Assi
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Kani Kusruti, Revathy, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Naseeruddin Shah, Supriya Pathak.
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Rating: ★★★
A subject that remains painfully relevant. A cast that breathes life into every frame. Some on screen moments that grip you by the collar, refusing to let go. Assi has all the right ingredients to be a powerful film, and in flashes, it truly is. The problem lies not in what the film wants to say, but in how consistently it manages to say it, with clarity.
What is the plot of Assi?
Anubhav Sinha returns to the director’s chair with another social-issue drama, this time centred on Parima (Kani Kusruti), who lives in Delhi with her husband Vijay (Zeeshan Ayyub). One evening, while returning from work, she is abducted by a group of young men and sexually assaulted through the night. What follows is the aftermath: police investigations, court hearings.
Sinha, along with writer Gaurav Solanki, wastes no time in plunging the viewer into the heart of this ordeal. From the very first frame, Assi grips your attention, making it clear that this will not be an easy watch. Marketed as an “urgent watch”, the film leans into that positioning, the narrative reminding every 20 minutes that a rape has occurred somewhere in the country.
The second half, however, begins to lose some of that sharpness. In its eagerness to cover every possible way in which society distances itself from a rape survivor, the film starts slipping into familiar beats. A telling example is a scene where a school principal (Seema Pahwa) informs Parima that she cannot be reinstated as a teacher, delivering the line, “School ka result best aaya hai, par poora school fail ho gaya hai,” to justify the decision. She adds that even Class 9 students have mocked her sexual assault, using this as the reason why her presence would be problematic. The moment is meant to underline social rot, but it plays out as a packaged byte.
The vigilante track also doesn’t quite connect.
Performance report card
Performance wise, Kani Kusruti is extremely effective, playing a rape survivor with a lot of deft handling. She doesn’t let the pitch get high or veer into a territory where emotions are milked for the sake of the viewer.
Taapsee Pannu, as advocate Raavi, delivers a solid performance. Manoj Pahwa, playing the father of one of the accused, once again proves why he is such a dependable screen presence; the ease with which he plays the role speaks to his veteran status. Zeeshan Ayyub lends quiet support as Parima’s husband, effectively conveying the steadiness of a partner who stands by her through a gruelling legal battle. Revathy, in a brief but impactful turn as the judge, brings gravitas to the proceedings.
Overall, even when it stumbles in the latter half, Assi’s intent remains sincere, and it’s gaze stays firmly with the survivor rather than the spectacle around her. This is not a comfortable film, nor does it aim to be. It wants to provoke, to keep the wound open just long enough for the viewer to sit with the discomfort. Assi may not always find the most nuanced way to make its point, but its heart is in the right place, and in today’s climate, that urgency still counts for something.