Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas Is An Effective Police Procedural
Bhagwat might come across as a reiteration of familiar tropes in the digital space, but the film, within its finite runtime, treats them with care and proves to be no less effective than the rest.
Promo poster for Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas.
Last Updated: 05.08 AM, Oct 20, 2025
POLICE PROCEDURALS in Hindi films tend to follow a pattern. The gritty undersides of the crime are portrayed in alliance with the heroic arc of the law keeper. The more horrific the crime, the more elevated is the heroism of the officer. On paper, Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas is primed to be another reiteration. A troubled police officer is faced with an elusive killer as one case knots to another. Yet, Akshay Shere’s feature film sidesteps histrionics to unfold as a sobering depiction of society in tandem with the potency of law.
The design is not ingenious, and neither does Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas complicate it. The outline ends up being both effective and rewarding. When Vishwas Bhagwat (Arshad Warsi) arrives at Robertsganj on punishment transfer, he is told of the case of a missing girl, Poonam. This has caused riots in the city, and politicians have only amplified the chaos by rendering communal colour to the incident. Rumours are thick in the air that the girl eloped with someone called “Abdul”. Being new to the place, Vishwas is both defiant and unaware of the extent of the rot.
Next to this unravels another tale — a love story at first glance. A diffident man called Samir (Jitendra Kumar) is trying to impress a girl, Meera (Ayesha Kaduskar). She resists with a smile, giving him enough reason to keep trying. When she finally relents, they decide to elope. Meera is still hesitant, but Sameer reminds her of his religion (he is a Muslim) and therefore of the upheavals in store.
Set in 2009, Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas is cut from the same cloth as the Amazon show Dahaad (2023). In the show, too, a police investigation into the disappearance of one girl leads to scores of similar cases, and the multiple disappearances open up space for social commentary. Being from a disenfranchised caste, these women and their absence were looked over by the cops, and their marginalised status made them vulnerable to a man who offered them respect in the language of attention. It took a Dalit police officer to make the connection.
Shere’s film is more muted on social politics but offers enough reason to make an equally compelling case. Poonam’s case leads Bhagwat to more missing women, and in each instance, their impoverished status consumed the news. And not before long, the love story collides with the police procedural. Although foreseeable, there is a neatness with which the story moves from here that is commendable. Shere refuses to overstate, leaning on simple signifiers instead. For instance, it makes ample sense that the perpetrator is a teacher, a profession that allowed him an insight into gender discrimination and the means to overcome it. His educational awareness informs him of the many ways he can win over young girls. When he gives one of them a pair of jeans, he is met with gratitude. She was never allowed to wear them before.
Ditto for the case. The writing looks at the missing cases while also acknowledging the repercussions associated with them. When Poonam’s parents are told she eloped with a stranger, their grief is replaced with shame. Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas does not underline these instances, but that the narrative accommodates them only elevates the film. There is also something to be said about the way it refuses to limit itself to a cat-and-mouse chase but goes further to the court proceeding, opting for justice instead of vengeance.
The actors help immensely. Warsi is supremely watchable as Bhagwat. Playing a police officer who uses his troubled past to sharpen his empathy and not just throw punches, he brings dignity to a role that is as common as hackneyed. It is Kumar, however, who surprises. Across streaming shows, he has been typecast as the small-town man with performative wokeness. He brings the same energy here but with a self-awareness that punctures holes in the theatrics. With him, it's an instance of inspired casting that works a great deal.
One might dismiss Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas as a reiteration of tropes that are all too familiar in the digital space. But within its finite runtime, the film treats them with care and proves to be no less effective than the rest. The result is an earnest procedural that achieves what it sets out to be.
