Anurag Kashyap and Bobby Deol came together for Bandar, a film that chronicles the painful journey of Samar and how he’s embroiled in a false accusation of rape. The chilling drama has been in the news ever since it premiered last year at the Toronto International Film Festival. But when it finally arrived in Indian cinemas, it was given a raw deal.

Strategic move by the makers?

As per reports, the makers wanted 3–4 shows on 5 screens after 1 pm, aiming to release the film on 500–600 screens in India.

Yusuf Sheikh, trade analyst and founder of Janta Cinema, spoke to NDTV and revealed, “The makers of Bandar were seeking a limited release aimed at a targeted audience. However, the film ended up getting fewer screens than they had anticipated because of the unusually high number of releases this week.”

He added, “Additionally, the Marathi film Deool Band 2 has been performing exceptionally well at the box office, collecting around ₹50 crore in just two weeks. As a result, multiplex owners decided to increase its screen count, which further reduced the availability of screens for other releases, including Bandar.”

Anurag Kashyap’s titles are more metaphorical than they are literal. So this time, for his new film, where has cast Bobby Deol, the name that he thought of is Bandar. You’ll know why the name was used once you see the trailer and then the film. It’s about a star whose stars are not aligned at the moment. His career seems to be at its ebb, a conflict that could be paralleled to what Deol went through himself between 2013 and 2017.

Bollywood and the MeToo

Bollywood was flooded with stories of sexual harassment and MeToo stories. And this is a story against that backdrop too. Sameer denies the allegations but what follows is a brutal trial that demolishes everything he once built. And the claustrophobic life behind the bars forces him to rethink who he really is.