No hard feelings towards James Bond fans but we believe that the recent Bollywood spy films are more realistic accounts of spies. One wrong move can quickly become a matter of life and death. And that’s when your survival becomes a question of your wit, grit and how to always get it right. Yet, history is a testimony to the fact that people who bare their lives for their motherland sometimes meet tragic death. These films bring to us closer to their true stories and thats why we appreciate them so much.
Dhurandhar released on 5th December last year was the latest entrant in the ever expanding Bollywood spy-verse.
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It evoked strong patriotic sentiments through power-packed storytelling. In fact, it was not just a movie that we watched but an experience lived together in the three hours of the screen time. It beat Chhaava to become the biggest grosser of 2025 with 980 crores box office collection worldwide.
If you are searching for similar spy films to watch, you are at the right place as we have curated a list of 5 Bollywood spy films, that are just like Dhurandhar.
Here, have a look:
1. Raazi
How far could a 20 year old Kashmiri woman go to save her country? Watch Raazi and know for yourself. As you watch Sehmat Khan putting everything at stake for the nation. Her life, dreams, love all take a back seat as she is married to a Pakistani Major. However, little do her in-laws know the real identity of this sweet and charming bride, who’s a RAW agent trained to gather intel before the 1971 war. It is a true story.
Based on the book by Harindar Sikka called Calling Sehmat. 
2. Madras Cafe
Madras Cafe is a fictitious story but it is based around the real events that took place as the Indian Government decided to remove the Indian Peacekeeping Forces from Sri Lanka. However, this move deeply upsetted the LTF chief Bhaskaran, who did not back out and recruited the Tamil youth and trained them in weaponry against the Sri Lankan government.
The Indian government decided to contain the situation, as they deployed their best asset major Vikram Singh on this mission. But, the on ground realities are far more dangerous than what they seem from far. And every step becomes a hazard when enemy is already two steps ahead. The best part of the film is that it shows the complete picture of the events, even taking into accounts of the moles in the system. It one of the most realistic spy movies in Bollywood that you must watch.
Mission Majnu is a fictitious story that is built around the efforts that RAW took to expose the development of nuclear facilities in Pakistan. The developments took place after India tested its Nuclear facilities for the first time in 1974. It has Siddhart Malhotra in the titular role, as an Indian spy who’s stationed in Pakistan with the mission to find the exact location of the Pakistani nuclear facility. However the general elections of 1977 changed the fates of he spies on ground in Pakistan and exposed them. Forcing them to retreat. The film captures this as well.
It is a fictitious story that is said to be loosely based on the life of Ravindra Kaushik, an Indian spy. The film takes time to set in and once you sit it out you’ll be surprised with this spy thriller. A bank cashier’s extraordinary effort in preventing a robbery gets him inducted into RAW. He is sent on a spy mission to Pakistan. He manages to get close to influential people and gather intel, even passing it on to India. But what happens when his cover is blown, leaving him at the mercy of Pakistani officials?
6. IB 71
IB 71 starring Vidyut Jamwal is based on true events that took place during 1971 war. Precursor to the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, an intel put everyone in a jiffy. China and East Pakistan were planning to annex the North Eastern states of India via air attacks from air base in East Pakistan. Dev Jamwal an Indian agent schemed rather an unusual solution that almost risks life of 30 agents including him. Do watch the intense thriller to get a feel of the Kashmir Valley of 1971, and the patriotism of the heroes of our county.
After watching these Bollywood spy film, we can safely say that ever since Ankhen(1968), the first Indian spy film, we’ve come a long way. What do you think?