Stills from (From top) Don 2, Azaan, Agent Vinod, Game, Dhoom2, Dum Maaro Dum Image Courtesy and Copyright: Yash Raj Films (www.yashrajfilms.com)

It’s about four strangers who’re lured to a Greek island by an eccentric billionaire. Naturally, there’s a mysterious woman and it’s about love, revenge, retribution — and murder. The edge-of-the-seat thriller is the recently released Game starring Abhishek Bachchan, Kangna Ranaut and newcomer Sarah Jane Dias. It’s got all the makings of the classic murder mystery. And the trail leads you through Greece, Turkey, England and Thailand.

Or would you rather be glued to your movie-theatre seat by a thriller in a homegrown locale? Follow the rip-roaring adventures of ACP Vishnu Kamath — played by Abhishek Bachchan again — as he takes on the drug mafia in Goa in Rohan Sippy’s upcoming Dum Maaro Dum.

It’s time to let the adrenaline run wild as Bollywood cranks up the thrill factor. Take your pick from murder mysteries, crime thrillers, espionage films and heist capers — and they come with the promise of fast-paced action, slick stunts and foreign locales. You can follow a foot chase through the streets of Istanbul in Game, or follow a trail that leads through Poland and Morocco in Azaan.

“Bollywood thrillers have become more slick and technically advanced as budgets and technology have become more accessible,” says Komal Nahta, editor, Film Information and Koimoi.com. The directors too are excited about the genre. “A thriller gives you ample opportunity to work on larger-than-life characters and it’s also a very visual genre,” says Sippy.

Do you love undercover, licensed to kill, James Bond-style action? Spy films have never been big in India — partly because they’re tough to do. But filmmakers are bravely going undercover and getting into spy vs. spy battles. Shooting is on for Sriram Raghavan’s Agent Vinod starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. It’s not a remake of the 1970s hit. “The only thing we’ve borrowed is the title. It’s a realistic story told, I daresay, flamboyantly. The plot’s basic [about] how Agent Vinod saves the world, but it’s based on today’s geopolitical situation. It’s an action adventure,” says Raghavan, who’s made thrillers like Ek Hasina Thi and Johnny Gaddaar before.

Coming up first in June is Azaan, directed by Prashant Chadha (he directed Aap Kaa Surroor) which starts out with the hero going undercover in search of his brother but then turns into a larger suspense-laden spy thriller about saving India from a biological warfare threat.

Now, if a straight action thriller is more your style, join the chase with Farhan Akhtar as he returns with Shah Rukh Khan in Don 2 in December. The stakes have risen and the action’s bigger too. Apart from Game and Don-2, Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment is also producing another thriller by Reema Kagti where Aamir Khan’s playing a moustachioed cop. Says Akhtar: “I’ve been a fan of thrillers for a long time so I find this genre very exciting. Game’s a classic whodunit, Don 2 is a pure action thriller and Reema’s film is more of a cop thriller.”

Do you prefer heist stories with death-defying car chases? And do you remember The Italian Job, the Michael Caine thriller with oodles of excitement and a cliff-hanging ending — literally because the movie ends with a bus balanced halfway off the edge of a mountain. The Abbas Mastan duo (makers of the slick Race) is now filming Players, an official remake of The Italian Job with Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor.

And if you’re into cliff-hangers, Dhoom 3 is on its way. You could say that Yashraj Films’ Dhoom franchise set the new standard for slick thrillers what with John Abraham racing over a cliff in the first Dhoom and Hrithik Roshan skydiving onto a moving train in Dhoom 2. Now Dhoom 3 with Aamir Khan no less will try and outdo them in the death-defying antics department.

“In 2003, when I wrote the first Dhoom, we were at the end of the curve of a certain kind of Hindi film, which was quite plastic. Dhoom was unconventional then,” feels Vijay Krishna Acharya, who’s written the films and is now directing Dhoom 3. He’s planning to “up the quotient”. “The test would be to make a film that retains the joy of Dhoom yet offers a little more,” he says.

Inevitably, cross-country car chases, impossibly difficult stunts and exotic foreign locales can all result in soaring bills. “Action films demand a certain scale that’s possible to do now because more resources are available,” says Excel Entertainment’s Ritesh Sidhwani.

Rohan Sippy Abhishek Bachchan takes on the baddies in Dum Maaro Dum USP: Dashing cop vs drug mafia routine; already popular item number Pix: Gajanan Dudhalkar

According to Nahta, thrillers and action films cost about 20 per cent more than a regular drama. That’s because it takes longer to shoot action sequences and time is money on a film set. Besides, costs can rise if action experts are involved.

Not surprisingly, big money’s on these films. The trade estimates Don 2 to cost about Rs 70 crore while Agent Vinod should be around Rs 50 crore. Dum Maaro Dum and Game are said to cost around Rs 25 crore. That’s still small change compared to Hollywood. For instance, The Bourne Ultimatum cost $110 million or a mind-boggling Rs 500 crore almost.

Take a look at Game and you’ll see why costs can balloon. The movie’s about five people from five different countries, so it’s shot in Greece, Turkey, Thailand, England and India. And while the accent is on “what happens next” rather than pure action, extra effort has been taken to make the fight sequences look super-realistic. Says Game’s debutant director Abhinay Deo: “The fight sequences are not long-drawn but intense action. The look, feel and styling is very different from your general Bollywood film.”

Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar Don 2 is the most awaited sequel of the yearUSP: Shah Rukh Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Shah Rukh Khan Pix: Gajanan Dudhalkar

There are other problems too in action movies that add to costs. “In an action film, you think of things that are almost impossible to do and yet you have to manage to show them as being possible on film,” says Acharya. That’s why for Azaan, Chadha went into detailed preparations. “We did the technical recce while I was scripting so that the shooting time could be very efficient,” he says. For instance, his crew mapped out camera positions and light readings beforehand.

Apart from newcomer Sachiin Joshi, Azaan stars Playboy cover girl Candace Boucher and Hollywood actress Amber Rose. Chadha’s filmed it Poland, Morocco, Germany, France, Hong Kong and India. Last month, he was doing a final recce for his climax scenes in Cape Town. “We’ve given an international feel to it,” he says.

Technology is the other factor that Hindi films often tripped up on. But that’s available in India today — and it’s cheaper too with visual effects studios making strides.

Says Vipul Shah, who’s co-producing the John Abraham-starrer Force: “Earlier, we didn’t have the technology to do action sequences with the finesse seen in Hollywood. Nor did we have the budgets. We still don’t have the budgets but we’re able to do the technology with finesse now so the interest in action has returned.” For instance, action coordinators in India now have high-tech equipment and pre-visualisation — or doing the action sequences with computer graphics before shooting — is available too.

Abhinay Deo Love, revenge, retribution are all part of the ‘Game’ USP: Action-packed classic whodunit, exotic locales

Filmmakers are also hiring specialist international crews. For instance, the ace German production house Action Concepts, has done all the action for Don 2. Watch out for SRK jumping off a 300-ft building. “They’ve delivered a great job,” says Akhtar. Chadha too got Action Concepts to do Azaan’s action sequences in Germany. For Agent Vinod, Raghavan’s used foreign talent abroad but Indian stunt masters at home.

Amidst all these murder mysteries and espionage chases, can the Bollywood masala action film be far behind? Not really. Director Nishikant Kamath (Dombivli Express) has Force with John Abraham and Genelia D’Souza. Abraham plays an encounter cop in this remake of the Tamil hit Khakha Khakha. And Rohit Shetty, who’s done comedies like the Golmaal series is also turning his hand to action with Ajay Devgn in another Tamil remake, Singham. “I’d wanted to do an action film for long. The dynamics of an action film are very different from a regular film,” he says.

Prasahant Chadha Azaan is a suspense-laden spy thriller USP: Racy action scenes, Hollywood eye candy, Playboy bunny

The commercial action film may be Bollywood’s mainstay, but it’s no stranger to thrillers either. Remember, directors like Vijay Anand, Raj Khosla and Nasir Husain have made cult films like Teesri Manzil, CID and Yaadon ki Baraat. Anand continues to inspire the younger filmmakers.

Yet, they’re also bringing in new influences. They’re inspired by international filmmakers like Christopher Nolan (Batman), Luc Besson (Transporter) and Paul Greengrass (Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum), and they’re moving beyond the Bollywood style too. Chadha says he’s influenced by Greengrass’ hand-held camera style. In Dum Maaro Dum too, Sippy has “employed a more cinema verite style rather than say a Dabbang”. “We wanted to shoot it a little more guerilla style with hand-held cameras,” he says.

The filmmakers aren’t ignoring the grammar of Hindi cinema either. Naturally, this means songs — and also emotional drama. Deepika Padukone in Dum Maaro Dum, anyone? “The idea of blending a full-blooded song with action connects with the Indian audience,” says Sippy. And Deo says: “No audience will go purely to see action. As Indians, we like story and character and drama,” feels Deo.

The thriller as a genre “is looked down upon somewhat but there have been great thrillers that are great films” asserts Raghavan. The filmmakers are rising to the challenge. Will the audience keep pace? Watch this space.