Film

Darlings

Name: Darlings
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2022
Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma, Roshan Mathew, Rajesh Sharma

A darkly comic Hindi film about an abused wife and her mother who decide to take revenge on her violent husband. It's a tonal tightrope—funny and furious at once—that treats domestic violence with moral seriousness while finding absurdity in the women's increasingly elaborate plans. For anyone who wants sharp, character-driven storytelling that doesn't flinch.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like dark comedy that treats an abusive marriage with sharp, uneasy laughter and lets its women plot with more nerve than sense.

Skip it if the tonal swings between slapstick and cruelty can feel uneven, and at 134 minutes it can drag when the plotting turns fussy.

What it asks of you: Runs a little over two hours, its mood lurching between kitchen-table dread and sudden farce, so it rewards close attention to those shifts.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Thappad2020

Another Hindi film that makes domestic abuse its central subject, but Thappad is quieter and more meditative—a portrait of a woman realizing she deserves better, with astonishing performances and visual precision throughout.

But It moves slowly and deliberately, with less comedy than Darlings. If you want catharsis or momentum, you may find it too patient.

Raees2017

Shah Rukh Khan in a grimy, propulsive crime thriller that shares Darlings' willingness to let morally complex people be charming and funny while doing terrible things. The momentum is relentless.

But It's a conventional crime story underneath—if you've seen the genre before, the beats won't surprise you. Also less interested in character depth than spectacle.

Cryptid: The Chupacabra2023

A Spanish film with similar DNA: dark comedy about violence, about women organizing against it, with a bracing refusal to make it palatable. It's inventive and genuinely unsettling in the best way.

But Subtitles, and a tone that veers into surrealism in ways that won't land for everyone. It's also shorter and meaner than Darlings.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Darlings

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Burning2018

Both are about women recognizing abuse and taking action, but where Darlings shows the planning and execution with dark comedy, Burning shows only the before and the psychological aftermath—a different register of the same moral reckoning.

A South Korean film about class, desire, and the violence hidden in ordinary relationships. Like Darlings, it's fascinated by what happens when a woman stops accepting harm—but it's elliptical and withholding where Darlings is direct. Devastating.

But It's nearly three hours of slow cinema. Entire plot points are suggested rather than shown. If you need clarity and momentum, this will feel willfully obscure.

Phobia2016

A taut, low-budget Hindi thriller about a woman terrorized in her own home. It's Radhika Apte and claustrophobia—fewer laughs than Darlings, but the same urgency and the same refusal to look away.

But It's more conventional thriller than dark comedy. Once you know the beats, there's not much to discover a second time.

Pink2016

Taapsee Pannu in a legal thriller about agency and consent. Where Darlings shows women taking messy justice into their own hands, Pink argues for formal accountability—both feel necessary.

But It's didactic in places and leans on courtroom speeches. The tone is more earnest than Darlings allows itself to be.

Mulk2018

Rishi Kapoor in a surprisingly tender film about a Muslim family fighting prejudice and state power. It shares Darlings' concern with dignity and with people defending their own against overwhelming odds, but it's gentler.

But The gentle tone may feel evasive to you if you wanted something angrier. Some of the social commentary is a touch on-the-nose.

Badhaai Do2022

A Hindi comedy about a marriage of convenience between two queer people, it shares Darlings' interest in how relationships constrain and liberate women. The humor is warm and the characters feel real.

But It's fundamentally optimistic where Darlings is sharp-edged. If you want something darker, this will feel too safe.

Lust Stories2018

Four short films, different directors, all about desire and autonomy in Indian women's lives. One segment has a particularly bracing take on marital violence and female agency that echoes Darlings.

But Anthology format means unevenness; you may find some segments superior to others. Also less comedic and more explicitly about sex.

Bombay Velvet2015

A stylish, ambitious film about a woman in 1960s Bombay navigating crime and power. It's visually stunning and interested in women who refuse to be passive, even when the story itself sometimes betrays them.

But It's ultimately compromised by its own narrative—the woman's agency is undercut by the plot. Some sequences are brilliant, others muddled.

The Apology2022

Where Darlings fictionalizes revenge as dark comedy, this documentarian actually attempts accountability with the person who harmed her. Both refuse sentimentality and demand the audience sit with discomfort.

A brutally funny experimental documentary where a woman confronts her estranged father about his abuse. It's part film, part performance art, and entirely uncompromising—messy, angry, and often hilarious in ways that feel radical.

But It defies genre and comfort. You're watching a real woman's real grief and rage, which can feel intrusive. Also only 35 minutes—some may feel it ends before it's done.

Stalker1979

Both are about journeys (literal and emotional) into dangerous territory to escape entrapment. Darlings does it with revenge plot mechanics; Stalker does it as metaphysical inquiry. Completely different methods, same underlying question: what does it take to break free?

Tarkovsky's philosophical sci-fi about a man guiding two others through a mysterious zone. On the surface, completely different from Darlings—but both are deeply concerned with the spaces people create to survive, and what they're willing to endure for the possibility of change.

But It's 163 minutes of meditative, dialogue-heavy cinema with long static shots. The pacing is hypnotic for some, unbearable for others. This is the opposite of dark comedy momentum.