Film

Karz

Name: Karz
Genre: Action, Thriller
Released: 1980
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Tina Munim, Simi Garewal, Premnath Malhotra, Pran

Karz is a 1980 Hindi thriller that fuses reincarnation mythology with revenge melodrama and stylish action. A man murdered for his wealth returns as a glamorous pop singer, haunted by fragmented memories of his death. It's watchable as both sincere supernatural drama and campy fun—glossy, propulsive, unafraid of its own absurdity.

TMDb rating

3.8

If you liked this

Sholay1975

The template for Hindi action cinema: two drifters hired to stop a bandit, with gunfights, romance, humour and surprising emotional depth. If you loved Karz's revenge plot and style, this is where that language was forged.

But Nearly three and a half hours long, and the pacing assumes patience with song sequences and romantic subplot as much as action.

Hera Pheri1976

Rajesh Khanna as a con man hunting the man who ruined him. Slick, darkly funny, and structurally similar—a protagonist using wit and deception to outmanoeuvre a villain who wronged him. The tone walks a brilliant line between thriller and satire.

But The print quality can be rough, and some of the comedy feels dated even by 1970s standards.

Raees2017

Shah Rukh Khan as a charming criminal kingpin in a stylish, propulsive revenge thriller set across decades. Modern filmmaking applied to the same melodramatic DNA—slick, violent, operatic, with a lead actor having genuine fun.

But It's a more conventional gangster film than Karz; less weird, more predictable in its story beats.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Crow1994

Same reincarnation-as-revenge skeleton dressed in radically different visual and tonal clothing. Both films use supernatural resurrection to justify explosive justice.

Brandon Lee as a musician murdered and resurrected to seek revenge. It's Karz's exact mythological premise—reincarnation as engine for vendetta—transplanted to 1990s gothic superhero cinema. Darkly stylish, operatic, committed utterly to its own logic.

But Visually dense and genuinely violent in ways Karz isn't; much darker in register. The tragedy surrounding Lee's death casts a heavy shadow.

Amar Akbar Anthony1977

Three brothers separated at birth reunite to avenge their parents. The same reincarnation-and-karma logic, the same maximalist melodrama, but stretched across three timelines with even more songs, romance and broad comedy.

But At over three hours, it's exhausting even if you love it. The plot requires you to buy into a lot of coincidence and mysticism.

The Thief of Bagdad1940

Magical realism, jewel heists, exotic locations, and a hero using charm and ingenuity against powerful enemies. Karz borrowed its visual language from this era of adventure cinema—all style and swagger.

But British Technicolor fantasy from 1940 moves very differently from a 1980s Hindi thriller. Patience required; some will find it quaint.

Chandni1989

Yash Chopra's romantic thriller with Rishi Kapoor (Karz's lead) at his most charismatic. Glossy, propulsive, drowning in gorgeous cinematography and songs. The same era's approach to romance-meets-danger.

But If you're coming for the thriller elements, they're secondary to the romance. And yes, it's very long.

Qurbani1980

Released the same year as Karz, this spy thriller has similar energy: stylish, slightly absurd, full of action and exotic locations. A cult film that shares Karz's unironic commitment to melodrama and spectacle.

But The plot is genuinely confusing in places, and some sequences feel padded. It's campy in ways that don't always work.

Laawaris1999

Amitabh Bachchan as a wronged man seeking justice. Karz-adjacent revenge narrative with similar emotional registers—operatic, sentimental, anchored by a charismatic lead and driven by moral outrage.

But It's a heavier film emotionally, less fun. The pacing can drag, especially in the middle hour.

Kaala Patthar1979

Amitabh Bachchan in a sea-set thriller with action, mystery and moral complexity. Pre-dates Karz by a year but shows how Indian cinema was blending spectacle with genre plotting at this moment.

But Very much of its era in ways that can feel dated. Subtitles necessary, and the restoration quality varies depending on where you watch it.

The Leopard1963

Both are obsessed with inherited wealth, family betrayal, and the question of what you owe the dead. Karz answers with violence; The Leopard answers with inevitability.

Luchino Visconti's portrait of a Sicilian prince watching his world collapse. It's about wealth, property, and family legacy—the exact material preoccupying Karz—but treated with tragic seriousness and shot in ravishing colour. Shows what melodrama becomes when you refuse to wink.

But It's a slow, deliberate film about decay and resignation. If you want action and revenge, this is the opposite: a film about accepting loss.

Pather Panchali1955

Both films grapple with death and family curses, but Ray treats these as life's ordinary weight, while Karz treats them as plot. Seeing both shows the full spectrum of what Indian cinema can do with the same material.

Satyajit Ray's first film: a family in Bengal struggling with poverty, illness and the death of a child. It's Indian cinema's masterwork, shot in black and white, scaled intimately. If you want to understand what Indian film could be when it aims for art instead of spectacle, start here.

But It's austere, slow-paced, and deals in accumulated small griefs rather than dramatic reversals. The opposite of Karz's energy.