‘Baramulla’ movie review: Manav Kaul steers this gripping supernatural thriller with a political subtext
Director Aditya Suhas Jambhale masterfully captures the atmosphere and suspense of conflict-torn Kashmir. Yet, as the mist lifts, the forceful tones of an ‘us versus them’ narrative begin to show through.
Unlike most films centered around the Kashmir conflict portrayed through soldiers, Baramulla takes a different route. Jambhale, known for Article 370, brings the story into the ranks of the Jammu & Kashmir Police through the character of DSP Ridwaan Sayyid, played by Manav Kaul.
Ridwaan is a man wrestling with loyalties and loss. To his subordinates, he is a stern superior; to the separatists, an unbeliever; and to his daughter, a traitor. Drawn into a harrowing case involving missing children in Baramulla, he soon realizes the situation is not as straightforward as his junior officers claim.
As disappearances coincide with rising unrest and waves of stone-pelting, Ridwaan also confronts something eerie within his own home — a supernatural presence rooted in a decaying past.
“Carrying the demons of a past operation in his heart, as Ridwaan grapples with the personal and the professional, we are presented with an emotionally resonant tale that lingers, where the line between the rational and the otherworldly blurs for a greater purpose.”
Aditya Jambhale avoids glorifying the valley’s postcard imagery. Instead, he explores the unseen fractures running beneath its snow-draped beauty.
Author’s Summary
A haunting mix of political tension and supernatural mystery, Baramulla delivers a tense, atmospheric drama where belief, duty, and fear collide in the fog of conflict.