Daayra () is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film co-written and directed by Meghna Gulzar. It was produced by Vineet Jain and Dhaval Jain under banner of Junglee Pictures and Pen Studios. Inspired by a true event, the film stars Kareena Kapoor and Prithviraj Sukumaran in leading roles. Besides Kapoor and Sukumaran, it also cast Kanwaljit Singh, Achint Kaur, Anuja Sathe, Seema Azmi, Biswapati Sarkar, Jitendra Joshi, Upendra Chauhan and others.
Gulzar penned the lyrics, while Amit Trivedi composed the music and Ketan Sodha composed the background score. Saurabh Goswami served as the cinematographer, and Taran Bajaj was the casting director. Director Gulzar herself was the editor along with Charu Shree Roy.
Daayra was theatrically released on 18 September 2026, receiving positive reviews from critics. The film, however, marked the lowest opening in Kapoor's filmography. It emerged as a box-office bomb.
Premise Plot summary as on CBFC website:
"A police encounter following the brutal rape and murder of a young woman turns an ACP into a national hero but raises troubling questions about justice and the rule of law. When a determined female IPS officer is assigned to investigate, she uncovers inconsistencies that challenge the official narrative."
Cast
Production
Development In 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown in India, Meghna Gulzar was approached by Junglee Pictures to make Daayra, at that time she had already made her mind to direct Sam Bahadur (2023) next. She thought the subject would be always relevant, stating that the film tries to "explore the greys because everything is not black and white. What may be justice for you may be injustice for me, [...]".
Several news sources reported that the film is based on 2019 Hyderabad case. But Meghna Gulzar said that the "film does not draw its perspective from just one incident, instead the team looked at several cases while developing the story."
Casting In April 2025, it was announced that Kareena Kapoor and Prithviraj Sukumaran would star in the crime thriller.* Ayushmann Khurrana and later Sidharth Malhotra had previously been considered for the male lead, but both subsequently left the project due to scheduling conflicts.
Filming Principal photography began on 25 September 2025. Filming concluded on 26 December 2025.
Marketing A trailer of the film was unveiled on 31 August 2026. On 15 September, a promotion trailer was released on YouTube.
Soundtrack Initially, Gulzar revealed that the film would feature no songs, as she felt that the screenplay did not provide scope for musical sequences. Her father, lyricist Gulzar stated that she believed songs would disrupt the narrative flow and instead chose to retain the story's established tone. However, a song titled “Sach Ka Daayra” was released on 11 September 2026, written by Gulzar, composed by Amit Trivedi and sung by B Praak.
Release The film received an A certificate from the CBFC, along with a finalised runtime of 143 minutes. There was no visual cut and the violent scenes remain untouched expect a small modification in a dialogue by Khan.
A special screening premiered in Mumbai and Delhi on 17 September in presence of makers and former Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai attended the Mumbai premier.
The film was theatrically released in Hindi and Malayalam on 18 September 2026, clashing with her brother-in-law Kunal Khemu's Vibe.* Parvathy Thiruvothu lend her voice to Kareena Kapoor Khan's character for the Malayalam version of the film.
Reception Box office Daayra grossed worldwide. It grossed in India and in overseas market.
On its opening day, the film earned ₹0.94 crore net at the domestic box office. It earned net at India box office in the opening weekend.
Critical response
Shweta Keshri for India Today rated 3/5 stars and wrote "The cat-and-mouse tension that the investigation promises never quite materialises, and by the time the final confrontation arrives, the film has already told you where everyone stands." Renuka Vyavahare for The Times of India stated "The film needed to dig deeper into what happens when extrajudicial action, however satisfying or efficient, undermines the very system of justice the police are meant to uphold." Subhash K Jha for The Tribune noted "‘Daayra’ gets it right most of the time. It deals with a complex moral issue with scrupulosity and sensibleness. There is no room for humbug in the narration." Abhishek Srivastava for Moneycontrol observed "What lets the film down is the screenplay, particularly in the second half, where several loose ends and questionable choices become difficult to overlook."
Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times rated the movie 3/5 stars and stated "The film has enough moral complexity to make that question linger, even if its trajectory and pace blunt some of its impact. By the time the end credits roll, you are left with a film that has substance and clearly wants to provoke thought, but could have used a little more fire to truly leave a mark." Mimansa Shekhar of Times Now praised Khan and Sukumaran's performance and Gulzar's directorial and wrote "The film, rather than offering the rape investigation as a straightforward good vs. evil story, seems more interested in the legal process, police accountability, and the uncomfortable gap between justice in theory and justice in practice." Anindita Mukhopadhyay of India TV said "The performances are a major plus, but felt the film is not "without its flaws" writing "Some characters feel underwritten, especially when you look at the potential of the actors playing them. There are also portions where the pacing could have been tighter. The central investigation is strong enough to hold your attention, but the film occasionally takes longer than necessary to get to the next important development." Uday Bhatia of Mint noted "The grisly depiction of the crime is left till the end, as if to shame viewers who might still be insisting on the law taking its course."
Titas Chowdhury of News18 opined "Needless to say, this film is an urgent watch. This is a story that needs to be told, not just once, but again and again, until we stop looking away." Nikita Toppo of Wion opined "Though the film drags slightly in some portions and a few characters feel underexplored, Daayra has a strong story and a powerful cast." Aishani Biswas for Outlook stated "Much of the film has a grim, slightly worn texture, which helps the investigation feel rooted in an actual working system. But Gulzar occasionally seems unwilling to trust the material." Rasti Amena of The Siasat Daily gave 3/5 stars to the movie and wrote "The biggest problem with Daayra is that its premise is more powerful than its execution." Komal Nahta for Film Information stated "It is a well-made film but one with more class appeal than universal appeal. It will win more critical acclaim than box-office rewards." Priyanka Gupta for DNA India opined "The pacing does dip in a few places, but the central conflict remains strong. Daayra is a serious crime drama that trusts its actors and writing to carry the weight of its subject."
Reviewing for The Hindu Anuj Kumar wrote "As for the craft, the tight first hour moves with the clinical efficiency to build an airtight case for its ideological conflict. However, the editorial pacing stumbles in the second half, making the climax feel more like an over-deliberated deposition." Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News stated "The film's structure, told through two competing perspectives, one convinced the encounter was justice, one convinced it was murder dressed up as justice, is Daayra's smartest idea." Pranati A S of Deccan Herald observed "From the very beginning, the audience very clearly knows which side they are on, so Meghna does not really delve into what is right or wrong."
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV felt that "post-interval chase sequences" are "heightened by hyperactive camerawork". Chatterjee wrote "As the first two events play out and the follow-up unfolds, the film seeks to put in perspective the vulnerability of women in public spaces and the apathy of law enforcement agencies with direct allusions to the Delhi Nirbhaya gangrape case." Shubhra Gupta for The Indian Express rated the movie 2 out of 5 stars and stated "the director attempts to take the discomfort several notches higher." Another reviewer Jyothi Jha from The Indian Express noted "One of the most uncomfortable things that Daayra raises is that almost everyone appears to be operating within a system that has its own rules, procedures and explanations. But somewhere in that process, the person at the centre of the case disappears." Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com stead that Khan had a "tougher role" and noted "Unlike Gulzar's Talvar, to which Daayra's police-procedural comes closest to in soul, Raman and Ajooni remain emotionally aloof. Whatever objective Ajooni's forced subplot concerning her dad's judiciary woes is meant to achieve only winds up as a flimsy argument between its leads."
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in opined "The 143-minute film takes a high-minded approach, deploying realism, leisurely pacing and understated performances to tackle a foul crime." Devesh Sharma of Filmfare concluded his review as "It is a hard-hitting, earthy crime drama that understands that the most disturbing part of a terrible crime may not be the crime itself, but what society chooses to do in its aftermath." Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India wrote "Unlike Talvar, Daayra hides behind the illusion of perspective. The dramatisation pits the righteous cop against the self-righteous cop."
Murtuza Iqbal of The Free Press Journal wrote "The film deals with a sensitive topic maturely. It stays in its 'daayra', never goes overboard, and leaves us with a lot of questions." Sahir Avik D’souza for TheQuint opined "The moral conundrum that Gulzar seeks to explore is brought out very well." Sajin Shrijith of The Week rated the movie 3.5/5 stars and wrote "The inevitable blood-boiling, horrifying event comes only at the end of the film and, while disturbing, as it should be, Meghna treats it with the sensitivity it requires, keeping the depiction short, just enough to get the point across."
Kartik Bhardwaj for Cinema Express stated "At a time when just like everything, even art is becoming polarized, the film doesn’t give you a clear side to root for." Oshin Fernandes of Mid-Day observed "Despite belonging to the thriller genre, Daayra lacks cinematic tension." Lachmi Deb Roy for CNBC TV18 opined "This movie is a slow burn, deliberately withholding its dramatic fireworks while building a web of suspicion around its characters." Arfa Javaid for ABP News opined "For a director like Meghna Gulzar, who has given us films like Raazi, taut, assured, and emotionally precise, this one feels like a rare miss." ET Now reviewer rated the movie 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Meghna Gulzar keeps the storytelling controlled, the performances grounded and the questions relevant."
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