…as “Madaari” draws to its predictable conclusion, the only thing you are left wondering is how on earth did the nameless man get enough network coverage for him to watch videos unbuffered and upload them in the middle of nowhere? When that is the only thing bothering you in a film about social justice and the rotting political system, you know the message is lost.

Irrfan Khan’s gentle presence elevates a middling film…

Madaari was made with the noble intention of showcasing why the public needs to fight against the corrupt system. But somewhere, it gets lost in trying to be a suspense thriller. It’s not as good as Kamat’s Mumbai Meri Jaan or Drishyam, but is still the best Hindi film to watch this weekend.

The narrative is not entirely smooth, the direction is uneven, the screenplay flirts with unnecessary cleverness and a pre-interval ballad makes you groan. But Irrfan Khan’s soaring performance compensates for many of these niggles and leaves you thinking about the common man’s angst.

As vigilante solutions for a heavily mediatised environment go, Madaari is certainly a movie for our times. Shailja Kejriwal’s story and Ritesh Shah’s screenplay leave us in doubt about which side we are supposed to choose.