Sonchiriya is special to Bollywood for a very interesting reason. The movie brings back the genre of dacoit dramas that was used to be so popular in the '60s, '70s and '80s. By the time Bollywood cinema entered the '90s, the genre began to fade away though we de have a few notable movies in this era (more on that later). The reason for this was Bollywood's newly developed fascination for telling urbane stories. A couple of our current generation leading stars have attempted their hand at the genre in this century, like Aamir Khan in Mela and Ajay Devgn in Lajja. The box office response for these movies was not favourable, to say the least. Sonchiriya: From Kai Po Che to Kedarnath, Here's Sushant Singh Rajput's Box-Office Report Card for the Last Six Years.

Which is why Sonchiriya is taking such a huge risk with its setting. Sure, Sushant Singh Rajput and Bhumi Pednekar's star power adds value to the movie's prospects. But director Abhishek Chaubey is more interested in presenting a grittier take on lives of dacoits, now known as baaghis. The movie also stars Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana and Ranvir Shorey.

But before you go to the theatres to watch Sonchiriya, and going by the early positive reactions you should, make sure you do not miss out on these popular dacoit movies made by Bollywood.

Sholay

Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan in Sholay (Photo Credits: Twitter)

There were dacoit movies that came before this Ramesh Sippy classic that were blockbusters. Like Mera Gaon Mera Desh and Ganga Jamuna. But if you have to get a taste of the definition of dacoit drama genre in Bollywood, why not start with the biggest of them all? If a mere Ramgarh ka local daaku, Gabbar Singh (played by late Amjad Khan) ranks higher in menace than super-villains like Mogambo or Shakaal, there is a good reason why he is called the crux of this all-time big blockbuster!

Khote Sikkay

Ranjeet, Feroze Khan and Danny in Khote Sikkay (Photo Credits: Twitter)

A setup copied from The Magnificent Seven. Feroze Khan in a Clint Eastwood-inspired mysterious cowboy persona. An exhilarating song in "Jeevan Mein Tu Darna Nahin". What's not to like about this bad guys vs dacoits saga!

Bandit Queen

Seema Biswas in Bandit Queen (Photo Credits: Twitter)

Shekhar Kapur takes inspiration from the life of dacoit the late Phulan Devi in this hard-hitting, uncomfortable biopics. Bandit Queen will make your stomachs uneasy with its violence, uncomfortable nudity, rapes and strong language. Seema Biswas gives a performance of a lifetime in the lead role, with good supporting turns from the late Nirmal Pandey, Saurabh Shukla, Govind Namdeo and the then-upcoming Manoj Bajpayee.

China Gate

Mukesh Tiwari in China Gate (Photo Credits: Twitter)

Another ripoff of The Magnificent Seven, China Gate was a flop at the box office, despite having the chartbuster "Chamma Chamma" song (that also made it to the Hollywood movie, Moulin Rouge). In the years ahead, though, the movie got a cult following as viewers realised that this is a well-enacted action drama that thrills from the start to the end. Director Rajkumar Santoshi took a risk by casting veteran actors in the lead roles and give us a memorable film and an underrated villain in Mukesh Tiwari's Jageera.

Paan Singh Tomar

Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Paan Singh Tomar (Photo Credits: Twitter)

Irrfan Khan won a National award for what is this century's best dacoit drama, unless Sonchiriya takes that tag. Paan Singh Tomar is based on the life and death of a former Olympian who turns a dacoit under incriminating circumstances. This Tigamanshu Dhulia movie is considered as one of his best works, and also featured strong performances from Mahie Gill, Vipin Sharma, Rajendra Gupta and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2019 09:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).