Meghna Gulzar’s Daayra explores a difficult moral question: who gets to decide the appropriate punishment when a horrific crime triggers an equally controversial act of retribution?

The film appears to draw from the 2019 Hyderabad case in which four men accused in the rape and murder of a young woman were killed by police in an incident that was presented as a confrontation. Daayra uses the premise to examine questions surrounding justice, punishment and public morality.

Among the performances, Prithviraj makes the strongest impression with a controlled and contained portrayal. His performance gives the film an emotional centre without becoming overly dramatic.

However, the treatment of Kareena Kapoor’s character is less consistent. The film appears uncertain about whether to present her primarily as a major star or fully immerse her within the character and the narrative.

This creates an uneven dynamic in a story that otherwise attempts to deal with morally complicated territory.

Daayra ultimately raises significant questions about justice and the limits of punishment, but its execution does not always match the complexity of the issues it seeks to explore.