Bandar review: Gripping, Disturbing, Unsettling

Bandar review: Gripping, Disturbing, Unsettling

1997. A flamboyant Bobby Deol's wrongly accused Sahil Sinha breaks prison by digging a funnel through an Indian commode, in Rajiv Rai's earth-shattering hit, ‘Gupt’. Though the film gained a cult status for Kajol’s turn as an antagonist (sorry for the spoilers!), Deol gained immensely popularity for his long locks and moves. His fandom was unprecedented.

Cut to 2026. A haggard looking Deol nursing a chronic back problem and tooth ache is made to squat and relieve himself in the filthiest toilet by the bullying prison inmates in Anurag Kashyap’s gritty drama ‘Bandar’.

The two films are at starkly opposite ends of a spectrum that defines ‘Deol’s filmography and is a testament to an actor pushing his envelope and risking with a challenging role as Bollywood gets real over the last 30 years.

Written by Sudeep Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, and having made its debut at the TIFF Festival last year, Kashyap’s ‘Bandar’ gets under your skin, shakes you and troubles you with its observation on a casual fling which snowballs into toxicism and the repercussions in the form of emotional damage.

 

A faded star, Samar Mehra (Bobby Deol) battles a flawed system when slammed with a rape accusation by her ex, Gayatri (Sapna Pabbi) that comes with a heavy price – humiliation and stripping him off dignity, most importantly, snatching every little freedom from him.

With hardly anyone for support except her sister, Suhani (Sanya Malhotra, Brilliant) and a lawyer( played by Riddhi Sen), the undertrial and hapless Samar not only faces the ignominy from the police and the prison inmates, but also a scathing mental torment that spills on to his family and girlfriend, Khushi(Saba Azaad).

Under the aegis of Kashyap, Bandar gazes at the harrowing plight of the accused with brazen and discomforting honesty. The background score deserves special mention for capturing the pulse of the narrative. Moody setting, dark, dingy and filthy corners, a conversation between two inmates squatted over commodes lend a genuine touch to his storytelling. He also borrows a piece of police interrogation from his own 2014 film, Ugly, while the fixation with a cockroach, depicting the protagonist’s descent to losing sanity reminds you of Trapped (2017).

A cinephile may observe Bandar as Kashyap’s anguish-laden acrobatics towards Me-too misuse and a corrupt system replete with policemen demonstrating a biting animosity towards Non-Marathi junta, but the film has its share of deficiencies. It is inconclusive, half-baked and tilts towards sympathising its protagonist. ‘Bandar’ needed more conflict and courtroom confrontations.

 

Where it scores is its superbly fierce performances. Deol complete submission to Kashyap’s craft, abandoning the vanity and sinking his teeth into the character is a triumph in itself. The frustration and emotional breakdown, notwithstanding the gruelling physical pain, look achingly real. Credited as a guest appearance, Sanya Malhotra makes a defining impact while Sapna Pabbi deserves accolades for depicting the unhinged creepiness. Kashyap ropes in regional actors from the south – Indrajith Sukumaran (Lijo) and Raj B Shetty and works to certain extent, but not in entirety.

In a film that soaks itself in a constantly bleak and depressing plot, I found solace in Vishal Mishra’s Kyun Maza Aa Raha hai and grew nostalgic with ‘Come On O Baby’.

 

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