Director, Anubhav Sinha's film, 'Assi' featuring Taapsee Pannu and Kani Kusruti's will make you understand survivors' trauma and pain.
Anubhav Sinha's film, Assi, is a nerve-chilling film that refers to the number of r*pes that take place in a single minute. The film stars Taapsee Pannu in the lead, and it can be called her career-best performance as she gives a nerve-chilling performance. The film was released on February 20, 2026, and fans are already loving the storyline of the courtroom drama.
In the film, Assi, Taapsee plays a criminal lawyer, who ends up taking the case of her close friend, who suffered a brutal g*ng r*pe. In the film, Kani Kusruti played the role of 'Parima', who is a Malayali woman, and a school teacher in Delhi. She is married to a Harayanvi man, 'Vinay', played by Mohd Zeeshaan Ayyub. They also have a son, the happy family of three, faces the biggest nightmare when 'Parima' gets abducted and was r*ped by five men in a moving car. It happened after she exited a metro station late in the evening from her school's farewell party.
The horror shown in the film is nerve-grinding. Anubhav Sinha tried to portray the reality and bitter truth of a woman being subjected to assault. 'Parima' goes blind in one eye as they keep their brutal act going in the moving car. The director's intention is clear: he wants to force you to feel the same trapped trauma a survivor endures through his film. After r*ping 'Parima' for hours, they dump her at the railway tracks with her body half-naked. One person finds her in the morning and helps her reach the hospital. Since no one was helping 'Parima' reach the hospital, a group of women scattered the red chillies from a thela and used it to take her to the hospital.
The movie further shows Taapsee's character 'Raavi's' appearance as she takes her friend's case to the court. She is a no-nonsense lawyer and believes in getting the right kind of justice. The film also shows how 'Parima' chooses to reveal her identity rather than hide, covering her face with a dupatta as she had done nothing wrong, and it was she who suffered the greatest crime. She even slammed the defence lawyer who tried to grill her testimony.
The film also boldly shows how 'Parima' decides to resume her work in the school while her case is still ongoing, but the principal disapproves of her plea to resume work. Meanwhile, her son is being cared for by his father, 'Vinay', who tries to establish a kind of friendship with him. The son is not being told about the ordeals of Parima, but he knows that his mother has been wounded. In 2 hours and 14 minutes of runtime, Assi tries its best to show what a survivor goes through and how society degrades her further with its beliefs and notions, while the criminal openly moves in the country. The film also talks about locker room conversations, consent, shame, corruption, and media trials. However, a lot of things get jumbled up, making some parts look confusing.
Further, in the end, a faceless 'hero' goes around the town and kills Parima's criminal. He is called 'The Umbrella Man'. The film also revealed that 80 r*pe cases are reported across India. It ends with a red screen and a warning that a r*pe just occurred, leaving the audience in horror.
All in all, the film is a must-watch to know the other side of the r*pe survivor's life.
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