Skip to content
Mumbai · Friday, 11 September 2026

National Revealed

The Truth can never be hidden

Entertainment

Ghamasaan review: Arshad Warsi is good, but this conventional cop vs dacoit drama plays it too safe

By Sohail Khan 11 September 2026, 7:07 pm

Ghamasaan is a film that benefits from Tigmanshu’s familiarity with the world it inhabits, but it doesn’t always find anything particularly new to say about it.

Published on: Sep 11, 2026, 19:07:04 IST

Prefer HTon Google

Share via
Copy link

    Ghamasaan

    Cast: Arshad Warsi, Pratik Gandhi, Ishita Dutta, Rajpal Yadav

    Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

    Rating: ★★½

    Where to watch: Zee5

    If there’s one filmmaker who seems to hold a PhD in the gangsters of the heartland, it’s Tigmanshu Dhulia. Paan Singh Tomar and Bullett Raja were directed by him, while Gangs of Wasseypur showcased how effortless he is when enacting such parts. Ghamasaan once again puts him in familiar territory, and, for better or worse, Dhulia knows this world all too well.

    Ghamasaan story

    The story, much like another release this Friday, Haiwaan, follows a cat-and-mouse chase. Maharaj (Arshad Warsi) is a dreaded dacoit who works in collusion with a politician, serving as his muscle to influence elections in the region. Aditya Singh (Pratik Gandhi), a Special Task Force officer, is deployed in Maharaj’s area merely for optics ahead of the elections. However, he decides to take matters into his own hands and bring Maharaj down. The manner in which he does this forms the rest of the story.

    Movie Review
    Ghamasaan
    Ghamasaan
    2.5/5

    Action

    What happens when a Special Task Force Officer takes it upon him to bring down a dreaded dacoit?
    Director
    Tigmanshu Dhulia

    Cast
    Arshad Warsi, Pratik Gandhi, Ishita Dutta, Rajpal Yadav

    Verdict
    Ghamasaan is a film that benefits from Tigmanshu’s familiarity with the world it inhabits, even if it doesn’t always find anything particularly new to say about it. 

    Ghamasaan review

    The no-nonsense, straightforward nature of Ghamasaan is both its biggest strength and its biggest weakness. This is perhaps the most conventional plot one can imagine for a cop-versus-criminal film. The beats are so familiar by now that the audience can often predict what is coming next even before the scene has played out. The quintessential corrupt politician who has become a staple of such films, the corrupt cop, the determined officer- you get the drift. These are all familiar archetypes that we have seen countless times before.

    I keep mentioning this in my reviews nowadays, but given how much of a rarity it has unfortunately become, it is worth pointing out that the film has been shot on real locations rather than against green screens. It lends the film a sense of authenticity, transporting you to the hinterlands and establishing the mood immediately.

    What Tigmanshu also gets right is the defeated manner in which the villagers have learnt to function under such oppression. There is a sense of resignation in the way they go about their lives, as though years of exploitation have stripped them of any expectation that things could ever change. The misery has seeped into their very core, reflected in their silences. It is a bleak atmosphere, and Tigmanshu does a good job of bringing that despair to the fore without over-dramatising it.

    In terms of performances, Arshad Warsi moves away from his traditional comic zone and surprisingly makes for a good dacoit. Pratik Gandhi as Aditya does well. Ishita Dutta holds her own as Aditya's wife.

    In conclusion

    Overall, Ghamasaan is a film that benefits from Tigmanshu’s familiarity with the world it inhabits, even if it doesn’t always find anything particularly new to say about it. There is enough craft and authenticity here to make it a reasonably engaging watch, but not enough freshness to make it memorable.

    Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!.



    Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at .

    See Less

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *