Daayra (2026) Review: Is It Worth Watching?
By Rakesh · Updated: October 8, 2026
Quick Answer: I watched Daayra on release day, and I would rate it 6.5/10. Prithviraj Sukumaran is the strongest reason to watch it, while Kareena Kapoor Khan gets less material than the premise promises. The moral question at its centre is strong, but the second half slows down and the final confrontation does not land with enough force. Watch it if you enjoy serious investigative dramas and films built around difficult questions of law and justice.
6.5/10
WatchVerdict rating: Worth a watch
Strong argument, slow delivery. The moral debate at the centre of Daayra is sharper than most Hindi crime dramas attempt, but the film takes longer than it needs to make its point.
Daayra at a glance
| Title | Daayra (meaning "circle") |
| Release date | September 18, 2026 (India, theatrical) |
| Language | Hindi, with a Malayalam release track |
| Runtime | 143 minutes (2h 23m) |
| Certification | A (Adults, CBFC India) |
| Genre | Crime, drama, investigative thriller |
| Director | Meghna Gulzar |
| Writers | Yash Keswani, Sima Agarwal, Meghna Gulzar |
| Main cast | Kareena Kapoor Khan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kshitee Jog, Jitendra Joshi |
| Production / distributor | Junglee Pictures, Pen Studios |
| Where to watch | In theatres. No official OTT date yet |
| WatchVerdict rating | 🟡 6.5/10, worth a watch |
Should you watch Daayra?
✔ Watch it if you like
Serious crime dramas, police investigations, morally complicated stories and Meghna Gulzar's grounded style.
✘ Skip it if you want
A fast thriller, frequent twists or a strong action-driven climax.
Plot, spoiler free
DCP Raman Kumar (Prithviraj Sukumaran) leads the operation that catches four men accused of a brutal rape and murder. Before they reach a courtroom, they are shot dead, and Raman's team says the men tried to escape. The public hails it as justice and Raman as a hero. Then a Special Investigation Team is set up to check whether the encounter was genuine, led by DCP Ajooni Kohli (Kareena Kapoor Khan), and the film moves between her inquiry and the events that led to the killing.
Is Daayra based on a true story?
Daayra is inspired by real events, but it is not a direct retelling of the 2019 Hyderabad case. The film carries a disclaimer saying it draws on real incidents without dramatising one specific case.
Its setup will still remind most viewers of the 2019 Telangana encounter, in which four men accused in a veterinarian's rape and murder were shot dead by police near Shadnagar, a killing much of the country celebrated before questions followed. According to a Deccan Chronicle report, Meghna Gulzar has said the film pulls from more than one incident, because the pattern shows up across states. DT Next also notes a line referencing the 2012 Delhi case: the system has changed, but the people haven't.
What works
- Prithviraj plays Raman as a man who has already decided he is right, which makes him unsettling rather than heroic. It's one of his finest performances.
- Kshitee Jog, as the victim's mother, gives the film its most affecting scenes.
- No forced songs break the tension anywhere in the runtime.
- The film refuses to turn a brutal subject into spectacle, a point Gulf News also makes.
- Meghna Gulzar's procedural detail, familiar from Talvar, gives the investigation real texture.
What doesn't work
- The second half slows down exactly when the story should tighten.
- Ajooni's investigation reconstructs events we've already watched, so suspense drains away.
- Kareena Kapoor Khan gets less to do than the premise promises. Scroll calls her track a "damp squib" despite a fine performance.
- The two leads barely confront each other until the very end.
My take
I watched Daayra on release day, so this part is mine, not a roundup of other people's opinions. Honestly, if this had come from a proper South industry banner, audiences might already be carrying it on their shoulders, because the making has the same flavour we've seen in South investigation thrillers before. Here, though, the story reveals itself slowly, and the build-up toward the climax can feel a little slow. Once you get past the climax, the film satisfies you on content. On performance, credit where it's due: Prithviraj does not read as a South actor from any angle. His Hindi is clean, and even better, there's no unnecessary song dropped in to break the flow of a story that's already moving.
The film runs about two and a half hours. The first half builds well. The second half, caught up in investigation and detail, starts to feel slow. One thing that struck me personally: this is an A-rated film, but I think it should have been UA. There is crime in it, yes, but the film's focus isn't showing the crime itself. The question it puts in front of the audience matters more than that. And whatever Kshitee Jog does with the mother's role, you feel her pain right through the film. That is genuinely fine acting.
This is a Meghna Gulzar film, and before this she made Talvar, Raazi, Chhapaak and Sam Bahadur. She has her own audience that likes grounded films. I've always noticed that she builds a story out in a lot of detail, and that style isn't for everyone. But Daayra is worth watching for one reason beyond the investigation: it puts a question in front of you. If the system is taking too long to deliver justice, does the result matter more, or the process? If you like investigation movies and want something that keeps you thinking after you leave the theatre, Daayra is worth watching once. For me, it's a decent one-time watch. 6.5/10 from WatchVerdict.
Daayra: justice vs due process
Is Daayra really a thriller, or a moral debate disguised as one? It looks like an investigative thriller, but its real purpose is to make you choose between two ideas of justice. The investigation is the vehicle. The argument is the movie.
Raman: act when the system fails
Cases drag on for years and families wait. Raman believes that when the system keeps failing victims, an officer's conscience has to override the rulebook. The cheering crowds show how many people agree with him.
Ajooni: the law or nothing
Law loses its meaning the moment police decide guilt and punishment themselves. If one officer can execute four accused men today, nothing stops the next one from executing the wrong four.
The film doesn't prove either side right. Where I land: I understand Raman's anger, but Ajooni has the stronger argument, because a shortcut that feels like justice once becomes a licence every time after. Daayra is at its best when it makes Raman's logic feel uncomfortably reasonable.
Daayra pacing: does the 143-minute runtime feel too long?
Yes, in places. The first half is efficient: it sets up the crime, the encounter and the public celebration quickly, with real urgency.
The second half is where the runtime shows. Much of it follows Ajooni reconstructing an encounter we've already seen, so each new detail confirms what you suspect instead of surprising you. Her subplot involving her father adds minutes without adding tension. Cutting 15 to 20 minutes here would have made the film noticeably sharper.
The climax saves it. When Raman and Ajooni finally face each other, the film gets its focus back. Go in knowing the second half is slower and you'll mind it less.
Daayra ending explained
⚠️ Spoiler warning: this section reveals how Daayra ends. Skip to the ratings section if you haven't seen it.
What happened during the encounter
The official story is that the four accused tried to escape and police had to fire. Ajooni's investigation takes that apart: during a recreation of the crime scene, gaps in the timeline appear and the details don't match the report.
What Ajooni discovers
Procedure wasn't followed, and the killing was planned, not a split-second reaction. The "instant justice" the public celebrated was an execution.
Why Raman justifies it
Raman doesn't see himself as a criminal. In his mind, he spared a grieving family years in court and gave the public the answer it demanded.
When Ajooni confronts Raman
Their first real face-to-face plays out as an argument, not an action scene. Ajooni says justice only counts inside the law. Raman says the law stopped protecting people long ago. Neither backs down.
Why there's no simple right or wrong
Raman is never painted as a villain, and Ajooni is never a flawless hero. The film proves the encounter was fake but leaves you to decide whether that makes Raman wrong. That open question is the point.
What "Daayra" means
Daayra means "circle". My reading: it's the circle of the law that Ajooni insists everyone stays inside and Raman steps out of. It's also a cycle of crime, outrage, instant punishment and applause, after which nothing changes until the next crime. That's the 2012 line again: the system has changed, but the people haven't.
Daayra IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes
On Rotten Tomatoes, Daayra holds a 74% Tomatometer score from 19 critic reviews (as of October 8, 2026): solid rather than exceptional. IMDb's user score is still moving as more people rate it, so check the Daayra IMDb page for the current number.
Critics are split. India Today praised the idea but not the pacing, and Bollywood Hungama found the second half and climax lacking. Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express were warmer about the procedural detail. Nearly everyone praises the performances.
Daayra box office: hit or flop?
Daayra had a weak theatrical run. According to Koimoi, it opened at ₹1.15 crore net in India, peaked on day 3 (₹2.3 crore), dropped about 74% on its first Monday, and was earning under ₹10 lakh a day by the end of week two.
| India net (14 days) | ₹8.22 crore |
| Overseas gross | ₹2.2 crore |
| Worldwide gross | ₹11.9 crore |
No official budget has been published, so I won't put a formal hit-or-flop label on it. The numbers do show it didn't find a wide audience in cinemas. It may do better on streaming.
Where to watch Daayra
Daayra is currently playing in theatres. No official OTT release date has been announced. Some reports name Netflix, but neither the makers nor the platform has confirmed it. I'll update this once it's official.
Who should watch it?
Watch it if you like crime dramas built on moral grey areas, enjoyed Talvar or Raazi, or want a film to argue about afterwards.
Skip it if you want a fast thriller with a tight climax.
WatchVerdict justice test
| Moral complexity | 8/10 |
| Performances | 8/10 |
| Procedural detail | 7.5/10 |
| Payoff | 6/10 |
| Pacing | 5.5/10 |
| Rewatch value | 5/10 |
Daayra is built for viewers who want a film to leave them with a question rather than a clean resolution. The performances and the procedural detail carry it further than the screenplay does on its own.
Final verdict
If you want a crime drama that argues with itself instead of handing you a verdict, Daayra is worth your time. Prithviraj carries the film, Kshitee Jog makes every scene count, and the law-versus-justice question stays with you. The trade-off is a second half that mistakes detail for depth.
6.5/10
Final verdict: Worth a watch, best on a night you can sit with it
Daayra earns its central question even when the screenplay loses grip in the second half.
How we rate
- 🟢 8 to 10/10: Must watch
- 🟡 6 to 7/10: Worth a watch
- 🟠4 to 5/10: Average, only for fans
- 🔴 0 to 3/10: Skip it
FAQs
Is Daayra worth watching?
Yes, for the performances and the central question, less so if slow pacing bothers you. WatchVerdict rates it 6.5/10.
Is Daayra based on a true story?
It's inspired by real events, including the 2019 Telangana encounter, but it doesn't retell any single case.
Who plays who in Daayra?
Kareena Kapoor Khan plays investigator DCP Ajooni Kohli, Prithviraj Sukumaran plays DCP Raman Kumar, and Kshitee Jog plays the victim's mother.
How does Daayra end?
Ajooni proves the encounter was planned, the two officers finally confront each other, and the film doesn't declare either right. See ending explained.
What does Daayra mean?
"Circle", read as both the circle of the law and the cycle of crime, outrage and instant punishment.
Is Daayra a hit or flop?
It had a weak run: about ₹8.22 crore net in India in 14 days (Koimoi). No official budget has been published.
Is Daayra on OTT?
Not yet. No official platform or date has been announced.
What is Daayra's runtime and certificate?
143 minutes, certified A by the CBFC.
Similar movies
If Daayra's debate worked for you, Meghna Gulzar's Talvar is the closest match, and Article 15 and Section 375 ask similar questions. On WatchVerdict, Mirzapur: The Movie is a very different Hindi crime story. For something lighter, try Clayface or Coyote vs Acme.
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