Indian filmmaker Meghna Gulzar’s Dayra had received mixed reactions from overseas viewers after the crime thriller reached cinemas on Friday. The film starred Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles.
The film marked Kareena and Prithviraj’s first project together. It also marked their first collaboration with Gulzar. Dayra was reportedly inspired by the 2019 Hyderabad case and featured both actors as police officers.
Kareena played Ajooni, a police officer who handled a sensitive case. The Laal Singh Chaddha actress had previously played police characters in Angrezi Medium and The Buckingham Murders.
Following the film’s release, some overseas viewers shared their reactions on social media. London-based critic Umair Sandhu gave the film two stars and described it as a predictable thriller.
He wrote, “A boring thriller with a predictable, repetitive story that we’ve seen countless times on the silver screen.”
Another viewer from the UAE and Pakistan gave the film 2.5 stars. He described it as a “strong and meaningful crime-thriller” and praised Prithviraj’s performance.
However, the viewer had criticised Kareena’s performance and said the film could have been different with Anushka Shetty.
The film also featured Kanwaljit Singh, Achint Kaur, Anuja Sathe, Seema Azmi, Biswapati Sarkar and Jitendra Joshi in supporting roles.
Ahead of the release, Kareena had spoken about her character and the way Ajooni was presented as a police officer.
She had said, “I think there is this stereotypical version that we have of a cop: that she is butch and she slightly has that particular walk, slightly manly, is gun-toting and does action.”
She had further explained that Gulzar wanted Ajooni to retain her feminine side while remaining firm in her role.
“In this film, because of the sensitivity of the subject of the film also, Meghna was clear that she wanted a woman cop, somebody who is like a woman, who is feminine, who puts on lipstick but at the same time is quite stern,” Kareena had said.
Dayra had therefore received different responses from overseas viewers, with reactions focusing on its story and the performances of its lead actor.