MOVIES

The Man Who Loved to Make Thrillers

By JOGINDER TUTEJA
August 18, 2020

Eight films as a director, and all of them thrillers. That's what Nishikant Kamat loved about the movies.

A man with a smile on his face, he liked to tell thrilling, dramatic tales.

He passed into the ages too soon, at just 50, but he left behind a repertoire of films which will carry on his legacy.

Joginder Tuteja lists them:

 

Drishyam

IMAGE: Shriya Saran, Ajay Devgn, Mrinal Jadhav and Ishita Dutta in Drishyam.

Not just Nishikant's best film or one of the best performances by Ajay Devgn, Drishyam is among the best thrillers in Bollywood.

A faithful remake of Mohanlal's Malayalam film Drishyam, it is among Nishikant's biggest hits, making Rs 77 crore at the box office.

 

Lai Bhaari

IMAGE: Ritiesh Deshmukh in Lai Bhaari.

An action entertainer with a lot of drama and thrills, Lai Bhaari marked Nishikant's return into the world of Marathi cinema.

He did in style when he cast Riteish Deshmukh to make one of the biggest grossers of Marathi cinema.

Making Rs 40 crore, it set a record before Nana Patekar's Natsamrat broke it.

 

Force

IMAGE: John Abraham and Genelia D'Souza in Force.

Force is the remake of the Tamil film Kaakha Kaakha.

A well-made thriller, it featured one of the best shot sequences of the drug racket and the nexus around it.

 

Rocky Handsome

IMAGE: Nishikant Kamat in Rocky Handsome.

Nishikant directed as well as starred in Rocky Handsome, an official adaptation of the Korean film, The Man from Nowhere.

He played the villain to John Abraham's hero in this film about illegal organ transplantation.

 

 

Madaari

IMAGE: Irrfan Khan in Madaari.

Nishikant had started his Bollywood career with Mumbai Meri Jaan, a film with a solid ensemble cast, including Irrfan Khan.

Later, they got together in Madaari. Now both of them are sadly gone forever.

A thriller with its moments, it saw Irrfan forge a bond with a boy he kidnapped.

 

Mumbai Meri Jaan

IMAGE: Irrfan Khan in Mumbai Meri Jaan.

Mumbai Meri Jaan was based on the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, and saw powerful performances from R Madhavan, Soha Ali Khan, Irrfan Khan, Paresh Rawal and Kay Kay Menon.

The film started slow at the box office but went on to be do fair business eventually.

 

Dombivali Fast/Evano Oruvan

IMAGE: R Madhavan in Evano Oruvan.

Nishikant arrived in the industry with the Marathi film, Dombivli Fast .

A story about a common man out as a vigilante, this film did well critically and commercially.

Later, Nishikant remade the film in Tamil with R Madhavan, Evano Oruvan.

JOGINDER TUTEJA

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