Baramulla review: Manav Kaul's haunting ode to loss, memory and exile

Baramulla Review: Manav Kaul's Haunting Ode to Loss, Memory, and Exile

Manav Kaul delivers one of his most powerful performances in Baramulla, a Netflix film that explores horror through grief, memory, and the pain of exile rather than supernatural scares. This chilling story is a contemplation of loss and belonging set in the Kashmir Valley.

A Different Kind of Horror

Baramulla avoids typical horror tropes like jump scares and shadows. Instead, it presents a deeper terror—the horror of separation, losing one’s identity, and being uprooted from the homeland that once embraced you.

Plot Overview

The film, written by Aditya Dhar and directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, follows DSP Ridwaan Sayyed (played by Manav Kaul), a pragmatic officer investigating mysterious disappearances in Baramulla, Kashmir. Children vanish without a trace, leaving only scissor-cut hair behind.

From Procedure to Emotional Depth

What starts as a police procedural soon evolves into a profound exploration of unhealed historical wounds and the silent suffering of displaced people. The investigation leads to a journey into anguish, memory, and painful revelations.

“Baramulla is not spooky, it's far more unsettling than that. It doesn't deal in jump scares or shadows, but in a greater horror – the horror of separation, of losing one's identity, of being uprooted from the soil that once took you in.”

“What 'Baramulla' does so effectively is build dread not from the supernatural, but from memory itself.”

Conclusion

Baramulla shifts inward from a political and procedural narrative to an intimate and haunting reflection on grief and exile.

Author’s summary: Manav Kaul’s Baramulla is a profound Netflix film that uses the lens of loss and exile to portray horror beyond the supernatural, offering a deep meditation on identity and memory in Kashmir.

India Today — 2025-11-07