Baramulla Review: Tulips, Trauma, And Terror Tie This Netflix Film Together
Baramulla presents Kashmir from a haunting and somber perspective, encapsulated by the three Ts: trauma, terror, and tulips. Unlike typical horror, the film suggests that psychological scars are more terrifying than ghosts. It draws a parallel with The Haunting of Hill House, setting its story amidst Kashmir’s conflict-ridden landscape.
Plot and Themes
Co-written by Aditya Dhar and Aditya Suhas Jambhale and directed by Jambhale, the film explores militancy in Kashmir while aiming to shed light on the Kashmiri Pandit community's lingering trauma from their past. At nearly two hours, the narrative balances between reality, psychological tension, and supernatural elements. However, the pace becomes rushed near the climax with an overload of information.
Main Characters
- DSP Ridwan Shafi Sayyed (Manav Kaul) is transferred to Baramulla from Reasi to investigate the disappearance of six schoolboys in the snowy valley.
- Ridwan suspects militants are radicalizing children with anti-India propaganda and abducting them to send to terrorist camps across the border.
- Stone pelting incidents have surged in the city, adding to the unrest.
- Ridwan suffers from PTSD and has relocated with his family: his wife Gulnaar, teenage daughter Noorie, and playful son Ayaan.
- The family struggles to adjust to a city that feels unwelcoming, portraying dysfunction amid the external turmoil.
“Trauma is the real horror that people should be scared of and not ghosts.”
The film’s strength lies in portraying the region’s psychological complexity and the personal struggles behind the larger conflict.
Summary
Baramulla intertwines personal trauma and political terror, revealing Kashmir’s haunted reality beyond supernatural fiction.
Would you like the summary to be more analytical or emotionally evocative?