Film

Parinda

Parinda is a landmark Hindi crime thriller about two brothers on opposite sides of Bombay's underworld—one a don's enforcer, the other returning home innocent. It's taut, violent, and gorgeously shot, with Anil Kapoor delivering a career-best performance. Essential viewing for anyone who loves gritty crime cinema and Indian film history.

TMDb rating3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love crime dramas where the underworld is rendered with grit and melancholy, and where a family's loyalties are tested until they creak, the way Scorsese's early Mean Streets-era work does.

Skip it if you want brisk plotting and a clear moral map, since this one is heavy, slow to settle and tonally bleak, with long stretches given over to mood rather than momentum.

What it asks of you: Nearly two and a half hours of patience, with the mood weighing heavily throughout. It rewards close attention to faces and silences more than to fast plot turns.

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

If you liked this

Sarfarosh1999

Another Anil Kapoor masterpiece about crime and corruption in modern India, with similarly complex moral stakes and stunning cinematography. A natural next step for Parinda lovers.

But At nearly three hours, it's a commitment. The pacing is deliberate, and some dated elements may feel slow to contemporary viewers.

Sarfarosh poster

Khuda Gawah1992

Amitabh Bachchan and Sunny Deol in a revenge saga across Afghanistan and Pakistan. Raw, operatic, and utterly committed to its brutality—Parinda's spiritual sibling in scope and emotion.

But The plot is frankly bonkers, and dubbing issues can feel jarring. It swings wildly between tones, which works thematically but can feel uneven.

Khuda Gawah poster

Nayakan1987

A Tamil masterpiece about a man raised by crime who tries to escape it—strikingly similar in structure to Parinda but even more operatic. Kamal Haasan's performance is staggering.

But It's in Tamil with subtitles, and nearly three hours long. The emotional intensity is relentless, which is moving but exhausting.

Nayakan poster

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Rang1993

Both films are shot in Bombay and understand the city as a character shaped by violence. Both explore how good men become trapped in systems larger than themselves, but Rang removes the crime-thriller frame entirely, leaving only moral ruin.

A searing look at communal violence in India through the lives of two men—one Hindu, one Muslim—caught in Bombay's sectarian riots. Visually stunning and morally uncompromising.

But It's a brutal, unsentimental film about atrocity. There's no catharsis or easy resolution, and the violence is shown without mercy.

Rang poster
More like this (6)

Shootout at Wadala2013

A modern take on Bombay's criminal underworld with similar DNA: brothers, betrayal, stunning visuals. John Abraham and Rishi Kapoor anchor a film that understands Parinda's legacy.

But It feels like a stylized remake in places, which can feel derivative. Some dialogue and plot points strain credibility in ways even crime fiction shouldn't allow.

Shootout at Wadala poster

Dangal2016

While tonally different, it shares Parinda's examination of competing loyalties and sacrifice within a family. Aamir Khan's intensity brings similar weight to personal conflict.

But It's a sports drama, not crime—a very different energy. If you need more darkness and underworld atmosphere, this won't deliver.

Dangal poster

Hey Ram2000

Kamal Haasan in Kamleshwar Mukherjee's fractured look at violence, politics, and fractured identity across Indian history. Visually audacious and thematically dense.

But It's genuinely difficult to follow. The narrative is deliberately fragmented, and it demands your full attention without always rewarding it.

Hey Ram poster

Rang De Basanti2006

A modern ensemble about young men drawn into violence for idealistic reasons. Less noir than Parinda but exploring similar questions about when good people cross lines.

But It's more populist and sentimental than Parinda. The patriotic messaging can feel heavy-handed to some viewers.

Rang De Basanti poster

Chandni Bar2001

Raw, unflinching look at Bombay's underbelly and how crime metastasizes through poverty and desperation. Tabu's performance is fearless.

But It's graphic and brutal—genuinely upsetting in places. The misogyny on-screen (not from the film itself) can be difficult to sit with.

Chandni Bar poster

Bye Bye Baby1988

Made the same year as Parinda, it's a portrait of the other Bombay—not organized crime but disorganized poverty. Where Parinda shows how systems ensnare ambitious men, Bye Bye Baby shows what happens to those with no ambition at all.

Debut feature by Balaji Mohan, a tragicomic film about two street orphans navigating Bombay's margins. Absurdist, tender, and utterly unique in its refusal to moralize.

But It's structurally messy and deliberately anti-narrative. The comedy clashes with darkness in ways that don't always cohere, and it's genuinely hard to find.

Bye Bye Baby poster

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Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Insaniyat, Tezaab, Naam, Angaar, Khoon Pasina, Trimurti, Sadak, Dilwale, Tirangaa