Holy Water) is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film written, directed, co-produced and edited by Prakash Jha.

Featuring an ensemble cast of 87 actors, it revolves around the Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar (Ajay Devgn) who takes charge of the fictitious district of Tejpur, Bihar, known for its high crime rate and organised crime carried out by dons Sadhu (Mohan Joshi) and Sunder Yadav (Yashpal Sharma).

Due to the local police's slow response to crimes, residents of the district resort to pouring acid in the eyes of the criminals as an instrument for extrajudicial justice.

Following the release of his directorial debut Damul (1984), Jha conceived an idea for his next venture that would be titled Gangaajal, which would be about corruption and political violence.

The woman's mother refuses to testify against Sunder after the DIG Verma, who is loyal to Sadhu, threatens her into withdrawing her complaint.

Sadhu's men try to vandalise the shop of a pan vendor who testified against Sunder before Amit stops them and threw them in jail.

At the jail, when Amit goes home, Sunder's two Stooges Munna Thakur and Kesari fight with Bachcha and his colleagues due to their betrayal.

Taking macabre inspiration from the incident, local police officials also throw acid in the eyes of criminals in their jails, creating an acute fear throughout Tejpur and falling crime rates.

[7][8] In an interview with Screen, Jha said he decided to make films set in rural cities because he believed they have an "earthy quality" that would attract audiences.

For this film, he chose his home state Bihar as the main setting because he is familiar with the local culture, people, and tradition.

[15] Filming took place in two areas of Satara and Wai in Maharashtra, and Jha asked local people to briefly appear in several scenes.

Richa Sharma, Ustad Sultan Khan and Lalit Pandit performed the vocals, and Venus Records & Tapes released the soundtrack album.

[17][18] Jha had high expectations during the pre-release of Gangaajal, wanting it to be a commercial success and set a new trend in Hindi cinema.

[4][5] In September, during its theatrical run in Bihar, a protest was held by supporters of the political party Rashtriya Janata Dal because the film's antagonist Sadhu Yadav has the same name as Rabri Devi's brother-in-law.

[5] On 25 July 2010, Shemaroo Entertainment released the film on Video CD as a double-disc pack in the PAL widescreen format.

[29][30] Critics gave Gangaajal generally positive reception;[31] most of them appreciated Devgn's performance in the film as a police but questioned about the plot's originality.

Adarsh criticised Jha for addressing topics he believed are not suitable for the modern audience, and added the film has an "oft-repeated theme".

[34] Deepa Gumaste of Rediff.com stated; "Ajay Devgan pulls up an ace with a part tailormade to reinforce his seething-under-the-surface angry hero image.

"[35] The Indo-Asian News Service said Devgn's "languorous body language and pinched, anguished expression confer a newness to a largely hackneyed role".

[37] Screen said Jha had given the film "a unique flavour" with "the upright stance of the hero, who never turns renegade and remains true to the law to the very end", and appreciated him showing the "eye-for-an-eye kind of revenge too is harmful for the society in the long run and the only solution lies in sprucing up the system".

"[45] In B4U, Parag Chandrabala Maniar noted Jha's effort to do "a sincere job" in the film, although he made the climax "a little implausible".

[46] Dinesh Raheja wrote; "Jha adroitly recreates the appropriate ambience for the policeman who tries to work with integrity in a corrupt system.

A pall of gloom and tension looms large over the frames, best illustrated in the scene where a reformed officer ensnares a fugitive.

"[47] Khalid Mohamed called Devgn's performance "flawless, as incendiary as fire and as cool as ice" but commented Singh was only used as "decoration" in the film.

[59] The sequel opened in theatres on 4 March 2016;[60] it received mixed reviews from critics and performed poorly at the box office.