Baramulla Movie Review: A Haunting Tale of Loss

Netflix’s latest offering, Baramulla, might look like a standard horror-thriller at first glance, but it quickly proves to be something far more unsettling. Instead of relying on cheap jump scares or supernatural ghosts, the film delves into a deeper, more relatable terror—the pain of separation and losing one’s homeland.

The story, crafted by Aditya Dhar and directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, centres on DSP Ridwaan Sayyed, played brilliantly by Manav Kaul. He is a no-nonsense cop sent to investigate mysterious disappearances of children in Baramulla, Kashmir. The only clues left behind are scissor-cut hair. What starts as a standard police procedural slowly evolves into an emotional journey through history’s unhealed wounds.

Manav Kaul delivers a magnetic performance. As Ridwaan, he portrays a man torn between his duty as a cop and his guilt as a father. He commands every scene with quiet intensity, proving once again why he is one of the finest actors working today. Bhasha Sumbli, known for The Kashmir Files, also shines as Ridwaan's wife, capturing the silent weight of grief beautifully.

The film’s real power lies in how it handles the sensitive topic of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus in the 1990s. It doesn’t just dramatise the tragedy; it uses it as the soulful core of the narrative. While the first half of the movie can feel a bit slow and uneven in its pacing, the searing climax makes the wait worthwhile. It is layered, heartbreaking, and offers a cinematic prayer for those who still yearn for their lost homes.

For viewers in Odisha looking for mature content this weekend, Baramulla stands out among recent Hindi OTT releases. It is a mindful and moving film that haunts you not with fear, but with the heavy reality of memory and loss.