Baramulla review: A gripping thriller that falters under its own weight

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. Yes, the way the Kashmiri Pandits were targetted by terrorists, and made to flee their homes, is a wound that the valley and its residents have lived with all these decades. Yes, that time needs exploring, and unpacking. But placing a horrific episode with a massacre at the heart of the film captures and directs our attention, to the exclusion of all else.

The characters feel right. The pherans are everyday clothes, not costumes; the accents, home-grown. Manav Kaul’s troubled cop, dealing with the fallout from a violent incident, starts off believable, as does Bhasha Sumbhli as his wife, trying to keep her family, especially her traumatised teenage daughter, together. The occasional appearance of a bruised white flower as a metaphor for the valley’s wounds is quite striking, too, and the special effects add to the underlying feeling of horror and dread.

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But the film unravels in the way it tries to mix its allegorical elements with inconsistent plot-points which include terrorists-from-sarhad-paar involved with ‘farming’ innocents: too much obviousness takes away from the delicacy of the rest of it. Finally, it is reduced to becoming a testament to wounds which are poked at and made to fester, with the much-required healing touch just a climactic throwaway.

Baramulla movie cast: Manav Kaul, Bhasha Sumbhli, Arista Mehta, Rohaan Singh, Aswini Koul, Shahi Laitief
Baramulla movie director: Aditya Suhas Jambhale
Baramulla movie rating: Two stars