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10 Bollywood movies based on Shakespeare’s plays: Omkara to Ram-Leela
Several Bollywood filmmakers have taken inspiration from William Shakespeare’s literary works. Take a look at 10 movies based on Shakespeare’s plays.
William Shakespeare is still regarded as the greatest writer in the English language whose works have been adopted by directors to make films based on Shakespeare’s plays. The playwright and dramatist has penned some of the most referred plays like Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar that continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Indian filmmakers have also been highly inspired by his plays and have come up with several adaptations in the form of Bollywood films based on Shakespeare’s plays.
Take a look at the 10 best movies based on Shakespeare’s plays:
1. Maqbool
- Cast: Irrfan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Piyush Mishra, Murali Sharma, Masumeh Makhija
- Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
- IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
- Movie Genre: Crime/Drama
- Release year: 2004
- Where to watch: Prime Video
The events and characters of Maqbool are inspired by Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. This was the first installment of director Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare trilogy. While it didn’t make money as expected, the film premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival and 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Moreover, Pankaj Kapur also won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the crime drama film.
2. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
- Cast: Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla
- Director: Mansoor Khan
- IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
- Movie Genre: Drama/ Musical/ Romance
- Release year: 1988
- Where to watch: Zee5
Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla made their acting debut with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. The musical drama movie is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s popular play Romeo and Juliet. It revolves around two lovers who escape their family to live a peaceful life together. However, the aftermath is as tragic as Shakespeare’s play.
3. Omkara
- Cast: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu
- Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
- IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
- Movie Genre: Crime/Drama
- Release year: 2006
- Where to watch: Jio Cinema, Prime Video
The second installment of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare trilogy. Based on the tragedy written by William Shakespeare, around 1603, Omkara revolves around two characters, Omi and Dolly. The film won three awards at the 54th National Film Awards and was screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
4. Angoor
- Cast: Sanjeev Kumar, Moushumi Chatterjee, Deepti Naval, Deven Verma, Aruna Irani
- Director: Gulzar
- IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
- Movie Genre: Comedy
- Release year: 1982
- Where to watch: Prime Video
Helmed by Gulzar, Angoor is a remake of the 1963 Bengali-language comedy film Bhranti Bilas. It was also indirectly based on Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors. It narrates the tragic life of two pairs of identical twins who get separated at birth. The comedy flick makes the audience go LOL as they witness the lead actors navigate through their complicated situations as adults.
5. Haider
- Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Shraddha Kapoor, Irrfan Khan
- Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
- IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
- Movie Genre: Crime/Thriller
- Release year: 2014
- Where to watch: Netflix, Zee5, Prime Video
The third and final film of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare trilogy is Haider. The crime thriller is the modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. A young lad and poet returns to Kashmir to look for clues after his father’s unusual disappearance. One of the best movies based on Shakespeare’s plays.
6. Goliyon ki Raasleela Ram-Leela
- Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra
- Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
- IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
- Movie Genre: Romantic/ Tragedy
- Release year: 2013
- Where to watch: Jio Cinema
Next up in this list of Shakespeare film adaptations is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus film Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. It’s the director’s usual take on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare which ends up on a tragic note.
7. Ishaqzaade
- Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Gauahar Khan, Natasha Rastogi, Anil Rastogi, Shashank Khaitan
- Director: Habib Faisal
- IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
- Movie Genre: Romantic/ Thriller
- Release year: 2012
- Where to watch: Prime Video
Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra made their acting debut with this romantic thriller film Ishaqzaade. Two lovers from rival gang families fall for each other and try to live a peaceful life together. But since they are born to hate each other, the rebel lovers end up having a heartbreaking ending.
8. 10ml Love
- Cast: Rajat Kapoor, Tisca Chopra, Purab Kohli, Koel Purie, Tara Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam
- Director: Sharat Katariya
- IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
- Movie Genre: Romantic/ Comedy
- Release year: 2012
- Where to watch: YouTube
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, 10ml Love showcases the story of three different couples whose stories intertwine.
9. Issaq
- Cast: Prateik Babbar, Amyra Dastur, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Ravi Kishan, Makarand Deshpande
- Director: Manish Tiwary
- IMDB Rating: 4.4/10
- Movie Genre: Romantic
- Release year: 2013
- Where to watch: Zee5
Another Bollywood film based on Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is Issaq. The film is Manish Tiwary’s take on the epic play by the English playwright that tells the tale of two land mafias of Banaras who can go to any extent to take over the city.
10. Bobby
- Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Prem Nath, Pran
- Director: Raj Kapoor
- IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
- Movie Genre: Comedy/ Musical/ Romance
- Release year: 1973
- Where to watch: Zee5
Bobby, directed by Raj Kapoor, is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet. It was the first film of acclaimed actor Rishi Kapoor as a lead actor while Dimple Kapadia made her debut with it.
That’s a wrap for this list of 10 Bollywood movies based on Shakespeare’s plays. Do you have anything to add to it? Let us know in the comments section.
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