7 best Bollywood action movies to watch: From Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s ‘Tiger 3’ to Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’

An action movie is a genre in which the main character is involved in a series of events that usually involve violence or physical acts. The main characteristics of this category are resourceful heroes who face incredible difficulties: life-threatening situations, invincible villains, and quests that usually end with the hero’s victory. This genre is closely related to the thriller and adventure genres and may also include elements of drama and spy novels.

For years, filmmakers have used this category to create blockbuster movies. Take a look at Pinkvilla’s list of the top 7 best Bollywood action movies.

Introducing the top 7 Bollywood action movies

1. Tiger 3 (2023)

• Execution time: 150 minutes
• IMDB rating: 7.9/10
• Movie genre: action, crime, thriller, adventure
• Movie star cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi, Ashutosh Rana, Ranvir Shorey, Ranvir Shorey, Vishal Jeshwa, Rehanshi Mirza.
• director: Maneesh Sharma
• Writer: Aditya Chopra, Sridhar Raghavan
• Release year: 2023
• Where to watch / OTT platforms: theater

Tiger 3 is a sequel to Ek Tha Tiger & Tiger Zinda Hai. Salman Khan will reprise his role as Indian spy Avinash Singh Tiger Rathore, while Katrina Kaif will return as Pakistani secret agent Zoya Humaimi.

2. Gadar 2: The Kata Continues (2023)

• Execution time: 170 minutes
• IMDB rating: 5.3/10
• Movie genre: action, drama, adventure
• Movie star cast: Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel, Nana Patekar, Amrish Puri, Gaurav Chopra, Luv Sinha, Rakesh Bedi, Madhumarti Kapoor, Manoj Bakshi, Mir Sarwar, Lubna Salim, Anil George, Manish Wadhwa, Ali Khan, Vivek Shauk, Simrat Kaur Randhawa, Simrat Kaur, Utkarsh Sharma, Mushtaq Khan
• director: Anil Sharma
• Writer: shaktimaan talwar
• Release year: 2023
• Where to watch / OTT platforms: G5

The movie Gadar 2 is the much-awaited Bollywood sequel to the 2001 hit movie Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. It depicts the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Tara Singh returns to Pakistan with his son Charanjeet. The film depicts the love story of Tara Singh and Sakina, played by Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel respectively, against the backdrop of the Partition of India in 1947.

The story unfolds as Tara struggles to save Jeete from Pakistan’s Iqbal and his team, facing hardship and the looming threat of revenge. The film blends historical drama with intense emotional moments, showing the enduring power of love and the impact of historical events on personal lives.

3. Jawan (2023)

• Execution time: 165 minutes
• IMDB rating: 7.2/10
• Movie genre: action, thriller
• Movie star cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Sanya Malhotra, Sanjay Dutt, Priyamani, Sunil Grover, Mukesh Chhabra, Ridhi Dogra, Yogi Babu, Girija Oak, Rehar Khan, Sangeeta Bhattacharya, Aaliya Qureishi, Ashleesha Thakur, Siddharth Bhardwaj, Seeza Saroj Mehta
• director: Atlee
• Writer: Atlee, Sumit Arora, Ramanagirivasan
• Release year: 2023
• Where to watch / OTT platforms: Netflix

Jawan plays the dual roles of father and son, doppelgangers who help Shah Rukh Khan to correct the corruption in Indian society. The film co-stars Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Deepika Padukone (who is said to be making a special appearance), Priyamani and Sanya Malhotra. He meets a fearsome outlaw (Vijay Sethupati) who terrorizes many people and causes great sorrow.

4. Pattern (2023)

• Execution time: 146 minutes
• IMDB rating: 5.9/10
• Movie genre: action, thriller, adventure
• Movie star cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia, Ashutosh Rana, Virav Patel, Karishma Singh, Mustafa Aksari, Jairoop Jeevan, Rachel Anne Mullins, Jaina – Ruchandani, Amrita Mishra, Alitro Banerjee, Mansi Taksak, Prakash Belawadi
• director: Siddharth Anand
• Writer: Siddharth Anand, Sridhar Raghavan, Abbas Tirewala
• Release year: 2023
• Where to watch / OTT platforms: Amazon Prime Video

The movie ‘Pasaan’ revolves around the story of Pasaan, a passionate, talented and skilled agent played by Shah Rukh Khan. Pathan used to work in RAW but decided to take a different path due to some reason. The story focuses on the period when India revoked Article 370, which gave special status to the territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

5. Vikram Veda (2022)

• Execution time: 160 minutes
• IMDB rating: 8.2/10
• Movie genre: action, thriller, crime, drama
• Movie star cast: Hrithik Roshan, Vijay Sethupathi, Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte, Rohit Saraf, Shraddha Srinath, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar, Bharat Bhatia, Chetan Kushawala, Ganesh Kumar, Milind Joshi, Shakti・Singh, Kathir, Anil Khopkal
• director: Gayatri, Pushkar, Gautam Selvaraj
• Writer: Manoj Muntashir, Pushkar Gayatri, Ba Fida, Manikandan K., Gautam Siddhartha, Gayatri
• Release year: 2022
• Where to watch / OTT platforms: geocinema

Vikram Veda is a movie about a police officer named Vikram played by Saif Ali Khan who tries to catch Veda, a notorious Lucknow-based gangster played by Hrithik Roshan who has committed 16 murders. The police created a Special Task Force (STF) to take down Veda and his gang.

6. Uri: Surgical Strike (2019)

• Execution time: 138 minutes
• IMDB rating: 8.2/10
• Movie genre: action, military, war, drama, history
• Movie star cast: Vicky Kaushal, Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Mohit Raina, Kirti Kulhari, Dahlia Kalwa, Rajvir Chauhan
• director: Aditya Dhar
• Writer: Aditya Dhar
• Release year: 2019
• Where to watch / OTT platforms: G5

Uri: Surgical Strike follows Indian Army Major Bihan Singh Shergill as he leads a covert operation against a militant group that attacked a base in Uri, Kashmir in 2016.

7. Tiger Zinda Hai (2017)

• Execution time: 161 minutes
• IMDB rating: 5.9/10
• Movie genre: Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller, Adventure
• Movie star cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Angad Bedi, Paresh Rawal, Karan Deol, Mukesh Khanna, Ananth Vidhat, Vibhouti Sharma, Mehmet Tukun, Zachary Coffin, Anupriya Goenka
• director: Ali Abbas Zafar
• Writer: Aditya Chopra, Ali Abbas Zafar, Neelesh Misra, Abdul Rafai Chandio
• Release year: 2017
• Where to watch / OTT platforms: Amazon Prime Video

Tiger Zinda Hai is a sequel to the highly successful film Ek Tha Tiger. The story revolves around a crisis situation in which a group of Indian and Pakistani nurses are held hostage by the ruthless extremist leader Abu Usman in Iraq. Eight years after he disappeared along with Zoya, a former Pakistan Intelligence Service (ISI) agent, the elusive agent Tiger is tracked down by the Indian Intelligence Service (RAW).