Bandar is inspired by true events and is quite shocking. Audiences will feel stunned to know that something of this sort is happening and how the law can be misused. Anurag Kashyap depicts prison life and its unhygienic, uninhabitable conditions with disturbing realism. At the same time, he also infuses humour organically into the narrative. The police station scene in the beginning is terrific and even goes one step ahead of a similar scene in Ugly. However, the makers don’t tie up all the aspects of the film convincingly. The protagonist’s bond with the girl is not laid out properly, and a few questions remain unanswered. Lastly, the finale, though justified and realistic, feels underwhelming. Bobby Deol is outstanding and this is one of his greatest performances of his career. Sapna Pabbi has limited screen time but watch out for her performance; it’s chilling. Sanya Malhotra is dependable as always, while Saba Azad is decent. Jitendra Joshi (Inspector Deore) is the scene-stealer; Sukant Goel (Aatish), Indrajit Sukumaran (Lijo), Ankush Gedam (Bilaal) and Raj B Shetty (Lizard Man) are memorable. Riddhi Sen (Advocate Mukherjee), Ghanshyam Garg (Shiva; servant), Aurobindo Bhatacharjee (Gayatri’s lawyer) and Uday Tikekar (Judge) also do well. All in all, Bandar is worth watching for its shocking story and Bobby’s performance.
My rating – *** out of 5!