Review: Daayra: A Hard-Hitting Crime Drama That Questions the Thin Line Between Law and Justice!
Crime thrillers inspired by real-life incidents often become more disturbing when they hold up a mirror to society rather than merely narrating a crime. Daayra does exactly that as it delves into the aftermath of a brutal rape and murder and the deeply complicated question of justice. In India, rape continues to remain a grave social concern, with 31,516 cases reported in 2022, according to NCRB data. More significantly, the conviction rate for rape cases in 2022 was 27.4%, highlighting the enormous gap between reporting a crime and securing a conviction. Against this backdrop, Meghna Gulzar’s Daayra examines what happens when victims and their families lose faith in the system and when the police themselves begin to question whether conventional justice is enough.
The story revolves around DCP Raman Kumar (Prithviraj Sukumaran), a police officer whose team kills four men accused of brutally raping and murdering a young woman, Ragini Poojari (Kshitee Jog). The encounter is celebrated publicly, but questions soon arise over whether it was a genuine encounter or an extra-judicial execution. Enter DCP Ajooni Kohli (Kareena Kapoor Khan), an Internal Vigilance officer who is assigned to investigate the case. What begins as a police investigation gradually turns into a battle of two contrasting philosophies of justice. Raman believes that a system that repeatedly fails victims cannot always be relied upon, while Ajooni insists on procedure, evidence and due process. The film smartly avoids making either character an outright hero or villain and instead places the audience within an uncomfortable moral grey zone. Jitendra Joshi, Trupti Khamkar, Kanwaljit Singh, Biswapati Sarkar and Kshitee Jog add considerable weight to the proceedings.
The screenplay, written by Yash Keswani, Sima Agarwal and Meghna Gulzar, is strongest when it allows the investigation and the opposing ideologies of Raman and Ajooni to unfold naturally. The dialogues are sharp, relevant and particularly effective in the crucial portions, where they underline the film’s central debate without becoming unnecessarily preachy. The intercutting between the two police teams and the gradual reconstruction of the crime are intelligently handled. Kareena Kapoor Khan delivers a restrained and convincing performance as Ajooni, while Prithviraj Sukumaran is terrific as Raman, using controlled body language, silence and his eyes to communicate the character’s conviction. Meghna Gulzar’s direction remains assured in creating a realistic police world and raising difficult questions about justice, institutional failure and vigilante action. While the second half loses some momentum and the climax may feel deliberately restrained compared with the build-up, Daayra remains a thought-provoking crime drama whose strongest achievement is that it leaves the audience questioning not just the crime, but the very meaning of justice.
Rating: ***1/2
By Keerti Kadam