Darling has a cast to kill. A charming black comedy set in Mumbai, starring Alia Bhatt, Shefari Shah, Vijay Varma and Roshan Mathew. But that's just the beginning.

 Equally fascinating, at least to me, are the supporting characters who inhabit the universe of this film. Vijay Maurya, Rajesh Sharma, Puja Swarup, Kiran Karmarkar and Ajit Kelkar appear in supporting roles to make it unforgettable. Even casual scenes will not get tired of your eyes. Darlings reminds us that while Hindi cinema has generally had a tough year, it wasn't due to a lack of manpower.

The film begins with a short and intelligent prologue. Badrunissa (Alia Bhatt) rushes to her movie date with her boyfriend Hamza (Vijay Varma). She waits and waits and misses her show. He apologizes for being late and holding a teddy bear. 

"Government job leke aya (I found a government job)," he tells her. "Let's get married." Badr brightened and hugged him. The pair seem happy, but we already know what's going to happen.It's also worth noting that the scene takes place outside Mumbai's famous multiplex. After missing the movie, Badr's life becomes decidedly mundane.

When I next saw her, Badr had been in an abusive marriage for three years. An idiot and alcoholic, Hamza routinely beats his wife in the wake of everything from his cooking slips to his genuine concern for his well-being. An incompetent wicketman, he is thought to vent his anger and frustration of his job on his wife, who suffers in silence. Badru tries everything to change him: anti-addiction drugs, tickling, even children. One day, she goes beyond her imagination and takes her husband hostage.

Looking at the Darlings trailer, we would expect this twist to happen fairly early in the film. After all, a crime comedy is all about payoff. But director Jasmeet K. Lean hates flying guns. Working with her co-author Parbees Sheikh, she takes the time to describe patterns of abuse. Her first hour is a loop of injuries Hamza inflicted on his wife.

 He is a brawler and master manipulator who is terrifyingly aware of his wife's hopes and dreams and emotional vulnerabilities and uses them to his advantage. In a gentle way, without blaming her, the film shows how much Badr has internalized his behavior.Shams (Shefari Shah), Badr's bitter and stubborn mother, tells Badr that he say goodbye to her. But she can't. Classes are definitely involved in this. Shams once told a police officer, "Things have changed for people on Twitter. It's not for us."

Aria as Badrunissa is great. Like Gully Boy (2019) and her Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), her bombayer accent is spot on (with the quirky “S” at the end of the English word). Her character in the film above was defined by her self-assertion, but Badr is a little confused. remain strangely open (or make a good impression). 

Shefari entertains as Shams she shoots "Badapan Gaya Kan Kujang" but the winner is clearly Vijay Varma. His Hamza has more layers than all the monotonously abusive husbands of Hindi cinema put together. He's a creature of pauses and ticks. His threats come in waves. Nana Patekar would be proud.