A raw chronicle of human enterprise



By Tejas Nair



Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews





IMDb Ratings : 8.2

Reviewer Rating: 63 %

Genre: Mystery | Thriller

Cast: Ronit Roy , Abir Goswami, Vineet Kumar

Country: India

Language: Hindi

Runtime: 128 min

Color: Color

Summary: A terrible tale of corruption, indifference, and systemic violence starts when 10 year old daughter of an aspiring actor disappears.

A nurag Kashyap has never stopped intriguing me, making films that are not only bold and beautiful but also strong in themes and fables. With Ugly, which he promised to be his most honest work, he succeeds in making a point the same haughty way, but ends up saying nothing more than we already know.

A Still from Anurag Kashyap's Ugly

A young child, already in a predicament due to her parents' (her father, mother, and stepfather) frequent fights, is kidnapped in broad daylight. What follows is a mixture of the continuation of those fights and a jumpy attempt at searching for the girl. While the focus should have been at zeroing in on the kidnapper, if at all she was kidnapped and not gone naturally missing, the three main characters of this quasi-real-time drama are busy trying to bury the hatchet between themselves. And what do they receive at the end of the whole spectacle is a pure consequence of their combined follies.



Ronit Roy in Anurag Kashyap's Ugly

Almost each and every major character in the film uses the abduction incident to earn few monies and that is the best element Kashyap conveys in the film. The climax marks the grave reality we live in, not caring for things that should be actually cared for. Delete the drama and you will find police custodial torture, adultery, escapism & sociopathy in the storyline, enacted marvelously by Ronit Roy and rest of the cast.



A Still from Anurag Kashyap's Ugly

The plot is said to be inspired from true events, and while I don't wholly believe the claim, there is no doubt in it either. Because we read such types of incidents every day. The sheer brilliance of capturing silent paranoia in the characters, and cussy dialogs is the essence of Kashyap's Ugly. He also captures the apathy of policemen, which talks volumes about our justice system. But the effect soon fades after you leave the hall, with only the moral staying with you, for maybe a couple more hours.



BOTTOM LINE: While Ugly is a must watch this year, one shouldn't expect gleaming frames of polished drama, but a raw chronicle of human enterprise.



Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO



Vulgarity: Strong | Profanity: Infinite | Violence/Gore: Medium | Alcohol/Smoking: Light



(This review was first published at theaterbalcony.com)





About Author -

Tejas Nair is a writer, film critic, and Engineer from Mumbai, India. When he is not watching films and reviewing them on IMDb, he can either be found reading or blogging. Sidney Lumet’s “12 Angry Men” is his favorite film.





Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!



For more information on the title, please click on the following links:







