In the pantheon of modern Indian cinema, few films have dared to strip the human psyche as bare as Anurag Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0 . Released in 2016, this psychological crime thriller is not merely a film; it is a visceral, uncomfortable, and brilliant exploration of morality, madness, and the fine line between a serial killer and a cop.
Plot overview
Set in contemporary Mumbai, the film follows (played with terrifying brilliance by Nawazuddin Siddiqui ), a psychopathic serial killer inspired by the real-life notorious killer from the 1960s, Raman Raghav. However, this isn't a simple biopic.
Vicky Kaushal, in an early pre- Uri role, proves he is not just a hero. As Raghav, he is arrogant, pathetic, and deeply unlikeable. You root for neither man, which is Kashyap’s genius. Sobhita Dhulipala (in her debut) is the tragic anchor as Simmy, a woman caught between these two monsters. Her performance holds the chaos together.
: The film's visual identity relies on "chiaroscuro" lighting—a stark contrast between light and shadow—that symbolizes the blurred lines between its two protagonists.
Anurag Kashyap directs Mumbai like David Fincher directs serial killers. The city is a character: humid, cramped, full of eavesdroppers and stray dogs. The non-linear narrative can be confusing on first watch, but the BluRay allows you to rewind and catch the brilliant mirroring between the first and second halves.
