Film
Policewala Gunda
A 1995 Hindi action film where a crusading police officer balances his mission to clean up a corrupt city with fierce loyalty to his half-brothers. Dharmendra anchors this blend of family melodrama and cop-movie heroics, delivering the kind of sincere, earnest entertainment that defined mid-90s Hindi cinema—big emotions, bigger fights, and a hero who cannot bend.
If you liked this
Khuda Gawah1992
Dharmendra returns to lead roles with Amitabh Bachchan in a sprawling adventure across Afghanistan. It has the same grandiose sentiment and commitment to melodrama that makes Policewala Gunda tick, plus some genuinely jaw-dropping action set-pieces.
But Nearly three hours long and structured like a 1980s film stretched into the 90s. The pacing is deliberate, sometimes stately, and it assumes you are invested in every emotional beat.
Ghayal1990
Sunny Deol's breakthrough as a wronged man fighting back against corruption and villainy. It has the same righteous-cop energy, family stakes, and commitment to hand-to-hand combat as your film, but tighter and even more brutal.
But The feminism is basically non-existent and the heroine exists mainly to be protected. It is a men's-action film in the most unironic sense.
Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj1992
A contemporary film where Mithun Chakraborty plays an anti-corruption cop fighting organized crime in the city. Same premise, same moral simplicity, same belief that a hero's fists can redeem a broken system.
But It is genuinely clumsy in places and the dialogue can be purple. The film does not always know when to be serious and when to be fun.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Policewala Gunda
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Gundamma Katha1962
Both films centre an idealistic cop juggling family love and civic duty, with melodrama as the emotional engine. Policewala Gunda is essentially the Hindi remake of this template, made thirty years later and louder.
A Telugu classic about a police officer devoted to his family and his duty, separated for years and reunited by circumstance. It is the spiritual ancestor of this exact story—the template that Hindi cinema would remake and reimagine for decades.
But It is in Telugu with subtitles, filmed in black and white, and moves at the pace of 1960s cinema. Patience is required, and so is tolerance for a different aesthetic grammar.
More like this (8)
Andolan1995
Released the same year as Policewala Gunda, this film also stars Govinda fighting political corruption and organized crime from within the police force. The earnestness and stakes are comparable.
But Govinda's comic timing can tip scenes away from tension when the film needs them to land hard. Not everyone responds to his particular energy.
Daud1997
A crime thriller where a man on the run must navigate Mumbai's underworld, testing every loyalty he has. It has the same gritty city corruption and family bonds under pressure, but approached with more moral complexity.
But It is considerably darker and more morally ambiguous. If you want clear heroes and villains, this will frustrate you.
Phool Aur Kaante1991
Ajay Devgn's debut as a cop raised by criminals, torn between the two worlds. It touches the same nerve—family versus duty—but wraps it in a more stylish, modern action-film package.
But The plot turns become increasingly convoluted. By the end, you will be working hard to follow what is actually at stake.
Kabali2016
A Tamil film about an aging don fighting the system that wronged him, with fierce devotion to his family. It updates the Dharmendra archetype for a new generation, but keeps the emotional sincerity intact.
But Rajinikanth's screen presence dominates everything else. If you do not connect with him, the film has little else to hold you.
Trimurti1995
Three friends navigate crime, corruption, and loyalty in 90s Mumbai. It has the ensemble-cast weight and the tangled sense of how hard it is to stay clean when the system itself is dirty.
But The three leads do not always have equal focus, and one character's arc feels sidelined. The film struggles with its own ambitions.
Gupt: The Hidden Truth1997
A sleek thriller about a cop investigating a bombing, with plot twists that keep you guessing. It shows what 90s Hindi cinema could do when it found a tighter narrative structure.
But The big twist, if you guess it early, makes the second half feel manipulative rather than clever. Some find the whole exercise too neat.
Chandni Bar2001
Both are stories of people battling an irredeemably corrupt system. Policewala Gunda believes the hero can win by being good and strong. This film suggests goodness has no power against the machine—a dark mirror.
A brutal examination of corruption, exploitation, and survival in Mumbai's underworld. It shares the same city, the same belief that corruption is systemic, but approaches it with unflinching realism instead of heroic sentiment.
But It is deeply bleak, sexually explicit, and features graphic violence. It does not believe in redemption or heroic solutions. Not for anyone seeking uplift.
The Big Heat1953
Both films pivot on a cop's fractured loyalty between his duty and his family, with violence as the language they speak. Policewala Gunda believes the cop can hold both; Lang's film shows the cost of trying.
Fritz Lang's masterwork about a cop whose daughter is killed in a car bomb meant for him, pushing him outside the law to seek justice. Rage, family, and the moment a good man breaks are the entire film.
But It is a 1950s American noir in black and white, and the pacing is leisurely by modern standards. Also: it is considerably more cynical about justice than the Hindi films you might expect to enjoy.
