Baramulla Review: Manav Kaul's Haunting Ode to Loss, Memory and Exile
Manav Kaul delivers one of his most intense performances in Baramulla, a Netflix film that explores horror through grief, memory, and the pain of exile rather than ghosts or jump scares. It is a chilling reflection on loss and belonging in the Kashmir Valley.
Baramulla avoids traditional spooky elements and instead evokes a deeper fear—separation, loss of identity, and being torn away from the land that once embraced you.
At first appearing as a horror thriller, Manav Kaul’s film gradually reveals itself as a profound meditation on grief, exile, and the lingering ghosts of a homeland lost long ago.
Plot and Themes
The story, written by Aditya Dhar and directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, follows DSP Ridwaan Sayyed (played by Kaul), a determined officer investigating strange disappearances in Baramulla, Kashmir. Children vanish mysteriously, leaving only their scissor-cut hair behind as clues.
As Ridwaan digs deeper, the narrative shifts from a straightforward procedural into a layered exploration of unhealed historical wounds and the silenced suffering of displaced people.
Building Dread Through Memory
Baramulla effectively generates fear not from supernatural forces but from the power of memory itself. The story begins with a political and investigative tone but evolves into an inward journey of anguish, remembrance, and painful truths.
"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."
"'Baramulla' is not spooky, it's far more unsettling than that."
Summary: Baramulla is a powerful film where Manav Kaul portrays the haunting aftermath of loss and exile in Kashmir, capturing the profound pain of memory over supernatural fear.
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