Film

Shaitaan

Shaitaan is a 1974 Indian thriller about a relentless cop pursuing a brutal serial killer through Bombay's underworld. Taut, stylish, and genuinely menacing, it's a genre landmark that influenced decades of Hindi cinema. Perfect for fans of classic crime procedurals who want to see where Bollywood's thriller vocabulary originated.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like old-fashioned Bombay-set police hunts where the suspense comes from who is behind the killings rather than from gore, with a romance tangled into the investigation.

Skip it if the melodrama and romantic subplot can feel dated, and at just over two hours its pace is leisurely, so it will test anyone wanting a tight modern thriller.

What it asks of you: Two hours of gradual build-up, with long stretches of police routine and romance between the violent scenes, and a tone that stays dark rather than playful.

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

If you liked this

Madhumati1958

A supernatural mystery with lush cinematography and complex plotting that established many conventions Shaitaan would perfect. Maternal love, reincarnation, and moral ambiguity woven through a gripping narrative.

But The pacing is deliberate and the film assumes patience with digression. Some supernatural elements may feel dated or confusing without context.

Madhumati poster

Jaal1952

An earlier Raj Kapoor thriller about a cop and a criminal. Raw, propulsive, and genuinely cynical about police work and morality. Essential viewing to understand the lineage.

But It's less stylish than Shaitaan and the print quality can be variable. The print can be variable. Emotional beats land differently than modern audiences expect.

Jaal poster

Inspector1956

A landmark thriller about institutional corruption and police work. Deliberate and atmospheric, it established the archetype of the honest cop fighting the system.

But It's slow by any standard. The resolution feels didactic rather than dramatically earned.

Inspector poster

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Deceivers1988

Both are meticulous thrillers about the psychology of violence and obsession, constructed with visual precision and moral ambiguity. They share an interest in how good men are corrupted by their pursuit of evil.

Pierce Brosnan and Shashi Kapoor in a David Lean-influenced Anglo-Indian colonial thriller about a secret crime society. Sweeping, sensual, and genuinely exotic—it brings the same meticulous craft to thriller construction as Shaitaan, but through a completely different cultural and historical lens.

But It's slow and the violence is sudden rather than constant. The colonial perspective may feel uncomfortable, and the film's romanticism of India is dated.

The Deceivers poster
More like this (5)

Pyaasa1957

Guru Dutt's masterpiece about a poet betrayed by society and morality compromised. Not a thriller exactly, but the darkness and visual poetry are essential to understanding Shaitaan's DNA.

But It's a melodrama, not an action film. If you need plot momentum over mood, this will feel deliberately frustrating.

Pyaasa poster

Dharmatma1975

Rajesh Khanna as a gangster, gorgeously shot through a haze of cigarette smoke and moral decay. Pure style and atmosphere, with a protagonist you shouldn't root for but do.

But The plot is secondary to the mood. If coherent narrative matters more to you than immersion, you'll be frustrated.

Dharmatma poster

Mere Sanam1965

A contemporary thriller with Rajesh Khanna that explores similar terrain—crime, love, betrayal. Technically ambitious with some striking sequences.

But It's uneven, and the restoration is imperfect. Some scenes feel like they're missing context or print damage has corrupted crucial moments.

Mere Sanam poster

Angoor1982

Both understand that Indian audiences will accept wildly different registers in a single film. Both weaponize style and performance to keep you off balance about what you're actually watching.

A Gulzar comedy-thriller that seems like a lark until it isn't. Two men, mistaken identity, escalating danger—it uses humour as camouflage while constructing genuine suspense. A masterclass in genre hybridity.

But The tonal shifts will perplex you if you're expecting a straight thriller. Comedy-heavy first half feels at odds with dark second half for viewers unprepared for it.

Angoor poster

Salaam Bombay!1988

Shaitaan is a crime thriller about Bombay's underworld; Salaam Bombay! is the reality underneath the narrative. Together they form a complete picture of a city and its moral crisis—one told as entertainment, one as testimony.

Mira Nair's devastating documentary-realism drama about street children in Bombay, made in the same city, roughly the same era as Shaitaan's setting. Not a thriller—a human chronicle of the world Shaitaan's criminals inhabit from the other side. Heartbreaking and absolutely necessary.

But It has no plot, only an accumulation of moments and degradations. The poverty and child suffering are unrelenting and not aestheticized. You will not be entertained.

Salaam Bombay! poster

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Ek Hasina Thi, Veerana