Director: Anurag Kashyap
Rating: ***
Released today, June 5, 2026, Bandar (also tracking internationally as Monkey in a Cage) is perhaps the most polarising, raw, and fiercely debated cinematic drop of the year. Officially selected for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) before its theatrical release, this gritty prison drama marks the first-ever collaboration between noir maestro Anurag Kashyap and a completely reinvented Bobby Deol.
For audiences accustomed to the sleek, hyper-masculine "star" treatment Bobby received in Animal, Kashyap strips away all vanity, serving up an unflinching, claustrophobic study of public perception, legal machinery, and human humiliation.
The Story & Script
The narrative introduces us to Samar Mehra (Bobby Deol), a has-been, aging singer-actor desperately trying to mount a professional comeback. After a casual swipe on a dating app leads to a brief, passionate fling with Gayatri (Sapna Pabbi), Samar cuts off contact to move on with his life and a new relationship with Khushi (Saba Azad). The plot takes a dark, irreversible turn when Gayatri suddenly accuses him of rape and blackmail.
The script, co-written by powerhouse writers Sudip Sharma (Paatal Lok) and Abhishek Banerjee, doesn't play out like a typical Bollywood courtroom drama. Once Samar is arrested and denied bail, the film descends directly into the grueling, hyper-realistic horrors of jail life. The writing tackles the massive social fallout of #MeToo accusations and the potential misuse of strict protective laws, exploring how easily the legal system can reduce a person to primal survival mode.
Direction & Screenplay
Anurag Kashyap returns to the uncompromising, visual discomfort of Ugly (2014) and Gulaal (2009). He completely refuses to mollycoddle the audience, capturing the grit, grime, and psychological trauma of a prison block with sickening authenticity.
The screenplay is a masterclass in tension for the first half, moving like a gripping psychological trap. However, the second half hits a noticeable speed bump. Critics have noted that once the narrative locks itself inside the prison, it begins to circle the same thematic loops, stretching the 136-minute runtime and mistaking prolonged audience discomfort for narrative progression.
Performances
Bobby Deol: This is, without a doubt, a career-best performance. Bobby completely surrenders to Kashyap’s dark vision. In one extraordinary scene—where his character suffers an emotional outburst in front of his lawyer and sister—his voice cracks and disappears entirely. It’s a staggering, hyper-vulnerable transformation that cements his post-pandemic acting rebirth.
Sanya Malhotra: As Samar’s fiercely loyal sister Suhani, Sanya is spectacular. She provides the external driving force of the film, anchoring the legal struggle while dealing with intense societal shaming.
Jitendra Joshi & Sukant Goel: Joshi turns in an exceptional, skin-crawling performance within the prison walls, while Goel adds brilliant layers to the cynical landscape.
The Pan-Indian Ensemble: A massive, elite supporting cast featuring Raj B. Shetty, Indrajith Sukumaran, Joju George, and Riddhi Sen populates the system, ensuring that even the briefest character interactions feel lived-in and real.
Technical Craft
Cinematography: The visual design deliberately shuns big-budget gloss. The camera moves through cramped, suffocating concrete corridors, utilizing a muted, dust-and-shadow palette that enhances the raw realism.
Music & Score: The background score acts as a minimalist, ticking clock, amplifying the psychological dread of isolation without forcing artificial jump-scares.
Final Verdict
Bandar is an essential but incredibly heavy watch. It is a film that values artistic disruption over commercial comfort, asking deeply uncomfortable questions about modern morality, trauma, and a flawed judicial system. While it struggles with pacing issues post-interval and fumbles a few opportunities to deepen its complex theme, it is worth watching for Bobby Deol's towering, unvarnished masterclass in vulnerability.
