‘Daayra’ movie review: Meghna Gulzar challenges the circle of public conscience
Meghna Gulzar's film 'Daayra' critically examines the societal embrace of instant, extra-judicial justice, drawing inspiration from the 2019 Hyderabad case. The movie explores the moral dilemma between slow institutional justice and immediate vigilantism, presenting competing viewpoints with journalistic detachment.
Why it matters
The film's themes are highly relevant to ongoing debates about human rights, police accountability, and the public's demand for swift justice, prompting reflection on the integrity of the judicial system and the dangers of blurring lines between justice and vengeance.
Coming at a time when society is increasingly seduced by the idea of instant, extra-judicial justice, Meghna Gulzar’s Daayra takes a diagnostic look at the rot within the body politic where ‘encounters’ are routinely packaged and sold as desperate acts of self-defence, and a frustrated public gleefully buys it for the wheel of justice is excruciatingly slow.
Heavily informed by the details and fallout of the 2019 Hyderabad case , the film takes away the sensationalised, high-octane tropes synonymous with Bollywood police procedurals that have long normalised law enforcement officers becoming a law unto themselves.
Following the brutal assault on a young girl, DCP Raman Kumar ( Prithviraj Sukumaran ) delivers immediate, lethal retribution to the suspects under the guise of an ‘encounter’, igniting public euphoria. However, when the Human Rights Commission takes note, the State launches an internal investigation led by the DCP Ajooni Kohli (Kareena Kapoor Khan).
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