Overview
A tale of ambition and betrayal unfolds in the dark underbelly of Bombay.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- brooding
- tragic
- haunting
- serious movie night
- shakespeare adaptation viewing
What critics said
Critics overwhelmingly regard Maqbool as a haunting, visually accomplished, intelligent, and culturally resonant adaptation of Macbeth set in the Bombay underworld.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film recasts Macbeth's power struggle within the contemporary Bombay crime world, including Abbaji as Duncan and the policemen as the weird sisters.
Maqbool and Nimmi plot against Abbaji in pursuit of power and a transformed future, echoing Macbeth's fatal ascent.
Abbaji governs a crime family whose loyalties, succession anxieties, and intimate betrayals organize the central conflict.
The sea assumes the role of Birnham Wood, turning Bombay's landscape into a symbolic force within the tragedy.
Films like Maqbool, and why
Omkara
Shakespearean tragedy transplanted into a modern criminal underworld, with corrosive ambition and fatal betrayal
The Godfather
Operatic organized-crime drama centered on loyalty, succession, family power, and moral collapse
The Departed
Brooding crime tragedy where ambition, guilt, and doomed power struggles drive the narrative
Throne of Blood
Stylized Shakespeare adaptation emphasizing tragic ambition, political violence, and psychological disintegration
Movie Details
- Director
- Vishal Bhardwaj
- Release Date
- 2003-01-30
- Runtime
- 132 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (70)
Cast
- Irrfan Khan
- Tabu
- Pankaj Kapur
- Om Puri
- Naseeruddin Shah
- Piyush Mishra
- Ankur Vikal
- Ajay Gehi
- Masumeh Makhija
- Pubali Sanyal
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Maqbool about?
- A brooding Bombay crime tragedy transforms Macbeth’s doomed ambition into an operatic tale of illicit love, succession, and guilt.
- What is Maqbool like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Maqbool as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Maqbool violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Maqbool as brutal.
- What did critics think of Maqbool?
- Critics overwhelmingly regard Maqbool as a haunting, visually accomplished, intelligent, and culturally resonant adaptation of Macbeth set in the Bombay underworld.
- Which films are like Maqbool?
- Films with a similar feel include Omkara, The Godfather, The Departed, and Throne of Blood.
- How long is Maqbool?
- Maqbool runs 132 minutes.
- Where can I watch Maqbool?
- In United States, Maqbool is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube.
