Nishaanchi Movie Review: Aaishvary Thackeray, Kumud Mishra shine in Anurag Kashyap's dark, daring and entertaining film

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Cast: Aaishvary Thackeray, Vedika Pinto, Monika Panwar, Kumud Mishra, Vineet Kumar Singh, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Rajesh Kumar, Durgesh Kumar, Gaurav Singh

Rating: 4

Popular filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is known for his gritty and raw storytelling, often rooted in semi-urban settings. The director is known for making films that portray the harsh realities of the nation by delving deeper into India's politics, crime, and social issues. And his latest directorial, Nishaanchi, isn't anything different. This film is an Anurag Kashyap classic, with its raw and realistic storytelling, underlying social dilemmas, intricate and detailed exploration of human nature, and the beautiful portrayal of human emotions like guilt, betrayal, the want for redemption, and more. Moreover, the cast of this film is chosen thoughtfully, with each actor doing exactly what they could to make this film realistic and funny at times, while staying true to the gritty aesthetic of an Anurag Kashyap directorial.

What is the story of Nishaanchi?

The film follows the life of two twin brothers, Babloo and Dabloo (played by Aaishvary Thackeray), who look the same, but have opposite personalities. Babloo is an intensely driven, morally compromised character who ends up falling in the trap of his father's legacy of crime. Dabloo, on the other hand, is a moral and protective man who gets caught up between his mother's guilt, his brother's crime, and his own feelings towards his brother's girlfriend, Rinku. Babloo, after knowing about his father's death, under the guidance of Ambika Prasad (played by Kumud Misra), kills the man whom he assumes to be his father's killer. Little does he know that it was actually Ambika who got his father killed. As a consequence, he ends up in juvenile prison, and when he comes back from there, he once again falls trap to Ambika's guidance and ends up killing a Kathak teacher for issues related to a property dispute. However, he gets stuck in a dilemma when he falls in love with the Kathak teacher's daughter, Rinku (played by Vedika Pinto). They start dating, and Rinku, Babloo, and Dabloo together start their own gang. Meanwhile, Dabloo ends up falling for Dabloo.

Nishaanchi grips you right from the opening sequence

The very first sequence of the film grabs you by the throat and pulls you into the vivid world of the film. What could have been your average robbery scene is instead filled with dark punchlines, a scared, fumbling criminal, and heavy dialogue. It is chaotic and fun yet realistic and raw. The scene shows the viewers the clear, visible difference between the two main leads - the twin brothers. A perfect opening sequence does not tell you what you are supposed to know for the film ahead but instead how you are supposed to feel for the film ahead. And this scene is exactly that. B introducing the three main leads perfectly and showing us a gist of their personality, it set the narrative for the film ahead.

Every character in this movie was perfectly written and executed. The depth and multiple dimensions in the film were perfectly portrayed.

Babloo is supposed to be a morally corrupted criminal who kills a man and falls in love with his daughter and then stalks her obsessively until she says yes. Yet, you can't help but understand why he turned out the way he did, with his past.

In Monika Panwar's character, Manjari's guilt is also shown beautifully. She is practical enough to know that she cannot save her sons if they do not want to be saved, yet she can't help but feel guilty about their every mistake. She is desperately trying to hold onto the glimpse of what her happy family once used to be.

Rinku is not your average damsel in distress who falls for a gangster. She is fierce, opinionated, and strong. She chooses odd methods but makes a living for herself after her father passes away.

Aaishvary Thackeray, Vedika and Kumud Mishra make every scene count

Why this film works is also because the characters were not just portrayed; they were lived. Aaishvary Thackeray did a spectacular job at portraying the twins, Vedika acted out the role of Rinku perfectly, and Monika's character of the mother was amazing. But the person who stood out the most was Kumud Misra. The man brought life to the film through his terribly realistic portrayal of a gang member, who appears to be soft, caring, and loving but is actually a merciless man. There is no doubt that Kumud Misra is a gift to the industry, and the film just proved that.

Nishaanchi is where witty humor meets gritty reality

Nishaanchi works because it is the type of film that refuses to fit into a single box. It has witty and extremely funny punchlines, but it also has the raw, gritty reality woven into every scene. The world of the film is dominated by flawed men, but the women of the film do not just exist to cater to them. They take decisions, have opinions, and are strong. It is violent and has characters who are totally morally corrupted, but at the end, it is incredibly human. It is a story of tragedy, rebellion, mistakes, trust and the breaking of it, and love and the abandonment of it.