Movie · 2015 · Thriller, Drama, Mystery · 2h 12m · HI
Curator score: 9.5/10 (43.2K ratings)
Overview
A hardened cop deals with three conflicting perspectives involving a brutal double murder. The case is complicated as the prime suspects are the parents who supposedly killed their teenage daughter.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.5/10
IMDb: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Meghna Gulzar
Production
Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures, Jar Pictures, Junglee Pictures
Cast
Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi, Prakash Belawadi, Sohum Shah, Sumit Gulati, Tabu, Shishir Sharma, Gajraj Rao, Atul Kumar, Ayesha Parveen, Kiran Khoje, Chittaranjan Tripathy
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, unsettling procedural that turns a real murder case into a tense study of bias, bureaucracy, and competing truths. Its Rashomon-style structure and grounded performances make it gripping even when the case itself feels infuriatingly opaque.
Best for
viewers who like investigative thrillers based on real cases
fans of Rashomon-style multiple-perspective storytelling
audiences interested in legal-system critique and procedural detail
people who prefer restrained, serious crime dramas over melodrama
Skip if
you want a cleanly solved mystery
you dislike ambiguous or politically charged procedural dramas
you prefer fast, action-driven thrillers
you need a light or emotionally comforting watch
Overview
Talvar is a bruising procedural that treats a notorious murder case less like a puzzle to be neatly solved than a system failure to be examined. The film’s shifting perspectives create constant tension, not because it hides information for cheap suspense, but because each version of events reveals a different institutional bias and a different kind of human error.
Worth noting
What makes it work is its discipline. It stays grounded, avoids sensationalism, and lets the investigation itself become the drama. The performances are controlled and credible, with the central investigator anchoring the film’s moral unease as the case grows messier and more disturbing.
Bottom line
This is not a comfort-watch mystery. It is a film about uncertainty, pressure, and the damage caused when official narratives harden too quickly. If you like crime dramas that leave you thinking about the justice system long after the credits, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
sydney (4★) · 181 likes
once again india proves itself to be the leader in ACAB cinema
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (4★) · 176 likes
A Passage to India: Dawn of the Wobble
Based on a real life and unsolved murder case, Meghna Gulzar’s compelling crime thriller drama makes great use of the Rashomon storytelling method as it tries to bring some light to the case through three perspectives, all varying in both their views of the events and the case itself, including who the guilty may have been and how everything transpired. A very recent film this movie reminded me of was Anatomy of… more
Michael James (3.5★) · 168 likes
A well written and solidly performed whodunnit investigative thriller, that gets 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 sticking to the details of the procedural and the media circus happening around it, keeping it quite 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.
Spidey30 (4★) · 87 likes
This is the third Bollywood film I have seen this year, and this was surprisingly good and better than previous ones I saw this year. I am gonna write longer reviews later on, I am currently busy with university lol, plus I am also going to try to get started on watching all films my letterboxd friends/followers recommended to me, by the end of this week, I hope :D
There is not for me to say, other than it’s an… more
Isaac Benedict (5★) · 80 likes
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.
2007 · Crime, Thriller, Western · 2h 2m · R · Curator 9.6/10 (3.1M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
For viewers drawn to fatalism, procedural tension, and the sense that violence outruns explanation.