Daayra Review: Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran Deliver Bollywood’s Toughest Moral Dilemma Yet. Some films entertain you. Meghna Gulzar’s Daayra makes you sit with a question long after the credits roll — and that’s exactly the point.
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A Story That Refuses Easy Answers
Directed by the filmmaker behind Talvar and Raazi, Daayra loosely draws from the 2019 Hyderabad case and several other real incidents, without being based on one specific event. The film opens with DCP Raman Kumar (Prithviraj Sukumaran) leading an investigation into a horrifying crime, which ends in a police encounter that kills the four accused. The public celebrates it as instant justice — but DCP Ajooni Kohli (Kareena Kapoor Khan), heading a newly formed SIT, starts noticing discrepancies that don’t add up.
Two Officers, Two Ideas of Justice
What makes Daayra work is its refusal to pick a hero and a villain. Raman represents decisive, if legally questionable, action. Ajooni represents due process, even when it’s slower and harder to defend publicly. Their conflict becomes the film’s real engine, and critics widely agree both actors deliver career-strong performances — Prithviraj bringing controlled intensity without theatrics, and Kareena anchoring the investigation with restraint rather than glamour.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Lead Cast | Kareena Kapoor Khan, Prithviraj Sukumaran |
| Director | Meghna Gulzar |
| Production | Junglee Pictures, Pen Studios |
| Genre | Crime Thriller |
| Release Date | September 18, 2026 |
| Runtime Feel | Slow-burn procedural |
Where It Stumbles
Reviews note that the film drags in patches, leaving a few supporting characters underexplored. Its unrelenting, heavy tone also means little room for relief — an emotionally exhausting watch by design rather than accident.
The Verdict
Daayra isn’t comfortable cinema, but it’s necessary cinema. By refusing to simplify a genuinely difficult question—what happens when the system fails, and people take the law into their own hands—Gulzar delivers another gripping, thought-provoking entry in her filmography.
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