A good plot twist is one that seamlessly fits into the story, while leaving the audience gasping in shock, prompting them to revisit the film, simply to figure out the clues.

Disclaimer: Spoilers Ahead

In no particular order, here are some of the most epic plot twists that movies have gifted us, over the years: 

1. Ajnabee: Sonia Bajaj, whose murder Raj is convicted for, is alive. 

Can there be more ‘Bollywood’ plot reveal than a song? Mehbooba Mehbooba wins the cake for the most filmy yet perfect plot reveal. 

2. The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars series): Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father.

Admit it, no one predicted that. 

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3. Gone Girl: Amy Dunne orchestrates her own kidnapping and alleged murder. 

When her husband cheats on her, Amy plans the perfect revenge – frame him for her murder and escape the married life. 

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4. Kahaani: Vidya Bagchi is not really pregnant.

The climax, when Vidya Bagchi’s real identity is revealed, is even more shocking than watching insurance agent-cum-contract killer Bob Biswas pushing her in front of a train. 

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5. Andhadhun: Akash regains his eyesight.

The scene where a supposedly blind pianist watches a crime scene being cleaned up, is peak black comedy. But, the last scene where Akash hits the can with his stick, thereby proving he regained his eyesight, is as shocking as it comes. Talk about going down the ‘rabbit’ hole!

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6. Makdee: The village witch is actually a con woman. 

For a children’s movie, Makdee provided a surprisingly intelligent take on the evils of superstition and a thoroughly terrifying witch. 

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7. Fight Club: Tyler Durden and Edward Norton are dissociated personalities of the same person.

Unless you had already read the book before, there’s no way you guessed the twist.  

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8. American Psycho: Bateman realizes he has been a ‘victim’ of his imagination. 

Patrick Bateman fashions himself to be a serial killer, convincing the audience along the way, only to realize he is a sadist suffering from vivid delusions. What a ‘killer’ imagination! 

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9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2: Professor Snape is actually one of the good guys. 

The fact that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew almost trumped this scene. But you can’t think of Harry Potter without thinking of Snape ‘always’ being there for Lily’s son, Harry. 

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10. Aankhen: The jewels have been hidden in Elias’ harmonium. 

Three blind men rob a bank and get the man who hired them convicted – Aankhen is undoubtedly one of Hindi cinema’s finest heist movies. 

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11. Drishyam: The body is buried under the newly constructed police station.

The police can not convict the Salgaonkars because the body of the boy whose murder the family is accused of, is never discovered. However, the bigger reveal was why the murder took place in the first place. Drishyam left the audience pondering how far would parents go for their children. 

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12. Get Out: Chris has been hypnotized by Rose, to eventually be ‘treated’ by her racist parents. 

The horror film that proved, quite literally, that racism kills. 

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13. Humraaz: Priya pulls a double cross. 

Leaving the melodrama aside, Humraaz actually served a fair share of plot twists. But the first twist, where it is revealed that Priya (Ameesha Patel) and Karan (Akshaye Khanna) are partners, and the climax where Priya and Raj (Bobby Deol) outsmart Karan, are especially noteworthy. 

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14. Kaun?: The victim is actually the killer.

One of Manoj Bajpayee and Urmila Matondkar’s finest performances, Kaun also happens to be a brilliant psychological thriller where the woman being hunted is actually the serial killer. 

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15. Gupt: The Hidden Truth: Isha Diwan is the real killer.

Okay, in hindsight, maybe the clues were all there. But when the Gupt first released, the plot reveal was shocking, to say the least. 

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16. Orphan: The child is actually an adult.

Orphan took the phrase ‘there’s more to it than meets the eye’ quite literally when it revealed that Coleman’s adopted child is actually a 33-year-old woman suffering from hypopituitarism. 

Geek Tyrant

17. Shutter Island: U.S. Marshal Daniels is actually a patient at a psychiatric ward. 

A fine example of DiCaprio’s acting prowess, Shutter Island ends with a question most people struggle to answer – is it better ‘to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?’

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18. Parasite: Ki-taek takes over Parks’ basement.

Though the Kim family discover a fair share of secrets when they infiltrate the Parks’ home, the biggest twist for the audience is revealed at the end – when Ki-taek’s new living quarters are revealed. 

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19. Baazigar: Priya discovers her boyfriend is her sister’s killer

Before Shah Rukh Khan became the industry’s favourite romantic hero, he was the villain who pushed his girlfriend off a balcony. And scared the sh*t out of every person in the audience. 

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20. Raat Akeli Hai: Vasudha is the killer

Honey Trehan’s debut film left the audience shocked when it revealed that Vasudha, a victim of child sexual abuse, is the one who kills her uncle after years of abuse. However, equally shocking was the fact that her mother had been complicit in hiding the abuse. 

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How many of these did you predict when you first watched the film? Let us know in the comments section below.