Popular reviews

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  Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★★ 2

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  2 Hours 12 Minutes - Not Rated
  Directed by Meghna Gulzar
  Starring: Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi

  Summary: Based on a real double murder case! A mind boggling depiction of inept police work, the shocking mishandling of evidence and the mindless contamination of the crime scene will absolutely astound you!
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  Apparently some folks are having a hissy fit in regards to whether or not the writer and director were indeed objective and not biased as they have claimed! It is quite obvious they were in fact biased! They DID however present both sides of the case admirably nonetheless! But I think everyone has missed a very important point! Regardless of whom you believe committed the murders…

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  Review by sydney ★★★★ 2

  once again india proves itself to be the leader in ACAB cinema

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  Review by Isaac Benedict ★★★★★ 4

  Rarely have I been this blown away by a film from my own country. Mani Ratnam's Iruvar was the last time I was totally captivated from start to finish. From the acting, to the writing, to the brilliant twists, this Rashomon-esque crime drama based on the 2008 Noida double murder case is brilliant. Talvar is flawless. There is not one dull moment, not one dip in momentum, not one scene that doesn't fit. It is a perfectly executed film. Irrfan Khan man! Damn it! What a great performance! This is a must watch film from 2015.

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  Review by 20oldboy03 ★★★½ 11

  Im Jahre 2008 wurde das dreizehnjährige Mädchen Aarushi Talwar und der fünfundvierzigjährige Hausangestellte Hemraj Banjade Tod im Elternaus des Mädchens bzw. um das Haus vorgefunden, „Talvar“ – „Reißer“, schildert die Ermittlungen um ihren in Indien wellenschlagenden Mordfall.

  Mit diesem Wissen behaftet, bekommen wir einen nüchtern inszenierten Film mit einem soliden Schauspiel ohne das befürchtete und hier unpassende Overacting von sonstigen Produktionen Made in India. Dazu gibt es die zu erwartenden Wendungen, falsche Verdächtigungen, ein Katz- und Mausspiel zwischen den Ermittlern und den Tatverdächtigen und die fast üblichen Schlampereien bei den Ermittlungen und die Hürde Bürokratie.

  Ohne dieses Wissen, so wie ich, kann „Talvar“ einem durchaus eine kleine Enttäuschung ins Gemüht zeichnen, fehlt ihm einfach das erwartete und sehr unterhaltsame Overacting…

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  Review by Rohan Babu ★★★★½

  Talvar is scarily unsettling. Rarely has a film made me think this much about whatever I've seen in this small time frame. The extra half star is for that.

  The film puts us right in the middle of the investigation and asks us to be the judicial system. I have no idea as to how real the happenings are but if the director is able to convince me to whatever side she wants the audience to be convinced, it's simply her brilliance more than anything.

  Also, RIP Irrfan Khan. Over the last week I've coincidentally been watching his films, and it's depressing to know that this man won't be there anymore to make mainstream Bollywood a better place.

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  Review by Ritesh Sharma ★★★★ 3

  Talvar is a well made thriller and a very relevant film, the famous arushi double murder case. A case that till date remains a mystery. One case that exposed the entire system. This film is about this case. It does not waste time in setting up characters. It throws you straight into the middle of all the chaos.

  First 10 minutes are enough to disturb you. Parents weeping, negligence of the police and general public making conspiracy theories, the director didn't hold back anything while showing how incompetent our police is.

  
  The film plays with you psychologically. The first act of the film is very fast. Things happen so hurriedly that you are left numb and disturbed, not only does…

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  Review by Arsaib Gilbert ★★★★ 2

  [Favorites—2010s]

  "People sometimes forget the sword's there," an investigating officer is told metaphorically by his superior halfway through the taut and compelling thriller Guilty (Talvar). "And in the past 60 years [the period since India's independence], it's become rusty." He is referring to the saber—the "talwar", which is also transliterated as the titular "talvar"—carried by the blindfolded statue of Lady Justice, representing punishment. Not coincidentally, the original title also echoes the surname of the dentist couple, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, who were accused and eventually found guilty of murdering their 14-year-old daughter and 45-year-old domestic help in 2008 in Noida, India, a case which generated extensive media coverage and public interest due to the social class to which they belonged and the suggestions of sexual transgressions that involved all parties. In November 2013, the parents were sentenced to life imprisonment.

  [Please read the full review @ Yam Magazine]

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  Review by nrh ★★★½

  the unknowable, unbridgeable distance of class, and the sheer terror of state power in a world where the state barely works.

  uneven in execution and thought, but braver and more accomplished than so many films that caught more attention. find that single shot of irrfan, from the back, looking up to the concrete apartment block where the crime was committed, as essential as anything in any number of films i saw from last year.

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  Review by Moresbi ★★★★

  A movie based on a real life double murder case with a "Rashomon-like" approach? Sign me up! :D

  "Talvar" was definitely an intriguing and engaging movie (which seemed to be quite faithful to the source, that I could check (at a glance)).

  The plot is quite interesting. I don't want to reveal much but let's just say that it involves 3 or 4 different stages of investigation, a lot of back and forth in it (and respective suspects) and multiple different scenarios about the murder events (which we get to watch as told). The last stage felt particularly intriguing and somewhat fascinating because it involved confronting them.

  I felt that the acting was pretty solid across the board, though the…

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  Review by Michael James ★★★½

  A well written and solidly performed whodunnit investigative thriller, that is based on a real life murder case which managed to expose the insensitiveness and huge cracks in our legal system. It never gets melodramatic nor over sentimental in its approach, rather sticks to details of the procedural and the media circus happening around it, making it gripping and engaging enough. The narrative gets a bit uneven during the second hour, yet it doesn’t affect the flow of this edgy thriller much.

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  Review by V. Lepistö ★★★★ 2

  Political thriller is done right when it seems to tell much more than it suggests. It isn't only commentary on the authority that thinks nothing but their own benefits and who are ready to let go of the truth if it doesn't fit its schedule. The atmosphere that is born in the Rashomon-esque story that jumps from solved to zero and back to solved to zero just to be solved again like it was solved the first time, crashes strongly into the destiny of Shruti suggesting that it might not ultimately matter who killed her if she has to grow up in such a country. Of course this is a long shot but the constant plotting, weird looks and uncertain…

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  Review by London ★★★½

  Pretty strong. Had similarities to Memories of Murder, both in the filmmaking process and in the mishandling of the case by police. It's not nearly as strong of a movie as Memories but it's still a well made film that is pretty exhilarating to watch.

  The performance by Khan is really really great but everyone else didn't really wow me. The score was strong throughout however, and I really liked the structure of the flashbacks/stories. Very reminiscent of Rashomon, and this no doubt took some notes from that movie.

  Don't see myself revisiting this film, but I still very much enjoyed this watch.