Badlapur is a well-made and highly enjoyable thriller cum psychological drama. Sriram Raghavan has already proved time and again his knack for this kind of thing, and the results here are very good albeit, honestly, not his best. The director's unique style of symbolism along with a very matter-of-fact portrayal of the events and some superb camera work, works to great effect. The sex sequences, however, looked forced and not very credible and provided nothing but occasional shock value in what could have been bold but clean entertainment. Needless to say, technically the film is an absolute winner, and the dark narrative is aided by great music.
The film is gripping and tense, but it has meaning and works as an absorbing dramatic story which dives well into the psyche of the protagonist. Beneath the surface, it poses interesting philosophical questions on the nature of revenge and the point of its outcome. On the one hand, it gives the avenger a purpose and a possibility of psychological redemption as well as a feeling that justice was made. On the other, it is destructive, empty and doesn't let him go on with life. Both these facets of the concept of revenge are very well portrayed here through the journey of the protagonist, whose wife and child were killed by two criminals.
The film is led by a flawed yet competent performance from Varun Dhawan. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is excellent as the foe, and so is Vinay Pathak. Among the women, Huma Qureshi is very strong in a supporting role of an atypical prostitute, and Radhika Apte does very well later on. Even in the smallest of parts, Ashwini Kalsekar can be trusted to leave a mark (she was phenomenal in Andhadhun). This is generally true of Divya Dutta but she gets a preachy, wishy-washy role. Yami Gautam is luminous. The film ends on a slightly sugarcoated note but provides a long-needed catharsis to this intense story. Indian film noir, indeed.
