Gandhari Movie Review: Taapsee Pannu Shines In A Below-Average Revenge Drama

Gandhari is an action thriller Hindi movie made by Devashish Makhija and Kanika Dhillon who not only made this film but has also written and produced this movie. The cast of this movie includes Taapsee Pannu, Ishwak Singh, Mita Vashisht, Jatin Sarna, Chhaya Kadam and Swastika Mukherjee. This movie has been released on Netflix from September 3, 2026.

The plot revolves around a woman named Bani (played by Taapsee Pannu) who is a mother and her daughter is kidnapped while she was traveling in the fictional town called Joypurra. Bani gets hurt while running after the kidnapper and becomes blind. What happens next is the quest of Bani to find her daughter and take revenge against the people who kidnapped her daughter.

Gandhari Movie Details

Gandhari Story Overview

Bani (played by Taapsee Pannu) is a mother traveling with her husband Gokul (played by Ishwak Singh) and daughter Mishty (played by Myrah Shivan). While traveling, something terrible happens, and Mishty gets kidnapped at a railway station in Joypurra. Immediately after the kidnapping, Bani runs behind the culprit but ends up getting herself injured seriously, thus becoming blind. She along with her husband goes to the police with the hopes of finding their daughter, but nothing happens as expected as the investigations do not progress fast.

But one day Kabir (played by Jatin Sarna), an officer from the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, comes to Joypurra to investigate the rise of the number of kidnapped girls in Joypurra. Bani also meets a lady named Jhunu Amba (played by Mita Vashisht), who seems to be from her past. Jhunu makes her grow stronger and fight the gang that kidnapped her daughter. The remaining part of the story revolves around the efforts of Bani in finding her missing daughter and fighting the gang responsible for her kidnapping.

Gandhari Review: Strong Start, Shaky Finish

First of all, Gandhari has a decent plotline. Losing eyesight while attempting to rescue a kidnapped daughter makes for an instant emotional engagement from the very start. The movie offers an intriguing look at Bani's blindness as well instead of presenting it as one more flaw. One more positive element is the made-up location of Joypurra. It has an atmosphere, unique characters and an environment of the crime being closely associated with the local establishment. This provides the movie with a somewhat different flavor from that of a regular revenge movie.

The issue is in the inconsistent development of the mentioned strengths in the screenplay. In particular, the first half is filled with both tension and curiosity, while the second half suffers from growing inconsistency in writing. Some of the actions and dramatic scenes have been done right, although too many cinematic liberties ruin the overall credibility of the plotline. In particular, the third act ruins everything achieved in the first two. The other issue here is in having an emotional premise, while not giving enough time to develop the characters.

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Taapsee Pannu Steals The Show

However, Taapsee Pannu can be described as a major advantage of the movie as she acts out the physically demanding and emotionally challenging aspects of Bani with great confidence. The acting of the main actress provides Bani with all necessary traits without turning her into an invulnerable action heroine. Bani's struggle with her blindness and the disappearance of her daughter are emotionally powerful.

In addition, Kabir, played by Jatin Sarna, can also be described as a good casting choice for his tough police officer character. He has a charismatic screen presence that adds excitement to every scene of the investigation. Moreover, the actor who plays Gokul, Ishwak Singh, gives a sincere performance despite poor screenwriting. Mita Vashisht deserves to be mentioned for her unusual role of Jhunu Amba, which she plays brilliantly. Finally, it should be mentioned that the roles of Chhaya Kadam and Chandan Roy can be considered as effective too.

Action And Visual Appeal

The action sequences in the movie can be counted among the better technical elements of the movie. The action is exciting without being excessively bloody, though the movie could have gone further on a few occasions. Cinematography by Amit Roy suits the gritty tone of the movie well, while the production design by Nikhil Kovale and Apurva Bhagat helps in making the town seem authentic. While the background score of Shor Police is better than the songs of the movie, the editing by Naman Arora is generally good though too slick in certain areas.

What Are The Weak Points?

• Weak Writing
• Confusing Portions
• Shaky Third-Act
• Excessive Cinematic-Liberties

Is Gandhari Worth Watching?

Watch it if you:

• Like Taapsee Pannu
• Enjoy revenge dramas
• Prefer female-led action
• Like gritty thrillers

Skip it if you:

• Want tight writing
• Expect realistic storytelling
• Prefer emotional depth
• Need a strong finale

Final Verdict

The movie has an interesting premise along with a leading lady who puts in her all into the script. The performance of Taapsee Pannu, the way Bani’s blindness is depicted in a different manner and the location of Joypurra makes this film entertaining. However, the storywriting has not remained consistent. The story is at some points confusing, there is lack of development on the emotional level and the third act of the movie diminishes its impact.

Rating: 2/5

Overall, Gandhari is a below-average revenge drama that is worth watching mainly for Taapsee Pannu's committed performance and the film's interesting setting.

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