Madaari Movie Reviews

Madaari was engaging and touched upon some deep subjects such as corruption, the power of social media and public opinion, with alacrity.

There are certain moments in the first half of Madaari that are both powerful and subtle. Even though the second half barely manages to scrape through, this film on the broad and capable shoulders of Irrfan Khan manages to deliver the right punch. This Madaari will have your dormant nationalism and parental emotions dancing out with thundering effect. The message here is loud and clear.

It was quite apparent from the trailer that Madaari is quite predictable. But one does wait for an interesting twist to the tale. Mercifully, Kamat does try hard to tie the loose end. And he does manage to give a rather interesting climax but what has unfolded before he arrives to that conclusion is neither convincing nor engaging.

Madaari might be worth the price of a multiplex ticket solely for Irrfan’s flawless one-man show.

MADAARI comes across as a thriller which holds your attention only in parts. It lacks consistency and punch and will therefore appeal to a limited set of audience. At the box office, its business prospects will be limited.

An eye for an eye to get the corrupt politicians to own up to their mistakes, is a great idea. And we don’t doubt that Irrfan Khan is able to carry the movie on his shoulders alone. But once you know the ‘eye for an eye’ motive, the thrill wears off and you labor through the how is he going to get caught by the police. It’s too long, too loud and too melodramatic. Watch only for Irrfan Khan.

Madaari may have its heart in the right place, but an average direction and flawed narrative let down the movie’s honest intentions.

Madaari crumbles under its own lofty ideals and ambition. The slow pace makes the fall even more painful and enduring. And that it had two brilliant actors in Irrfan and Jimmy, who were grossly under-used, only adds to injury.

Madaari is not a film that will stay with you as you, in your day to day routine, succumb to the pressure and become part of the corruption that ails our system…

Just like the wronged common man like Naseer in A WEDNESDAY, Nirmal (Irrfan Khan) in MADAARI could have being the man to please the intellectual plus attract the others with its emotional depth in what we say a film for the classes and masses but Nishikanth Kamat’s ‘system’ of delivering (read helming) made me ‘wrong’.

As vigilante solutions for a heavily mediatised environment go, Madaari is certainly a movie for our times. Shailja Kejriwal’s story and Ritesh Shah’s screenplay leave us in doubt about which side we are supposed to choose.