1 Bob Biswas in Kahaani (2012)
A nondescript insurance agent by day, deadly assassin by night. Bob Biswas was the best of many memorable characters that sparkled in Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani. Bob Biswas belongs to the exalted league of killers like Hannibal Lecter and Freddy Krueger, who kill people while going for a stroll in the park. Or, in Biswas's case, while heading home after work.
2 The Stoneman Murders (2009)
An underrated film, The Stoneman Murders tracked the story of the unknown killer who terrorised Mumbai in the mid-1980s. It remains one of Mumbai's most famous unsolved cases. Kay Kay Menon played the furious policeman in pursuit of the cold-blooded killer, while Virendra Saxena played the killer who survives the police, the media and, apparently, even death.
3 Susanna in 7 Khoon Maaf (2011)
Hell hath no fury, they say, like a woman scorned. Priyanka Chopra embodied all seven circles of hell in her performance as Ruskin Bond's husband-killing character Susanna. The dark portrayal earned her critical acclaim and the Filmfare Critic's Award for Best Actress.
4 Rakesh in Ek Villain (2014)
Riteish Deshmukh was every nagging housewife's nightmare as he played a henpecked husband turned serial killer in Mohit Suri's Ek Villain. The smile on his face when he knocked off annoying women who reminded him of his wife was enough to make audiences break into a cold sweat. Though the film didn't do well at the box office, Deshmukh's performance rekindled the embers of his career.
5 Dheeraj in Murder 2 (2011)
In Murder 2, Prashant Narayanan pulled off the closest likeness of Jack the Ripper in Hindi cinema. His menacing Dheeraj Pandey is a psychopath who goes on a spree murdering young women. There have been few performances that matched up to the maniacal energy of Prashant Narayanan in recent times.
6 Lajja Shankar Pandey in Sangharsh (1999)
Audiences of the late 1990s would have frightening memories of watching Ashutosh Rana's performance as the bald, evil Lajja Shankar Pandey. Rana's chilling portrayal of a relentless serial killer who is driven by blood lust was the very embodiment of evil. Loosely inspired by the Anthony Hopkins-starrer Silence Of The Lambs, the film marked Ashutosh Rana's second foray as a psychopath.
7 Gokul Pandit in Dushman (1998)
As the sadistic killer and rapist chasing Kajol in Tanuja Chandra's Dushman, Ashutosh Rana was a monster. As he went about killing at will, few could push themselves to find any words of praise for the impeccable actor playing the role. The portrayal, however, did win him the Filmfare Award for Best Villain.
8 Ma'am in Kaun (1999)
This was one of the biggest surprises of its time. Ram Gopal Varma sprang a trap on unsuspecting viewers by casting Urmila Matondkar as the neurotic serial killer hidden in her room. The film's climax was thrilling, and harked back to a period when Varma was at the height of his prowess as a filmmaker.
9 Anand in Red Rose (1980)
At his peak, Rajesh Khanna was a ladykiller. Women would send him letters written in their own blood. Perhaps it was this anecdote that inspired the superstar to take up Kamal Haasan's role in the remake of the Tamil film Sigappu Rojakal. Rajesh Khanna played a depraved businessman who kills the women he woos. The audience did not accept their beloved Kaka as a villain, and the film sank without a trace. It remains the actor's only foray to the darker side.
10 Charles Sobhraj in Main Aur Charles (2015)
Few killers have enjoyed the infamy, or the fame as Charles Sobhraj has. Known by many names, The Serpent and The Bikini Killer, Sobhraj comitted more than a dozen murders of young foreign women. His suave personality, stylish appearance, and charm added to his fatal appeal. In 2015, few actors possessed the suavity to pull off this deadly killer like Randeep Hooda. The handsome Haryanvi turned in a fine performance as the serial killer in Prawaal Raman's film. It proved to be one of the highlights of Hooda's career.
11 Raman Raghav in Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016)
When it came to playing ruthless, menacing, serial killers, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has a preternatural ability. The talented actor now teams up with Anurag Kashyap to play one of the deadliest serial killers that roamed Mumbai's streets, Raman Raghav. In the 1960s, the name of Raman Raghav was akin to Jack the Ripper, for the ferocious way in which he bludgeoned his victims to death. With more than 40 murders to his name, Raman Raghav makes Hannibal Lecter sound childish. From Nawaz's mean look in the trailer, we just might have another killer performance to watch out for.