Daayra

Daayra Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kshitee Jog, Jitendra Joshi

Director: Meghna Gulzar

What’s Good: The electric atmosphere and crackerjack pace all through

What’s Bad: Honestly, nothing!

Loo Break: Of course not!

Watch or Not?: There should be no embargo on watching it

Language: Hindi

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 143 Minutes

User Rating:

The burnt body of a missing girl, Ragini Poojary (Pragati Mishra) is found by cops in a remote spot. The forensic report is of rape followed by murder. The investigation is rapid and the four men who committed the heinous crime are arrested. Raman thinks that Ragini’s family, comprising mother Parvati (Kshitee Jog) and brother Kabir (Bhavesh Babbani), will have found closure when the accused are arrested. But on talking to Parvati, he realizes that there will be justice done only when they are sentenced, and that might take years more of harrowing court sequences for the bereaved mother and brother and the possibility of the criminals escaping with lighter sentences.

But all that comes later within the film. In the beginning of the movie, we see the investigating officer, DCP Raman Kumar (Prithviraj Sukumaran) being cheered and felicitated by the public as the four accused have been shot dead in a police encounter while trying to escape. 

However, as there is reason to suspect that it was a coldblooded encounter killing of the accused, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) is set up, led by Ajooni Kohli (Kareena Kapoor Khan) and her team, to find the truth. Ajooni is an ace at taking action against police officers and juniors who pamper criminals and flout the law, including staging encounters. She follows the rulebook, and while investigating DCP Raman’s investigations (!), finds ample reason to suspect that Raman and his senior, Commissioner Anand (Biswapati Sarkar) have taken the law in their own hands.

Daayra Movie Review: Script Analysis

Inspired by real events, Yash Keswani, Sima Agarwal and Meghna Gulzar spin a topnotch script that elevates and instructs subtly even as it thrills without a break. The manner in which the narration is interspersed between the (recent) past and the present is innovative and gripping to the extreme. We are shown details of how Raman annexes the guilty men with his team, and parallelly, we see Ajooni grill his team so that the actual truth can be revealed.

This whole process is so crisply shown that the viewer is hooked to the relentless flow and tensions. There is no loophole, no flaw in the way the story unfolds, and the dexterous mix of old-fashioned deduction, chases and modern-day means like CC cameras and phone calls leads to a heady and menacing amalgam. Bring in the unvarnished emotions of the mother and subtle comments on police apathy as well as incompetence and the film speeds on the viewer enchantment highway without any speed-breakers. In the process, there is the ever-hanging poser: is justice being served really through due process of law? And where does the duty of a policeman end? And the basic question of a man who is not yet 18 being treated leniently only because he is not yet an adult.

Daayra Movie Review: Star Performance

Prithviraj Sukumaran is excellent as the ruthless Raman Kumar who has very clear fundas and a healthy disrespect of the lawbook when it comes to his idea of true justice. Kareena Kapoor Khan is a scene-stealer. Every time she appears, and especially in her first (and as it happens) last interaction with Raman, she is an unfiltered delight. When she investigates, her expressive eyes and potentially menacing undertones are magnificent. This must easily be among the best female lead castings of this year.

Kshitee Jog too is simply outstanding as Parvati and her breakdown scene at seeing her daughter’s dead body is, in one word, unforgettable. From the rest, Upendra Chauhan as inspector Vishal is an outright winner, ditto Jitendra Joshi as inspector Karad and Biswapati Sarkar as commissioner Anand. The rest of the cast, cops, criminals and others, put in apt performances and their casting is immaculate.