Kartavya Review
Director: Pulkit
Date Created: 2026-05-15 16:12
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Kartavya Review: Directed and written by Pulkit, Netflix’s latest Hindi crime drama stars Saif Ali Khan as police officer Pawan Malik alongside Sanjay Mishra, Rasika Dugal, Zakir Hussain, Saurabh Dwivedi, Manish Chaudhari, Yudhvir Ahlawat and others. With a runtime of around 108 minutes, the film explores corruption, caste violence and the emotional burden of doing the right thing in a place where the system itself is rotten.
Kartavya Review
Netflix’s Kartavya unfolds in the village of Haryana, Jhamli, where police constable Pawan Malik finds himself trapped between the political forces and domestic pressures even before everything goes haywire. The plot of the movie begins with the murder of Reema Dutta, who came to this village in order to expose the criminal activities of godman Anand Shri. But before she could make any such disclosure, she was killed, and Pawan was unable to rescue her, although he reached there on time. After this incident, the movie revolves around a murder mystery and an individual discovering the corruption of all the people surrounding him.
Equally dangerous, however, is the personal life of Pawan. His younger brother Deepak runs away with a girl belonging to a different caste, putting their lives in danger due to the prevalent honour killing attitude of the village. The thing that I found particularly good about Kartavya was the way in which the two narratives interconnect. Pawan not only struggles against the criminals who seek to take him down, but he also has to fight his father’s poisonous outlook on life, which is entrenched by pride and traditions, despite the fact that it puts his very own son in danger.
Time and again, there are scenes which illustrate the helplessness that Pawan finds himself in while struggling for the safety of others around him. Each time it seems that he is nearing the answer to the mystery of why the journalist was killed, something else happens. In the midst of all of this, he cannot even feel safe within his own department. Keshav, his superior officer, keeps putting pressure on him without provoking any of the powerful people, such as Anand Shri.
One of the most emotional moments of the Netflix Kartavya film is when Harpal, played by Yudhvir Ahlawat, gets involved in the murder investigation and turns out to be yet another casualty of manipulation and mistreatment. As time goes by, Pawan starts developing an affection for the boy, particularly after he learns about the pain Harpal went through due to the impact of Anand Shri. Personally, I believe that Yudhvir Ahlawat delivered an outstanding supporting performance. The vulnerability of the actor is overwhelming, and the viewers immediately understand that he is afraid and vulnerable.
Saif Ali Khan is quite comfortable with this kind of small-town milieu. The reason why he does such a good job here is that he does not try to turn himself into a “mass hero.” The way Pawan looks in the movie suggests that he is tired, frustrated, and mentally drained at all times. Whether it is a case of handling corrupt cops, defending his brother, or helping out Harpal, Saif manages to remain grounded in his role.
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Once again, Sanjay Mishra plays his part quite convincingly. He gives life to Ashok Y, who is among those whom Pawan trusts. Sanjay Mishra infuses warmth into his acting. He always makes an impression wherever he goes, owing to his ease before the camera. Rasika Dugal acts well in her role of Pawan’s wife; however, I feel that she deserved a more prominent role.
Definitely, I got shocked while watching Saurabh Dwivedi perform as the villain in this Netflix movie Kartavya, because he is known to people as a famous journalist. Regrettably, I would say that his acting does not quite succeed because there were certain points when the performance felt too awkward to be considered intimidating. Indeed, there were enough chances to play a real godman, who could manipulate people like an ant, but Saurabh Dwivedi did not manage to show it convincingly on the screen. The screenplay tried to introduce Anand Shri as a really scary and powerful person, but it failed to do so.
The main flaw of Saif Ali Khan’s Kartavya movie is that, despite being filled with so much action within the plot, at times the screenplay tends to be too slow for the pace of events in the movie. One notices some sections where the same conversations revolving around corruption and honour continue to occur without any movement towards an endpoint. The movie continues to build suspense, but there are some instances where the payoffs are not entirely satisfying.
Yet, I was grateful that Pulkit’s Kartavya movie emphasised psychological and moral suffering rather than turning into a noisy action movie. Violence in the film appears to be believable, and it portrays perfectly the atmosphere of fear that takes over the whole town. Pawan seems to be involved in a war from which there is no chance of winning.
Netflix Kartavya Review: Summing Up
Ultimately, Kartavya ends up being a pretty good film to watch once, with more emphasis on the performance and the realistic nature of the movie than the script itself. The film has some significant themes, great actors, and a realistic setting, yet it does not quite manage to fulfil the emotional and dramatic expectations it had set out to achieve. However, it is still recommended to watch due to the excellent performances of Saif Ali Khan and Yudhvir Ahlawat.
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