From ‘Tareekh Pe Tareekh’ to ‘No Means No’ let’s have a sneak peek into the exciting world of Bollywood courtroom dramas, where things get tense, and the halls of justice with drama and sometimes a bit of humor . As Jolly LLB 3 wraps it’s first schedule in Rajasthan, OCD Times has something special for the readers.
1. OMG Franchise (2012-2023)
Director – Umesh Shukla, Amit Rai
Produced by – Viacom18, JioStudios
Watch on – Netflix, Jio Cinema
OMG: Oh My God
Bhagwan pe case? Koi soch bhi kaise sakta hai. Lekin ye socha hi nahi bahaut acche se dikhaya bhi. Apart from the plot, the film was entertaining because of well-written characters and talented actors. Mithun Chakraborty as Leeladhar Maharaj and Govind Namdev as Siddheshwar Maharaj made the film very entertaining. Akshay Kumar as Lord Krishna was the icing on the cake. His entry pose with a big smile, spinning a keyring like the sudarshan chakra and Go Go Go Govinda in the background brought a big smile on my face. Pretty sure you felt the same way.
OMG 2
OMG 2 dealt with a more serious topic than the first one. The arguments made by both sides (Pankaj Tripathi and Yami Gautam) were very strong and kept the audience engaged. And between all the struggles of the father, we had Akshay Kumar come as Lord Shiv to help him in his own way. Felt the same euphoria like oin the first part, every time I saw him on screen. Rakh vishwas, tu hai Shv ka das…. nahi Shiv ke pass.
Amit Rai Confirmed That OMG3 Will come.
Did You Know – More than 30 cuts were made in OMG2 ? If you look closely at the dialogues you will notice that dialogues are changed and lip-sync is different. That’s really sad for a filmmaker who’s trying to give his best to audiences but censor board put a scissor on his film.
2. Jolly LLB Franchise (2013-2017-2025)
Director – Subash Kapoor
Produced by – Star Studios
Watch on – Hotstar
Jolly LLB (2013)
How can we miss the most entertaining franchise of Bollywood in this list? In Jolly LLB, Arshad Warsi, a rookie lawyer battles it out with Boman Irani, a reputed and experienced lawyer for truth and justice. And of course, we had the most entertaining judge in the history of Bollywood – Saurabh Shukla.
Jolly LLB 2 (2017)
Same judge, Sunderlal Tripathi has to deal with another Jolly in another case. Both Akshay Kumar and Annu Kapoor as opposing lawyers were terrific it the film. The case was much more complex and the writing was much more detailed in this one. The court proceedings were both serious and entertaining, with an epic climax.
Jolly LLB 3 is on the way where it will be Jolly Vs Jolly. Bahaut maza ana wala hai.
3. Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai (2023) Action Queens
Director – Apoorva Singh Karki
Produced by – Zee Studios
Watch on – Zee5
Manoj Bajpayee Starrer “Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai,” is based on the real case of Asaram Bapu. the film went through many controversies before the release. However, it gained a terrific response from the audience. This movie was directly released on OTT platform Zee5, and because of popular demand, it was then released in theatres in a limited capacity. Director Apoorva Singh Karki presented Manoj Bajpayee like no one else can. No words to Describe the closing arguments of Manoj Bajpayee In the climax. Now that was literal goosebumps!
4. Damini (1993)
Director – Rajkumar Santoshi
Produced by – Aly Morani And Karim Morani
Watch on – Youtube
Who Can Forget The Most Epic Dialogue Of Sunny Paaji – “Tareekh Pe Tareekh, Tareekh Pe Tareekh Milti Gayi MyLord Lekin Insaaf Nahi Mila.” Till date also this dialogue remains a part of meme culture, apart from this there was one more dialogue in the film “Ye Dhai Kilo Ka Haath Kisi Pe Padhta hai na to Uthta Nahi Uth Jaata hai.” The plot of the film revolves around a rape case. This movie focuses on the life of Damini who’s fighting for justice for the deceased victim, Urmi.
5. Pink (2016)
Director – Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Produced by – Ronnie Lahiri, Rashmi Sharma, Sheel Kumar
Watch on – Prime Video
“Pink,” which emerged as one of the most impactful movies of its time, revolves around the story of Deepak, a retired lawyer portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, who decides to take up the case of Minal (played by Taapsee Pannu). The film revolves around the themes of murder, kidnapping, and molestation, showcasing a narrative that was ahead of its time.
Interestingly, this marked Amitabh Bachchan’s first portrayal of a lawyer on screen. The duo of Amitabh and Taapsee was later seen in the movie Badla. In that film also Amitji played the role of a lawyer.
Did You Know – After the success of” Pink” it was remade in Tamil and Telugu languages as Nerkonda Parvaai and Vakeel Saab, respectively.
6. Shahid (2012)
Director – Hansal Mehta
Produced by – Anurag Kashyap, Ronnie Screwwala And Siddharth Roy kapur
Watch on – Prime Video
“Shahid” is one of the most disturbing and ruthless thriller crime dramas. Rajkumar Rao truly dedicates himself to the character, showcasing his versatility under the strong direction of Hansal Mehta. The film follows the life of Shahid Azmi, initially a militant operative who later becomes a lawyer fighting for justice against people who are falsely accused of terrorism. However, his journey takes him to a a tragic and unjustified.
Did You Know – Shahid made its place to various film festivals like Toronto Film Festival, Dubai Film Festival, New York Indian Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival and more. In fact, Rajkummar Rao bagged many awards for his performance in the film.
7. Mulk (2016)
Director – Anubhav Sinha
Produced by – Anubhav Sinha
Watch on – Zee5
“2 Baar Victim Banne Ke Baad Ek Baar Bani Lawyer”
Mulk is one of the most heart-breaking courtroom dramas ever made. It is not only about the kind of case the movie deals with, but also how the emotions and struggles are shown throughout the film.
Taapsee plays the role of Aarti, an ambitious lawyer and the daughter-in-law of Murad Ali Mohammed (Rishi Kapoor). She’s fighting the case to prove her family innocent as they are accused of having relations with extremist groups after their son has been shot down for being a terrorist. In this film, you will see excellent dialogue delivery by Ashutosh Rana and Taapsee Pannu during the courtroom arguments.
8. Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018)
Director – Shree Narayan Singh
Produced by – T-Series
Watch on – Zee5
Kuch serious courtroom drams ke baad kuch mazedar ho jaye. The court case was probably the best part of Batti Gul Meter Chalu. It was a avergae film with average story and hence was a average on box office. One major problem was the overuse of pahadi dialect throughout the film. Even my pahadi friends said bhai itna ‘thehra’ aur ‘bal’ toh hum bhi nahi bolte.
But the film was really an eye-opener. The movie highlights the issue of how electricity companies charge high electricity bills to consumers. Shahid Kapoor, portraying a lawyer, was in excellent form. Yami Gautam as the opposing counsel was a surprise package and equally good. The movie was quite appreciated on OTT, later on. This was the first film where Shahid played the role of a lawyer.
Did You Know – Yami prepared herself for playing the role of lawyer by attending the sessions of Bombay High Court.
9. Rustom (2016)
Director – Tinu Suresh Desai
Produced by – Aruna Bhatia
Watch on – Zee5
Neither lawyer nor God, this time Akshay Kumar was the accused in this real case based on KM Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra. Rustom is a crime-drama film that revolves around Rustom, a navy officer. He was happily living with his wife Cynthia, but later he discovered that she was cheating on him with Vikram. Rustom shot Vikram three times, leading to his arrest and court trials.
Akshay Kumar also played a victim and accused both in Aitraaz, co-starring Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Amrish Puri. Though the court case was an important part of the plot, it the film itself was not based on the court case, hence we did not include it i the list.
Did You Know – there is also a web series on the same court case which is available to stream on ZEE5 and is titlled “The Verdict – State V/s Nanavati.” It is the most controversial case of lawyer Ram Jethmalani.
10. Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway
Director – Tinu Suresh Desai
Produced by – Aruna Bhatia
Watch on – Zee5
One of the biggest surprise of the previous year was “Mrs. Chatterjee Vs Norway”. No one expected an emotional ride from Rani Mukherjee as Mrs. Chatterjee, based on the real-life case of Sagarika Chatterjee. The court cases were fought both in Norway and in India, and we could witness the difference in legal system in the two countries, something we don’t normally see in Indian movies, due to the plot. This movie made everyone cry. In fact, many celebrities also loved this film.
11. Section 375 (2019)
Director – Ajay Bahl
Produced by – Panoroma Studios
Watch on – Prime Video
“One of the most underrated films in this genre, Article 375 is a legal crime-thriller-drama starring Akshaye Khanna and Richa Chaddha as opposing lawyers. It’s one of the most thrilling and gripping courtroom dramas ever made in Bollywood.
The plot revolves around the life of Rohan Khurrana, a filmmaker accused of rape by a junior costume designer, Anjali Dangle. Due to her accusation, Rohan is sentenced to 10 years in jail.
12. Nail Polish (2021)
Director – Bugs Bhargava Krishna
Produced by – Ten Years Younger Prouduction
Watch on – Zee5
The 2021 direct OTT release Nail Polish, is an underrated courtroom drama that centers around a murder case. The story is filled with unpredictable twists and turns, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats.
Available for streaming on Zee5, the film stars Manav Kaul in the role of the accused, portrayed as a mysterious and psychotic character. Arjun Rampal delivers a compelling performance as the lawyer. Inspired by a true story, “Nail Polish” offers a gripping thriller that is totally worth your time.
Courtroom Dramas on OTT
Don’t wanna go into details, but one of the best series on courtroom dramas on ott is Criminal Justice, where Pankaj Tripathi plays the role of a rookie lawyer, always taking lost cases and going up against big lawyers. There are 3 seasons in total and 4th one is on the way. Available on Hotstar.
Few other series on the legal system are – Trial By Fire starring Abhay Deol (Netflix), The Trail starring Kajol (Hotstar) and Illegal starring Neha Sharma (Jio Cinema). In terms of comedy, you can watch Maamla Legal Hai on Netflix.
Special Mentions
Jai Bhim starring Suriya (Amazon Prime Video) and Jana Gana Mana starring Prithviraj Sukumaran (Netflix) are two of the highly recommended non-Bollywood films on courtroom dramas.
OCD Times is here for the Justice of your entertainment. If you haven’t seen any of the films which are listed In this article then do watch it asap. You’re missing real gems of Bollywood.Â
If we forgot any film that you feel are worth watching, do tell us in comments, and also tell us about your favourite characters from our list of films.
Also read: De-Aging – Bollywood Ka Naya Astra
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