than passionate. Where Karma aches, this calculates.
The Guns of Navarone1961
A motley group undertaking a high-stakes military operation with personal costs. It's got the adventure serial energy and the sense that these men are expendable but essential.
But A war film first, character study second—the stakes are abstract where Karma's are visceral and personal.
The Raid 22014
Both films treat violence as consequential and expensive, and both build elaborate action sequences around moral compromise rather than heroic clarity.
An Indonesian action film where a cop goes undercover in a crime family to dismantle it from within. Shares Karma's willingness to spend long stretches on character and relationship before the next eruption of violence.
But Brutally violent in a modern, unflinching way. The action is visceral and close rather than operatic; some find it exhausting rather than thrilling.
Parineeta2005
Both Karma and Parineeta inhabit a register of Bollywood cinema that prioritizes feeling and visual richness over plot economy, and both are willing to spend time on lyrical moments despite their other genres.
A Hindi melodrama about class, obligation, and love that resurfaces a 1953 film of the same name. Like Karma, it's unashamed about emotion and spectacle, but it operates in the grammar of romance rather than revenge—a different gear entirely from the same engine.
But Sentimental in a way that can feel cloying to viewers outside its tradition. The plot mechanics are mechanical; character and mood matter far more than narrative logic.
People
Cast
Dilip KumarVishwa Pratap Singh
Naseeruddin ShahKhairuddin Kisti
Jackie ShroffBaiju Thakur
Anil KapoorJohnny / Gyaneshwar
Anupam KherDr. Michael Dang
SrideviRadha
Poonam DhillonTulsi
Vinod NagpalTripathi Ji
NutanRukmani Singh