It is always a misconception that most of the gambling or casino-based movies are associated with Hollywood movies. Of course, movies like the 21, Ocean’s 11 and many others are a millennial blockbuster. These movies have introduced the world of casino and gambling to common men. That said, Bollywood film industry is still in the run to produce the best films year after year. However, the gambling and the casino-theme based movie fever didn’t cut through the noise. The genre was introduced to Indian cinema back in the 70s but has hardly made recognition among the crowd. However, the three casino-based films discussed in this article has won people’s hearts and introduced many to the gambling dimension.
Gambler (1971)
Although movies like the gambler did not receive much appreciation, when compared to the other famous gambling-based Bollywood movies, it is where the gambling fever began in the industry. So, it is considered a classic. The film was directed by Amarjeet, which has a straightforward storyline of the gambling world. The lead character Raja (Dev Anand), plays the role of a homeless boy who was raised by a gambling criminal Jeevan. Jeevan teaches him everything about card gambling in the hope to turn Raja into a minion. Raja learning from his master, successfully opens his own business and learns all the tricks of card gambling. The movie has an excellent amalgam of real-life incidents and has even covered all the crucial aspects of card gambling.
Jannat (2008)
Jannat, directed by Kunal Deshmukh’s and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, was released in 2008. The movie was a blockbuster in those times that starred Sonal Chauhan and Hashmi in the lead. The movie is based on a crime romance, where Arjun, the lead role, turns into a successful bookie. He uses his skills and “sixth-sense”, or rightly called intuition to bet on the out comings of cricket matches. Later, in the movie, we learn that he gains huge success and becomes a professional bettor. The film is based around gambling for greed and how it can spoil your career and your love life. Jannat got massive success to the actor in his initial days of the career and is still an evergreen movie for all the romantics and gambling lovers.
Teen Patti (2010)
Teen Patti is an entertaining gambling-based movie that had made noise in the box office post its release. However, the movie was subjected to a lot of criticism and was also slammed by the Hollywood Reporter, who called the film “empty”. Despite the negative criticism, it was received well by the audience. The movie included stars like Amitabh Bachchan, who played the lead role in the name of Venkat. He introduced a theory of probability to win higher-stakes at the card games. With the help of a few of his friends, Venkat can put the theory to practice and ends up winning massive amounts of money. Although, the fact that the movie is a little on the messier side, where the audience cannot understand what’s happening in the film, it is still a nicely done movie that could probably win only the hearts of beginners.
