Madaari (2016 film)

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Madaari

| image = Madaari - 2016 Movie Poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical Release Poster

| native_name =

| director = Nishikant Kamat

| writer = Ritesh Shah

| story = Shailja Kejriwal

| based_on =

| starring = {{plainlist|

• Irrfan Khan
• Vishesh Bansal
• Jimmy Sheirgill
• Tushar Dalvi
• Sadhil Kapoor

}}

| narrator =

| music = Songs:
Vishal Bhardwaj
Sunny–Inder Bawra
Score:
Sameer Phaterpekar

| cinematography = Avinash Arun

| editing = Aarif Sheikh

| studio = Paramhans Creations
EaseMyTrip
Saptarishi Cinevision

| distributor = Pooja Entertainment
Reliance Entertainment (International)

| released = {{Film date|2016|7|22|df=y|India}}

| country = India

| language = Hindi

| budget =

| gross = {{INR|link=yes}}287{{nbsp}}million{{cite web|title=Madaari - Movie|url=https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=3339|website=Box Office India|accessdate=4 December 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/madaari/box-office/|title=Madaari - Box Office|website=Bollywood Hungama|date=22 July 2016 }}

| producer = {{plainlist|Irrfan Khan
Kshitiz Bhardwaj
Shailesh R Singh
Madan Paliwal
Sutapa Sikdar
Shailja Kejriwal}}

}}

Madaari ({{translation|Puppeteer}}) is a 2016 Indian social thriller film directed by Nishikant Kamat. It is produced by Shailesh R Singh, Madan Paliwal, Sutapa Sikdar, and Shailja Kejriwal and co-produced by Nishant Pitti. The film stars Irrfan Khan, Vishesh Bansal, Jimmy Shergill, Tushar Dalvi and Nitesh Pandey and was released on 22 July 2016. This was Nishikant Kamat's last film as director before his death on 17 August 2020. Upon release, it received positive reviews and was a sleeper hit at the box office, but in later years it became a cult classic.{{cite web|title=Here's how Irrfan looks in a first from 'Madaari'|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Heres-how-Irrfan-looks-in-a-first-from-Madaari/articleshow/52189917.cms|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=10 May 2016|date=10 May 2016}}{{cite web|title=Revealed: Here's What Irrfan Khan's Madaari Is Based On!|url=https://in.movies.yahoo.com/revealed-irrfan-khan-madaari-based-081716241.html|website=Yahoo Movies|accessdate=10 May 2016|date=10 May 2016}}{{cite web|title=Irrfan Khan's Madaari to release in June|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/irrfan-khans-madaari-to-release-in-june/article8462715.ece|website=The Hindu|accessdate=10 May 2016|date=12 April 2016}} The movie's plot is based on a real life incident, the collapse of an under-construction Metro bridge in Andheri, Mumbai, which occurred on September 4, 2012.{{cite news |date=6 May 2016 |title=Irrfan Khan's Madaari is based on a real life event |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/irrfan-khans-madaari-is-based-on-a-real-life-event-2787356/ |access-date=3 June 2025 |work=The Indian Express}}

== Plot ==

A 10-year-old child, Rohan, is kidnapped from his hostel. Rohan is the only son of the Home Minister. The Paramilitary and the CBI storm into action. CBI officer Nachiket Verma heads the case and gets restraining orders from all the other security agencies to make sure that the kidnappers don't panic and kill Rohan. Initially, the case is thought of mistaken identity wherein the kidnapper might have tried to kidnap the friend of Rohan, Cheeku who was also drugged while kidnapping.

For a long time, there is silence from the kidnapper and everyone is left guessing as to who it might be, and at the same time, the investigation is kept extremely secret, so as to keep the kidnapper(s) from killing Rohan. Behind the scenes, the security agencies try to find the location of the kidnapper without raising any kind of suspicion. Rohan is actually kidnapped by Nirmal after being drugged by him. Rohan shows his anger towards Nirmal for kidnapping him. Nirmal shows Rohan a pre-recorded video of his friend Cheeku who is in a drugged state struggling with fear. Nirmal tells Rohan that Cheeku will be killed if he refuses to cooperate with him. Nirmal keeps traveling via public transport to evade his location.

One day, Nirmal calls Cheeku's father to convey a message to the Home Minister, Prashant Goswami, that Rohan was abducted on purpose. His demand is that he wants his son, who was lost in an act of negligence by the government, to be found. It is then revealed that Nirmal had a happy family with his son, Apu (short for Apurva) after his wife left them. Apu died when a bridge collapsed on him on his way to school. Moved and depressed by his loss, Nirmal decided to seek revenge from the politicians and others responsible for the death of his son.

The news becomes a hot item in the media. Towards the end, Nirmal travels back to his house in Mumbai with Rohan, and calls a TV news channel from there and demands all those who were involved in the bridge collapse, including the Home Minister, come to his house and also the news anchor to broadcast it to the people, threatening to kill Rohan and himself if they don't. He makes the bridge contractor, Goswami, and the ruling party's money man, confess their corrupt activities on a live broadcast on TV. Rohan indicates he understands why Nirmal did what he did and Rohan and Nirmal hug before Rohan leaves with his father. Nirmal surrenders to the police and is later seen immersing the articles his son was wearing (and the remains of his son in a schoolbag) when he died, in the sea while being under the custody of the police.