Darlings

Jasmeet K. Reen's "Darlings" is a gutsy, unflinching portrait of domestic abuse that refuses to coddle its audience with redemptive arcs or convenient catharsis. Alia Bhatt delivers a performance of raw vulnerability and simmering rage—she's completely present in every frame, capturing the slow erosion of hope that defines women trapped in abusive marriages. Shefali Shah as the neighbor provides the moral conscience the film occasionally toys with before dismantling it entirely. What works brilliantly is the tonal shift from tragic melodrama to dark comedy; Reen understands that sometimes the only way to survive horror is to laugh at its absurdity, and this refusal to stay in one emotional lane is both refreshing and deeply unsettling.

Where the film stumbles is in its third act, which reaches for provocation but occasionally tips into contrivance. The turn toward revenge fantasy feels earned thematically—this is absolutely a film about reclaiming agency—but the execution becomes muddled, uncertain whether it's asking us to celebrate or condemn our protagonist's choices. Vijay Varma is menacing as the abuser, though the film doesn't give him enough dimension to become truly terrifying; he remains more caricature than consequence. The screenplay also struggles with pacing, lingering on certain beats while rushing past others that deserve more oxygen.

Still, "Darlings" swings for the fences in a Hindi cinema landscape drowning in sanitized domesticity. It's messy, complicated