Top 12 Western Curry Cowboy Flicks Of Bollywood
Posted On: 29 Aug 2022 | Last Updated : 19 Oct 2022 | Views : 4.8k
The Cowboy genre is one of the cinematic genres that gives us whole ‘American’ vibes. Living the lawless lifestyle in the countryside wielding swords and revolvers and chasing the villains on the horses’ backs are some of the key elements in such movies. In the 1970s and 1980s, Bollywood saw the emergence of the curry cowboy movies, which mostly gained cult status and were critically acclaimed. The movies were packed with action and drama, with the additional Bollywood masala in the storylines. The dacoits and bandits were often an important part of these movies, while the vengeful good-hearted rogues always became the saviors of the villagers and saved the day. The Bollywood movies of this genre often had evergreen songs and unforgettable dialogues and action, and continue to be one of the favorites of the cine-goers. On and off, Bollywood gets the western curry cowboy flicks. So, here we present to you the top Bollywood cowboy movies. Stay tuned for more such Bollywood-related updates, articles, topics, and trivia on movies and celebrities.
1. Khote - Sikkay (1974)
Narendra Bedi’s action-adventure drama Khote - Sikkay starring Feroz Khan was inspired by the Hollywood flick, The Magnificent Seven. The movie follows the story of a mysterious man, who comes as a savior for the people of the village terrorized by a gangster Jhanga (Ajeet), who is also responsible for killing his father. Feroz Khan plays the horseback rider called Dilbar, who is not only handsome but has a heart of gold who trains the villagers to eliminate Jhanga. Joining him in this mission are his associates Danny Denzongpa, Paintal, Sudhir, Narendra Nath, Ranjeet, Ajit Singh Deol, etc. The movie helped actor Feroz Khan in gaining the leading man status. Being tall and handsome helped the actor bag a number of lead roles in action movies, while Khote - Sikkay still remains one of his best works.
2. Kaala Sona (1975)
Starring Feroz Khan, Parveen Babi, Prem Chopra and Danny Denzongpa, directed by Ravikant Nagaich, Kaala Sona is another Bollywood cowboy movie, which features Feroz Khan in a cowboy look. The movie follows the story of the multi-millionaire Rakesh (Feroz Khan), who learns that the murderer of his father, Poppy Singh (Prem Chopra) is still alive. Rakesh decides to set the scores right with Poppy Singh, but he must gain Poppy’s trust and be on his side to finish him once and for all. The movie helped Feroz Khan gain the title of ‘Clint Eastwood of Bollywood’. The songs by R.D. Burman became very popular.
3. Chunaoti (1980)
Like many other curry cowboy flicks on the list, Chunaoti features Feroz Khan, but this time not as a cowboy but as a director of an orphanage. Directed by Satpal, the movie stars Dharmendra, Neetu Singh and Danny Denzongpa in the titular role, along with Feroz Khan. Tired of notorious bandit, Arjun Singh (Danny Denzongpa), Vijay (Feroz Khan) hires another bandit, Shakti (Dharmendra) to capture Arjun and bring down his reign and restore peace in the village. This daredevil western cowboy film is packed with action, drama and evergreen Bollywood music.
4. Laparwah (1981)
Laparwah is one of the best western movies in Bollywood if not the top Bollywood western movies of the 80s which starred Mithun Chakraborty, Ranjeeta Kaur, Shakti Kapoor, Satyen Kappu, Iftekhar. This Ravikant Nagaich directorial was produced by F.A. Nadiadwala and a typical masala action revenge drama story that revolved around a reckless Shera (Mithun Chakraborty) who is hired to earn money by marrying a wealthy Thakur's daughter Sandhya (Ranjeeta Kaur). The songs composed by Bappi Lahiri were well appreciated.
5. Kachche Heere (1982)
Inspired by the dacoits of Chambal, Narender Bedi’s Kachche Heere is an action-adventure drama and the sequel to his Khote – Sikkay which released in 1974. The heinous dacoit Lukka Singh (Dev Kumar) is often assisted by his associate Kamal Singh (Kamal Kapoor) in all his gruesome acts. Lukka Singh and Kamal Singh have terrorized the nearby village, while no one dares to stand against them, except Lukka’s brother. He then kills his own brother. Later, his nephew (Feroz Khan) grows up with only one mission, to set the scores right with the murderer of his father. Feroz Khan is shown as the mysterious horseback rider, who gives whole cowboy vibes.
6. Humse Hai Zamana (1983)
Deepak Bahry’s action thriller drama Humse Hai Zamana is one of the top Bollywood cowboy movies to have hit the screen. The movie follows the story of brothers - Shiva (Mithun Chakraborty) and Karan (Danny Denzongpa), who separated as kids, but as adults they are reunited. The brothers discover that their father was killed by multi-millionaire Thakur. They join hands with Thakur’s son, whom he threw out after remarrying a younger woman. The film compiles a number of action scenes, bandits and adventure, which makes it a thrilling cowboy movie.
7. Jagir (1984)
Pramod Chakraborty’s action-adventure drama Jagir is the story of three musketeers - Shankar (Dharmendra), Sangha (Mithun Chakraborty) and Danny (Danny Denzongpa). When Shankar’s father gets killed by an evil dacoit, he sets out to avenge his father’s death along with his two musketeer friends. The movie depicts Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty and Danny Denzongpa in cowboy looks while the three ride their horses. The action, adventure and thrilling scenes in the movie will keep you pinned till the end.
8. Wanted: Dead or Alive (1984)
Wanted: Dead or Alive is an action-adventure drama that qualifies to be one of the top cowboy Hindi movies. It follows the story of an honest forest officer, Vikram (Mithun Chakraborty), who is framed for the murder of his own wife Angela (Deepti Naval), and is sentenced to death. Angela is originally killed by a dacoit Kehar Singh (Om Shivpuri), but the powerful dacoit ruins Vikram’s life to clear his way and carry out his illegal operations. However, Vikram doesn’t lose hope and sets out to avenge the death of his wife. He is seen wearing a cowboy hat and a pistol in the hand, which completes his overall cowboy look. The film also had Tina Munim and Shammi Kapoor for support.
9. Shapath (1984)
Ravikant Nagaich yet again came up with another cowboy curry action flick, Shapath which follows the story of an upright inspector Vijay (Raj Babbar), who is sent to a forbidden place where the people are traumatized by a gangster. Vijay enters the place as an undercover cop and destroys the nexus of the local gangsters, who are responsible for all the illegal activities in the area. The action paired with adventure in the movie makes it a complete package for the cinegoers who yearn for the action cowboy curry movies. For company Raj Babbar had Smita Patil in a crucial role while the songs by Bappi Lahiri were catchy.
10. Zalzala (1988)
Directed by Harish Shah, the action-adventure drama Zalzala was loosely inspired by the Hollywood western flick Mackenna's Gold (1969) which revolves around the gold treasure hidden inside a Shiv temple, however, none except an old priest knows the way to the temple. The hidden treasure grabs the attention of both good and bad people alike, however, one must get hold of the treasure before the arrival of a forecasted zalzala (earthquake) that might take away the treasure. This multi-starrer movie features Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha, Rajiv Kapoor, Anita Raj, Kimi Katkar and Danny Denzongpa, where most of the star cast sported the cowboy look while carrying out their adventurous quest.
11. Joshilaay (1989)
Sibte Hassan Rizvi’s Joshilaay stars Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Meenakshi Seshadri and Rajesh Vivek. The movie follows the story of two friends - Dara and Karan, who were wronged by two evil men, Jogi Thakur and Raja Singh. Their families were murdered by Jogi and Raja, and now the two decide to unite and exact the revenge from these men. The duo then confronts Jogi Thakur and Raja Singh and finally drag them towards their end. Filled with action, adventure and drama, the movie surely qualifies to be considered as a cowboy flick.
12. Quick Gun Murugun (2009)
Quick Gun Murugun: Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy is an Indian English language action movie directed by Shashanka Ghosh and stars Rajendra Prasad in the titular role. As suggested by the title, the movie follows the story of a man named Murugun, who is a Tamil cowboy and always comes to save your day. The movie represents Murugun as not less than a superhero, who fights the arch-villain restaurant owner Rice Plate Reddy, who wishes to create a non-vegetarian dosa, and ruin the auspiciousness of the original dish.
