Monkey in a Cage (2025)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
An aging television star faces a crumbling life and a corrupt legal system after being accused of rape by an ex-girlfriend.
The story
Samar Mehra is a fading television star who is out of touch with modern attitudes regarding gender and power. While he is content in a new relationship with a young woman named Khushi, his life is upended when his ex-girlfriend, Gayatri, reappears and accuses him of rape. Following his arrest, Samar must navigate a corrupt legal system determined to keep him imprisoned. The narrative utilizes a flashback structure to reconstruct the events leading up to the accusation, forcing the audience to weigh the complexities of the characters' motivations and the consequences of the legal battle.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Samar Mehra is a fading television star who is out of touch with modern attitudes regarding gender and power. While he is content in a new relationship with a young woman named Khushi, his ex-girlfriend, Gayatri, reappears and accuses him of rape. Following his arrest, Samar must navigate a corrupt legal system determined to keep him imprisoned. The narrative uses a flashback structure to reconstruct the events leading up to the accusation, presenting the story in a way that encourages viewers to draw their own conclusions about the characters and their motivations. The film explores themes of love, lies, and responsibility as it reshapes Samar's life. In a haunting monologue, Samar reflects on his time in prison, describing himself as a ghost who has forgotten his own face.
- Original title
- Bandar
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 136
- Production countries
- India
- Original languages
- Hindi
- Directors
- Anurag Kashyap; Sakshi Mehta
- Writers
- Sudip Sharma · writer; Abhishek Banerjee · writer
- Cast and characters
- Bobby Deol · Samar Mehra; Sanya Malhotra; Sapna Pabbi; Saba Azad; Indrajith Sukumaran; Raj B. Shetty; Jitendra Joshi
- Genres
- crime thriller
- Themes
- gender and power; legal system corruption; responsibility; identity
- Tone and mood
- suspenseful; disturbing; unsettling
- Premise and plot tags
- legal drama; based on real events; crime thriller
- Source material / true-story basis
- Anurag Kashyap's unpublished story
- Content notes
- misogynistic undertones
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, though it was noted for its unsettling nature and some criticism regarding its portrayal of gender issues.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 92% · scale: percentage · review count: 12
- Production trivia
- The film was adapted from an unpublished story by Anurag Kashyap.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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