Top Indian regional murder mystery films to watch

Murder Mystery being a sub-genre of Crime, gets attention from its viewers for its thrilling background music, unexpected story twists, enthralling cinematographic scenes and exemplary screenplay. So, brace yourself as today’s List hai toh hit hai is all about Indian regional murder mystery films that gave you that adrenalin kick. I'm your host Nikhil , let's begin my list.

The first murder mystery film is 

Shivaji Surathkal

The 2020 Kannada thriller stars Ramesh Aravind and Radhika Narayan in the lead. The first outing was a tremendous success and now the filmmakers are planning to release its sequel pretty soon. The main plot of the story is about an investigation of a high-profile murder in a resort. It’s later revealed in the film’s plot that this murder is connected to the disappearance of the police officer’s wife who is in charge of this case. The climax is all about how this grieving officer unfolds the plot to this murder.

OTTplay Rating - 7.8

Available - Zee5, Vi

Maayavan

A 2017 Tamil Sci-fi thriller film stars Sundeep Kishan and Lavanya Tripathi in the lead, while supporting roles are played by Jackie Shroff, Daniel Balaji, R. Amarendran, and Jayaprakash. The story follows a series of murders which is investigated by a police officer Kumaran. The case gets more intricate as he notices all these murders have been executed in a similar pattern. The central plot of the film is gripping, with ample twists and turns, as expected in any thriller murder mystery film. This film was later dubbed into Telugu as Project Z. 

OTTplay Rating - 7.5

Available - Amazon Prime Video, Disney + Hotstar

November Story

This 2021 Telugu thriller is a nine episode web series starring Tamannaah in the lead role along with Pasupathy M., G. M. Kumar and Namita Krishnamurthy. The plot depicts a famous crime writer Ganeshan who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. He finds himself amidst the murder scene without his knowledge. He is totally clueless as he cannot recollect anything around him. His daughter Anuradha, (played by Tamannah) who works as an ethical hacker in a Crime Bureau sets out to find the truth. The series is gripping , with ample violence that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats.

OTTplay Rating - 8.7

Available - Exclusively on Disney +Hotstar

Kariyilakkattu Polae

Kariyilakkattu Polae is a classic Malayalam film from the 80s, directed by the legendary P Padmarajan. The film has a stellar cast of Mohanlal, Mammotty, Karthika and Rahman. This investigative thriller has all the elements resembling a Shakespearean play with themes such as love, betrayal, villainy and tragedy. The plot revolves around the murder of a famous movie star and the investigation that follows. The narrative unfolds in a dramatic fashion towards the third act, with shocking revelations and an unexpected climax. It definitely deserves more credit than what it received at the time of its release in 1986.

This flick comes with an OTTplay rating of 8

Available on Disney+ Hotstar

Baishe Srabon

Srijit Mukherji’s second feature directorial, the Bengali noir thriller Baishe Srabon, released in 2011 to rave critical and commercial response. The film stars Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Raima Sen, and Abir Chatterjee, along with director Gautam Ghose. The story, loosely based on David Fincher’s 1995 thriller Seven, follows a young cop who teams up with a former police commissioner to track down a notorious serial killer with a penchant for classic Bengali literature. With an unreliable narrator and countless unexpected twists, Baishe Srabon is consistently gripping. Anupam Roy’s intimate soundtrack makes the events unfolding on screen feel even more uncomfortable. 

This thriller has an OTTplay rating of 8.5

This film can be watched on Netflix, Disney + Hotstar, Google Play and Mubi

That's the end of this podcast of List hai toh hit hai, Indian regional murder mystery film special. I shall be back again with another podcast soon, until then it's your host Nikhil out of here.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho