Director: Anurag Kashyap (co-directed with Sakshi Mehta Lau)
Cast: Bobby Deol, Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Pabbi, Raj B. Shetty, Riddhi Sen and others
Genre: Crime Thriller / Prison Drama
Runtime: 136 minutes
Release Date: June 5, 2026 (India); premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2025
Mumbai: After years of experimentation and uneven projects, Anurag Kashyap returns to familiar territory with Bandar, a gritty prison drama that combines social commentary, psychological tension, and raw human emotion. Unflinching in its portrayal of institutional failure and personal collapse, the film offers one of the year’s most provocative cinematic experiences.
Anchored by a remarkable performance from Bobby Deol, Bandar is less concerned with providing easy answers than with forcing audiences to confront uncomfortable questions about justice, power, and public judgment.
Story Overview
The film follows Samar Mehra (Bobby Deol), a once-popular television and music star whose life spirals out of control after a seemingly ordinary encounter with a former acquaintance leads to a serious criminal allegation.
Suddenly thrust from celebrity privilege into the unforgiving world of India’s undertrial prison system, Samar finds himself battling not only legal uncertainty but also the psychological and physical realities of incarceration. As media scrutiny intensifies and public opinion turns hostile, he is forced to navigate a system where truth, perception, and survival often exist in uneasy tension.
Inspired by real-world issues and contemporary debates, Bandar explores themes of justice, masculinity, reputation, institutional power, and the human cost of prolonged legal battles. Importantly, the narrative resists simple moral conclusions, presenting a world where certainty is elusive and every perspective carries its own complexities.
What Works
The film’s greatest achievement is Bobby Deol. Delivering arguably the strongest performance of his career, he sheds every trace of star vanity to portray a man stripped of status, confidence, and control. His performance is emotionally exposed, physically demanding, and deeply affecting, capturing both vulnerability and quiet resilience.
Kashyap and co-director Sakshi Mehta Lau bring a documentary-like realism to the prison environment. The jail sequences feel claustrophobic, tense, and painfully authentic, immersing viewers in a world governed by fear, hierarchy, and uncertainty. The film’s stripped-down visual style enhances this realism, avoiding glamour in favor of gritty immediacy.
The supporting cast also contributes significantly. Sapna Pabbi, Raj B. Shetty, Riddhi Sen, and several character actors add depth to the narrative, helping create a believable ecosystem around Samar’s ordeal.
Perhaps the film’s most impressive quality is its willingness to embrace ambiguity. Rather than reducing complex social issues to simplistic slogans, Bandar encourages viewers to wrestle with competing viewpoints and uncomfortable realities.
Where It Falls Short
Despite its strengths, the film is not without flaws. The second half occasionally struggles to maintain the gripping momentum established early on. Certain narrative developments feel abrupt, and some thematic threads could have benefited from greater clarity and refinement.
Its commitment to moral ambiguity may also prove challenging for some viewers. Audiences accustomed to clear heroes and villains may find it difficult to emotionally anchor themselves within the story’s deliberately uncertain landscape.
The film’s relentless intensity can be exhausting. Violence, psychological distress, and institutional cruelty dominate much of the runtime, making Bandar a demanding watch rather than a traditionally entertaining one.
Final Verdict
Bandar is one of the boldest Hindi films of 2026—a tense, disturbing, and thought-provoking prison drama that refuses to compromise its vision. It may not be flawless, but its ambition, thematic depth, and emotional honesty make it difficult to ignore.
Most importantly, it marks a significant creative resurgence for Anurag Kashyap while giving Bobby Deol a career-defining role that showcases dimensions of his talent rarely seen before.
This is not a film designed for comfort. It is designed to provoke, unsettle, and linger in the mind long after the credits roll.
Rating: 3.5/5
Watch it if: You appreciate intense character-driven dramas, socially conscious thrillers, or films that challenge conventional narratives.
Skip it if: You prefer escapist entertainment, lighter themes, or straightforward storytelling.
Dark, uncompromising, and fiercely relevant, Bandar proves that some of the most powerful cinema emerges from uncomfortable questions rather than easy answers.
