Serial killer films like Chup

Stories about serial killers and the investigation surrounding their crimes make for some of the most compelling stories for film and television. The latest Hindi crime thriller Chup tells the story of a serial killer who targets film critics for publishing biased reviews. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Deol, and Shreya Dhanwanthary in lead roles and is available to stream on Zee5. For today’s List hai toh hit hai podcast we take a look at some of the best Indian films featuring serial killers.

Raman Raghav 2.0 (Zee5, Lionsgate Play)

Inspired by one of the most notorious serial killers of Mumbai, this Anurag Kashyap directorial offers a bone-chilling account of the man who indiscriminately eliminated countless victims ruthlessly. Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vicky Kaushal in the lead, Raman Raghav 2.0 was called out for being one of the most grisly films to be ever made in Indian cinema. The film’s plot revolves around a manhunt for the psychopathic killer who has terrorised the city of Mumbai and the cop who is committed to nabbing him. Ditching the tropes of most serial killer movies, this film also assigns a twisted logic that attempts to rationalise the gory murders committed in cold blood and ends on an unpredictable note.

Baishe Srabon (Disney+ Hotstar, Hoichoi)

Srijit Mukherji's film Baishe Srabon became an instant success and became one of the most acclaimed performances of Tollywood star Prosenjit Chatterjee. The movie took inspiration from several other films, such as the Stoneman Murders, based on the City of Joy's infamous serial killer. Parambrata Chatterjee as chief detective Abhijit Pakrashi delivers an excellent performance, but it is Prosenjit Chatterjee as the police officer Prabir who carries the film and delivers the climax perfectly. It leaves the audience enamoured with the storyline, and minor characters such as the mad poet, Nibaron Chakraborty and Pakrashi's girlfriend Amrita also essay convincing performances.

Anjaam Pathiraa (SunNXT)

Hunting down a serial killer is a dangerous endeavour, but when the killer’s targets are police officers it becomes a far more precarious ordeal. The 2020 Malayalam crime thriller Anjaam Pathiraa follows Dr Anwar Hussain, a consultant criminologist for the Kochi City Police Department, tasked with finding a notorious killer who has targeted law enforcement officers. With each brutal murder, it becomes clear to Hussain that he needs all the help and resources at his disposal to apprehend the killer before someone else falls victim to these heinous crimes. Hussain soon discovers that there is a plan and method behind the madness, which he hopes could lead him to the killer.Written and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas, the film stars Kunchacko Boban in the lead as Dr Hussain, whereas Sharaf U Dheen, Sreenath Bhasi, Jinu Joseph, and Unnimaya Prasad essay supporting roles. The film was praised for its tone and gripping screenplay and was one of the biggest box-office hits of the pandemic era. It was also remade into a Bengali film in 2021, titled Psycho, starring Anirban Bhattacharya.

Anniyan (SunNXT)

Movies about serial killers are in abundance but a movie about a system-hating do-gooder lawyer by day and a vigilante serial killer by night is certainly a rarity. The movie that launched the career of the Tamil superstar Vikram, Anniyan has been popular among audiences since its release in 2005. After a raging success, the movie was released in several languages including Malayalam and Kannada and was also released in Hindi in 2006 as Aparichit The Stranger. Vikram plays Ramanujam Iyengar or Ambi who suffers from dissociative identity disorder caused by childhood trauma. Ambi's personality is timid and on the contrary, Aparichit uses brutal means to punish people committing social evils. He also has a third personality as a sophisticated fashion model.

Kaun? (Youtube)

Perhaps, the least commercial film on this list, Ram Gopal Varma’s Kaun? starring Urmila Matondkar and Manoj Bajpayee, has to be one of the most compelling genre-bending thrillers of our time. For a film that’s essentially set within a lavish bungalow, this one follows a young woman who’s home alone when she learns that a serial killer is on the loose. It’s left upto the audience to detect who, in fact, is the serial killer from the several visitors who drop in to visit her unannounced. Like a classic whodunit, this film presents each and ever suspect with just the attributes that would carve them as the killer. But if you survive the nerve-racking suspense this one offers, there’s a big reveal that’s held just for the climax.

Well thats the OTTplay List hai toh hit hai episode for today, until the next time its your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

Written by Ryan Gomez, Sneha Singh, and Kunal Guha