Accused

Directed by Anubhuti Kashyap and backed by Dharmatic Entertainments, Accused builds patiently and sets up its moral questions well, but its biggest weakness lies in the payoff. The second half promises a deeper psychological dive, yet resolves too abruptly, without the emotional or narrative impact the setup demands. It feels like a slow climb that forgets to deliver a satisfying descent. For viewers looking for a fresh take on workplace thrillers, Accused offers a new perspective, if not a new destination. It’s thoughtfully written, decently acted in parts, and rooted in relevant themes, but for seasoned thriller fans, it may feel like a familiar story told with slightly dulled edges. Not a misfire, but not quite the knockout it wants to be either.

But the writing offers us little depth, and that’s where this film, which had the potential to be a humdinger, falls flat. There’s so little passion between Sensharma and Rannta that you wonder what made them get together in the first place; what little we see is so chaste as to be non-existent. It takes an argument for both to break out; the supporting characters come off even worse, and the background music never quite stops tinkling away. Finally, it all comes down to that thing which is increasingly, and disappointingly, becoming a streaming bugbear: the idea is bravely out-of-the-box ; the underlined writing does it in.

To do justice to its lofty ideas of gender discrimination, blurred lines, rival perspectives and workplace power dynamics, a film like this demands nuance and sophistication. Failing that, to do justice to the bare basics beats of a thriller, it simply demands that it not be dull. Unfortunately, it fails on all counts. Accused struggles to work as a relationship drama, a differing perspectives thriller, or even a competent investigation narrative. The promising territory of watching Geetika liberally gaslight as a selfish partner and questionable boss who’s backed into a corner, instead results in a character that’s little more than whiny, defensive and irritating. You don’t root for her or feel for her. The writing makes damn sure of that.