Dabangg

The role of Chulbul Pandey aka Robin Hood Pandey and Rajo were tailor made for the bad boy of Bollywood - Salman Khan and debutant Sonakshi Sinha in ‘Dabangg’ (2010). Directed by Abhinav Kashyap, Salman was hugely appreciated for his cop act and the film broke all Box Office records, making it the highest opening day grosser of 2010.

Shootout At Lokhandwala

Apoorva Lakhia’s ‘Shootout At Lokhandwala’ (2007) was based on the true incident of Lokhandwala Complex shootout (1991), where a real-life gun battle took place between dreaded gangster Maya Dolas and his cronies and Mumbai police. A multi-starrer, ‘Shootout At Lokhandwala’ starred Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Arbaaz Khan and Vivek Oberoi in prominent roles.

Sehar

Kabeer Kaushik’s ‘Sehar’ (2005) was a high action drama based on the crime scene of the 90s in Uttar Pradesh. Starring Arshad Warsi as an honest cop - SSP Ajay Kumar, ‘Sehar’ was critically and commercially acclaimed for it’s in depth realism as Ajay Kumar battles the local mafia headed by ruthless don Gajraj Singh (Sushant Singh).

Ab Tak Chhappan

Shimit Amin’s ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’ (2004) was loosely based on the life and times of Daya Nayak, sub inspector with Mumbai Police where Nana Patekar played inspector Sadhu Agashe, a no-nonsense encounter specialist with Mumbai Encounter Squad, who had a record of killing fifty six people in encounter and became a bane of underworld.

Khakee

A racy crime thriller, Raj Kumar Santoshi’s ‘Khakee’ (2004) was a power packed film with stellar performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgn, where the former plays DCP Anant Kumar Shrivastav and the latter played the role of a former cop-turned-killer machine Yashwant Angre.

Gangaajal

Prakash Jha’s ‘Gangaajal’ (2003) is considered to be one of the finest cop movies in Bollywood, which portrayed the evil nexus between criminals and politicians in India. Starring Ajay Devgn as Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar, ‘Gangaajal’ showed his tryst with a crime infested town in Bihar.

Shool

E Nivas’ ‘Shool’ (1999) was a highly charged emotional drama which highlighted the criminalisation of politics in Bihar and its effect on the life of a sincere cop. Starring powerhouse performer Manoj Bajpai as inspector Samar Pratap Singh and his arch nemesis Bachhu Yadav portrayed by Sayaji Shinde, ‘Shool’ was a sneak peek into the life of a cop stuck in the rotting system.

Sarfarosh

John Matthew Matthan’s ‘Sarfarosh’ (1999) starred Aamir Khan as Ajay Rathod Singh, whose personal tragedy pushed him into the thick of action, thereby making him an honest IPS officer, whose only mission is to wipe out the terrorists.

Ardh Satya

A gem by Govind Nihalani, `Ardh Satya` (1983) starred Om Puri as sub inspector Anant Velankar, who struggles with his inner demons in the line of duty.

Zanjeer

Prakash Mehra’s ‘Zanjeer’ (1973) was a seminal film in oeuvre of Amitabh Bachchan, which catapulted him into main stream commercial cinema and gave him the title of ‘Angry Young Man.’ ‘Zanjeer’ starred Amitabh Bachchan as inspector Vijay Khanna and his dealings with the murky underworld.

By Aman Kanth