Baramulla Review: A Gripping Thriller That Falters Under Its Own Weight
The film Baramulla opens with promise, combining suspense and emotion. Directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and produced by Aditya Dhar, it stars Manav Kaul as DSP Ridwaan Sayyed, who arrives in the scenic town of Baramulla to investigate a wave of child disappearances. Accompanied by his wife Gulnaar and their children, Noorie and Ayaan, he faces a mystery unlike any he has encountered before.
The Sinister Disappearances
The story begins with a chilling street performance — a magician asks a boy to step into a box, and the child vanishes. From that moment, the search for missing kids takes a dark turn. Ridwaan, together with his team, soon discovers that the case hides deeper secrets than they expected.
Hidden Secrets of Baramulla
As they probe further, questions mount: who orchestrates these abductions, and what lies behind the locked room on the second floor of Ridwaan’s old wooden house? The narrative combines lies, betrayal, and half-buried truths that creep out of the cracks like smoke.
“I was gripped by the atmospheric set-up, but as the film goes along, revealing its wares, it also shows its hand, which is more like a shouty accusatory finger.”
Symbolism and Thematic Weight
While the film’s beginning is hauntingly effective, it struggles to balance its allegorical ambitions with uneven storytelling. The depiction of how Kashmiri Pandits were targeted and displaced by terrorism evokes enduring pain, yet the film’s message becomes too direct, losing subtlety along the way.
Final Impression
Baramulla shines through its moody visuals and intriguing premise, but its heavy-handed symbolism ultimately overshadows the emotional and narrative strength it began with.
Author’s Summary: A tense, visually rich thriller whose layered mystery is weakened by overt symbolism and uneven execution, leaving its promise partly unfulfilled.