Film

The Tashkent Files

Name: The Tashkent Files
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, History
Released: 2019
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Mithun Chakraborty, Shweta Basu Prasad, Asif Basra, Mandira Bedi

A taut political thriller investigating the contested death of India's second Prime Minister in Soviet-era Tashkent. Director Vivek Agnihotri builds a meticulous mystery from declassified files and competing testimonies, asking whether history's official account can ever be trusted. For viewers hungry for substance and intrigue.

TMDb rating

3.6

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A generational touchstone that channels youthful idealism into political action. Like Tashkent Files, it interrogates power and accountability, but through a warmer, more hopeful lens about change from within.

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Another Ayushmann Khurrana vehicle that probes institutional rot and social inequality through a procedural lens. Shares Tashkent's interest in how systems obscure truth, but grounds it in present-day caste violence rather than historical mystery.

But Heavy-handed in places, with some characters sketched as types rather than people. The climax feels orchestrated rather than earned, and it wears its message openly.

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Rishi Kapoor gives a career-best performance in this legal drama about a Muslim family fighting prejudicial assumptions after a tragedy. It shares Tashkent's faith in investigation and evidence as paths to justice.

But The courtroom scenes occasionally feel didactic, and the film's optimism about the system's fairness may feel naive to some viewers in 2024.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Tashkent Files

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Spotlight2015

Both films believe investigation itself is drama. Both feature ensemble casts patiently cross-referencing documents, statements, and contradictions. Both conclude that the system's resistance to truth is the real story.

A methodical, understated procedural about Boston Globe journalists slowly unraveling institutional abuse within the Catholic Church. No spectacle, no shortcuts—just patient investigation proving that truth requires labour. This is what accountability looks like.

But Deliberately restrained. There are no climactic confrontations or rousing speeches. If you need emotional catharsis or dramatic release, this will feel like watching people make phone calls for two hours.

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Akshay Kumar as a scrappy Delhi lawyer takes on powerful interests through wit and persistence. Lighter than Tashkent but cut from the same cloth: ordinary people uncovering institutional hypocrisy.

But The comedy doesn't always land, and the social commentary can feel scattered. It's a crowd-pleaser that sometimes chooses laughs over depth.

Raees2017

Shah Rukh Khan in a gripping crime saga that explores the blurred line between legality and morality in India's underworld. The political intrigue and moral ambiguity echo Tashkent's refusal to offer easy answers.

But Occasionally slips into melodrama, and the police procedural elements are less convincing than the crime narrative. Some violence is graphic and may feel gratuitous.

Hey Ram2000

Kamal Haasan and Kamlesh Pandey's unflinching exploration of communal violence and historical trauma during Partition. Dense, difficult, and completely uninterested in reassurance—much like Tashkent in its refusal to simplify.

But Deliberately obscure and allegorical, often bewildering even to patient viewers. Over three hours, and the fragmented narrative structure demands active engagement.

Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 12012

Anurag Kashyap's sprawling crime epic traces how political corruption and personal vengeance become indistinguishable in a mining town. Epic in scope, grimy in texture, and fundamentally concerned with how history gets made and rewritten.

But Deliberately ugly in places, with graphic violence and casual misogyny that feel intrinsic rather than incidental. Also split into two parts, and the sheer runtime (five hours total) tests patience.

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Anand Gandhi's cerebral puzzle-box about identity, mortality, and the nature of truth. Like Tashkent, it trusts viewers to sit with ambiguity and draws power from what remains uncertain.

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A lean, intelligent thriller about a RAW operative caught between duty and conscience during the Sri Lankan conflict. Competent spy craft and moral complexity, though less layered than Tashkent's investigation into historical truth.

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Both films understand that the real mystery is institutional resistance to truth. Both feature dogged investigators bumping against walls built by power. Both suggest that some questions may outlive any single investigation.

Bong Joon-ho's masterpiece about Korean detectives pursuing a serial killer while the political system crumbles around them. Technically brilliant and morally unsettling—it asks whether justice can exist when institutions are fundamentally corrupt.

But Korean cinema, subtitled, and deliberately ambiguous about culpability and resolution. Bleak in ways that resist comfort. A 130-minute film that offers no catharsis and ends in moral quicksand.