Taapsee Pannu’s Gandhari movie 2026 has landed under a harsh review. Sukanya Verma says the film’s attempts to create mystery and thrills do not hold up. The verdict turns a kidnapping premise into a question of execution, not intent.
“All of Gandhari's attempts to shroud itself in mystery are laughable,” Verma wrote in Rediff’s review. The line sits at the center of the criticism because the film leans on secrecy, a child abduction, and a blindfolded lead to build suspense.
Joypurra railway station and Bani
Taapsee Pannu plays Bani, whose five-year-old daughter is abducted by a sari-clad stranger at Joypurra railway station. Ishwak Singh plays Gokul, and the story leaves Bani temporarily blind after she runs after the offender and is injured. That setup gives the film a built-in urgency, but the review says the script does not earn the tension it wants.
Devashish Makhija directs, while Kanika Dhillon is credited as producer, creative producer, story, screenplay and dialogues writer. The review also places the story in a fictional West Bengal town, where the Anti Human Trafficking Unit steps in because child kidnapping and trafficking are regular in the region. That practical detail should have grounded the film; instead, the criticism says the mystery is hidden so badly that it becomes obvious.
The Black Hole gang
The review points to a recurring Black Hole gang, then says Bani trains blindfolded with a childhood mentor. It also says her better half investigates on the sly, with random old men filling him in on secret tunnels and British Raj maps. Those pieces are meant to widen the chase, but they sound assembled to decorate a story the review finds unbelievable.
Jatin Sarna appears as a blank-faced member of the Anti Human Trafficking Unit, while Chhaya Kadam plays a water filter service agent, Swastika Mukherjee a non-profit organisation runner, Mita Vashisht a jhalmuri seller, and Prashant Narayanan part of a behrupiya troupe. The review says the film never explains how the husband and wife familiarised themselves with brand new surroundings in less than a month, which leaves the investigation feeling more posed than lived in.
Mahabharata and Chaumukhi
The title Gandhari points back to the Mahabharata character who voluntarily blindfolded herself, and the film seems to use that idea as a shorthand for Bani’s impairment and resolve. Verma also notes, “there's a festival around the corner likening Bani's mission and mythical goddess Chaumukhi's victory over evil Magrasur.” That link gives the film a mythic frame, but the review says the frame does not rescue the mechanics.
For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: this is not being sold as a plot-heavy thriller that the review trusts. It is a film whose kidnapping setup, blindfold imagery and underworld hints all fail to add up, and that makes the central mystery the part most likely to lose audience faith before the climax does.
