Kashyap's bleak moral descent unsettles deeply, despite an uneven second half.
Verdict tier Recommended, most critics liked it, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.
Not streaming in India
Critic consensus
Critical reception for Ugly is largely positive, with most reviewers praising Anurag Kashyap's direction and the film's unflinching, morally uncompromising portrayal of human darkness. Critics frequently highlighted the quality of the performances and the film's ability to disturb and unsettle audiences in a way that lingers well after viewing. The most common criticism was pacing issues, particularly a sluggish second half, along with the film's narrow appeal to niche audiences willing to engage with relentlessly bleak material. A small minority found the storytelling insufficiently taut and the characterisation underdeveloped.
6 not-rated reviews aren't plotted
Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10
AI-generated summary of 29 critic reviews · may contain errors
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Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated
Top critic
Film review ·
Ugly is a tale of torment, masterfully woven around the universally urgent trigger of a disappearing minor — and yet where, in the larger scheme of things, that kidnapping itself becomes, I daresay, a minor detail. Genius.
Top critic
Film review ·
This may not be Anurag Kashyap's best film, but it is infinitely and indescribably better than all the muck that mainstream Bollywood passed off for entertainment this year.
Top critic
Film review ·
Parts of it grab you, especially the interplay between the deeply unhappy Tejaswini Kolhapure and the unsmilingly vicious Ronit Roy: I wanted to know more about these people, and what makes them tick. But the film backs off from them, and stays a zig-zag between being a police procedural and a human drama that wants your jugular.
Top critic
Film review ·
You'll probably be confused as to whom to root for by the end of the film, but the answer really is nobody. Kashyap never tries to make you sympathise with any of the characters, thereby making them more real. Human beings are terrible by default, and they would only do more terrible things to others to have their own way. So there's no point of rendering a contrived 'goodness' to the central character, and Kashyap remains quite non-judgemental. The vast space between helplessness and desperation is morbidity, and Ugly lives in that world.
Film review ·
Watch the movie for brilliance and for its simple, touching and mind-blowing messaage. Watch it for Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhatt and Vineet Kumar Singh. Do not watch the film if you do not like being subjected to the dark and intense feelings of guilt, realisation and loss. Skip the movie if blood and shootouts is all you want to see in an Anurag Kashyap venture.
Film review ·
Ugly is not your cheerful holiday movie but the kind of film that must be seen. Its serves as a brutal mirror to society and is likely to do more so for parents. It will act as a wake up call and stir up realisations that perhaps you've been ignoring. Not everyone has a taste for an Anurag Kashyap film but if there is one Anurag Kashyap film you're to watch, it should be Ugly.
Film review ·
I went to watch this film not having much expectations from it, but Anurag Kashyap won me over with his storytelling and direction. If you are a lover of good cinema and if you can handle dark, raw truths of the society, then this is a must watch. It is worth every penny spent!
Film review ·
UGLY is fast-paced and stays true to its genre. If only Kashyap had got the timing of his release right!
Film review ·
'Ugly' takes steep turns that will leave you confused as to who to root for in the end. The ending is a haunting final shot, which pummels the moral centre of the movie. The film begins and ends with intentional violence which simply accentuates the ugliness instead of serving as a shock-value.
Film review ·
Do not miss this film. It may be all things dark and forbidding this festive season, but it is, with flaws and all, one of the best films you'll watch this year.
Film review ·
Anurag Kashyap's 'Ugly' with make you laugh at some of the irrelevance, it will make you cringe at the blood and gore, it will leave you disturbed even but more importantly it will make you think. And that's why you should watch it.
Film review ·
With Ugly Anurag Kashyap shuttles bravely between intrigue and mystery. He puts forth an unabashed and yet a non-judgmental commentary on the dark ingredients that make our being. From betrayal to brutality and from lies to unsolicited liaisons, Ugly sheds light on the darkness that thrives in the city and perhaps in the heads of those who dwell it. Don't miss this cinematic treat if you have both the stomach-and the palate-to digest this delicious story soaked in disturbing darkness.
Film review ·
It may not be the best film to watch around Christmas but it's one hell of movie that shouldn't be missed. Anurag Kashyap is at his best once again. Ugly is dark and hard-hitting like his critically acclaimed film Black Friday (2007).
Film review ·
Ugly is a mean, dark and unsettling film that will rip you off in its last scene. This film is for the strong-hearted. It is honest, bare and raw in all its sense. As disgusting as the characters are, you want to watch this film for their diverse personalities and just to see what goes on in warped brains that bring out the worst in them. I loved the film for its brave nature...
Film review ·
This is a thriller which leaves us with a sense of utter futility about the quality of life that we lead. Anurag Kashyap's most incisive exploration of human relationships Ugly boasts of some of the most skilled performances in recent times, so skilled that they do not seem to be performances at all. These are actors who must be seen more often. Or their souls would be broken beyond repair… just like the characters that they play so well they don't seem to be playing them at all.
Film review ·
Ugly is the work of a director who is on the top of his game.
Film review ·
While the pace does dip in the second half, what makes Ugly tick is the searing honesty with which it is told. It's not for the faint-hearted, but for those who are willing to let the morally decrepit live.
Film review ·
The film's content is so unsettling that you wouldn't want to watch it again, at the same time you feel like you haven't grasped it all in the first go. It is long and does seem to stall at places, over and above the lingering that is likeable. As well-made as I find a depressing film that shows you reality, I was ready to be out of the theater. After all, it does go out of its way to prove how deeply immoral we are as a society and as humans and after a point I don't want to be reminded that reality s***s. And at the same time, give me reality over gloss, any day!
Film review ·
Ugly is another masterpiece from the Anurag Kashyap's closet. Ugly is special, and if you love Anurags earlier film, you will love this one too.
Film review ·
There is something about Anurag Kashyap's cinema that makes no attempt to soften reality. Ugly is a film about how we are forgetting the little things in pursuit of money, revenge and power.
Film review ·
...must say that this film manages to deeply disturb you, mildly depress you and tag along with you for a long time even after you come out of the theatre. That obviously is Kashyap's intent.
Film review ·
This isn't an easy film to watch, and not each of its 127 minutes is entirely purposeful. Everyone is an antagonist; there's not a moment when they are not driven by oppression and greed. I disliked what I saw, and I dislike thinking or even writing about its familiar environment. And this vile aftertaste is perhaps Mr. Kashyap's most significant achievement.
Film review ·
Kashyap (Gangs of Wasseypur, Dev.D, Black Friday) gives us a film that represents a disturbing reflection of life. It's a film where there are only villains in varying degrees and no heroes. It reminds you of his 2011 film 'That Girl in Yellow Boots'.In the end, 'Ugly' is a fairly gripping film that's also exhaustingly melancholic and cynical. After all, it does seem unreasonable to view the world only through smog-tinted glasses!
Film review ·
...the film itself, tightly put together, ideally watched without an interval, keeps you thoroughly engaged and almost at the edge of your seat until you get to that end. That's fun enough. Would you even want to look back? I didn't.
Film review ·
...technically brilliant with some wonderful performances, UGLY strictly caters to a niche audience. Moreover the choice of releasing it during a festive period isn't a great idea either. Watch it if you are an Anurag Kashyap fan, else avoid!
Film review ·
The underlying sense of peril and the unrelenting tension grips you through a sweat breaking two hours. And when the climax of Ugly arrives you're dealt a killer blow. It's so dark and inconvenient that it'll wrench your gut. And yet, it's so simple that you'll hate yourself for not guessing. More so, you'll hate the characters for being so ignorant and misguided. Ugly is a film that draws the deepest and darkest behavior of men. This is how you make a great film.
Film review ·
Ugly is a disappointment, not just because it's a whodunit that sinks like a badly-made souffle but also because we expect better and more of Kashyap. Of him, we expect more taut storytelling, greater sensitivity in characterisation, as well as more originality and insight.
Film review ·
'Ugly' is a beautiful portrayal of the squalidity that swamps the human soul. The characters are ruthless, dark, desperate and dangerous, more to themselves than others. This is a thriller which leaves us with a sense of utter futility about the quality of life that we lead.
Film review ·
"Ugly" is a disturbing film which will make you squirm in your seat. But if you don't mind that, it is worth a watch.
Film review ·
Anurag is so miserly with information that at one point you like to beseech him to part with more details but he is no mood to take a please-all route. Still all threads come together when they need to. Still it is Anurag's least indulgent yet most visceral film. There is no escape from the ugliness that we and our films like to keep under wraps. Last week Hirani had hung a mirror in theatres, this week Anurag has put together few shards of glass. That was easier to face; this one will test the nerve.
From our readers
28 ratings · user score 7.9
Dark movie, makes a decent one time watch - but not entertaining.
Anurag Kashyap has never stopped intriguing me, making films that are not only bold and beautiful but also strong in themes and fables. With Ugly, which he promised to be his most honest work, he succeeds in making a point the same haughty way, but ends up saying nothing more than we already know. A young child, already in a predicament due to her parents' (her father, mother, and stepfather) frequent fights, is kidnapped in broad daylight. What follows is a mixture of the continuation of those fights and a jumpy attempt at searching for the girl. While the focus should have been at zeroing in on the kidnapper, if at all she was kidnapped and not gone naturally missing, the three main characters of this quasi-real-time drama are busy trying to bury the hatchet between themselves. And what do they receive at the end of the whole spectacle is a pure consequence of their combined follies. Almost each and every major character in the film uses the abduction incident to earn few monies and that is the best element Kashyap conveys in the film. The climax marks the grave reality we live in, not caring for things that should be actually cared for. Delete the drama and you will find police custodial torture, adultery, escapism & sociopathy in the storyline, enacted marvelously by Ronit Roy and rest of the cast. The plot is said to be inspired from true events, and while I don't wholly believe the claim, there is no doubt in it either. Because we read such types of incidents everyday. The sheer brilliance of capturing silent paranoia in the characters, and cussy dialogs is the essence of Kashyap's Ugly. He also captures the apathy of policemen, which talks volumes about our justice system. But the effect soon fades after you leave the hall, with only the moral staying with you for couple more hours. BOTTOM LINE: While Ugly is a must watch this year, one shouldn't expect gleaming frames of polished drama, but a raw chronicle of human enterprise. Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO Vulgarity: Strong | Profanity: Infinite | Violence/Gore: Medium | Alcohol/Smoking: Light
Anurag Kashyap Is One Of The Finest Indian Filmmakers.. After The Epic GOW He Gives Another Excellent Movie..Ugly Can Be Said As One Of The Best Indian Mystery Thriller.Have Many Layers & Depth.Great Screenplay, Good Acting.
You should watch Anurag Kashyap's heishy, meaty 'Ugly'. It's dark, its distubring, its loud- but its also very, very much entertaining, raw kind of fun with solid twists and turns. The narrative too isn't compromised. Again- its distubring at most. But you can't help but sit through it. Anurag Kashyap's directorial venture is a complex cocktail drama which explores high and intense proportions of drama and noir thriller act. It is about a child who gets lost from a car when his father goes to meet someone, and how the father, and his ex-wife's husband (who is a police officer) from Uttar Pradesh's special task force go find the girl. This thrilling narrative is gut-wrenching, dark, terrifying and full of layered gore on every level from the beinning credits to the climax. It may bring bouts of vomitting to those who want light-hearted. But there are a lot of surprises amd relatable moments from daily life. The performances, especially by Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhat and Vineet Kumar Singh provide you enough to get invested.
Credits
Ronit RoyShoumik Bose
Rahul BhatRahul Kapoor/Varshney
Tejaswini KolhapureShalini Bose
Girish KulkarniInspector Jadhav
Surveen ChawlaRakhi Malhotra
Abir GoswamiACP Gupta
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