Bayaan

In a small Rajasthan town where faith is revered and silence is sacred, Bayaan unfolds as a taut, quietly devastating study of systemic complicity. When a powerful and well-respected cult leader (a quietly menacing Chandrachur Singh) is accused of sexual abuse via an anonymous letter, the case is assigned to Officer Roohi (Huma Qureshi) — a young detective from Delhi whose sense of duty quickly collides with the brutal realities of the power dynamics at play in the community.

Filmmaker Bikas Ranjan Mishra skilfully navigates the psychological terrain of corruption and resistance, depicting how Roohi’s investigation, complicated by colleagues with their own agendas, becomes less about the crime itself and more about the infrastructure built to bury it. Further hindering her task is her own father — a high-ranking figure in the police force — whose reputation looms large over the investigation. Roohi must find a witness willing to speak in order to move the case forward but the cult leader’s influence is far and wide, working to silence and isolate the very women she hopes will come forward.

Roohi’s powerful transformation from hesitant rookie to reluctant crusader is mirrored in the film’s stark visual palette and deliberate pacing. Anchored by Qureshi’s restrained, emotionally layered performance, Bayaan asks not just what it takes to speak up, but what it costs.

ROBYN CITIZEN

Content advisory: themes of sexual violence