Film

Ugly

Name: Ugly
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Mystery, Crime
Released: 2013
Cast: Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhat, Vineet Kumar Singh, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Girish Kulkarni

Ugly is a dark, procedural thriller about a child's disappearance that peels back the lives of everyone involved—parents, cops, strangers. Shot with unflinching realism and structured like a proper investigation, it's gripping and morally complicated. For anyone who loved the mess and tension of serious crime drama but wants something less Hollywood.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a grimy, hard-edged thriller where nearly every character is compromised and the city itself feels like a suspect, and you don't mind moral mud.

Skip it if you need a tidy, reassuring thriller, since its bleak cynicism stays unrelenting and its tangled plotting asks you to keep track of many unpleasant people.

What it asks of you: Two hours of sustained unease, paced deliberately, so settle in and stay alert rather than half-watching.

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

If you liked this

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A sprawling crime saga across decades with the same unflinching eye for how violence and desperation corrupt ordinary lives. Anurag Kashyap's direction is restless and precise, built on excellent ensemble performances and a script that trusts the audience.

But Nearly five hours across two parts, with graphic violence and a plot that demands attention. Indian regional politics and local feuds may feel remote.

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Ayushmann Khurrana investigates a murder in rural India, unraveling caste violence and systemic corruption. Genuinely angry filmmaking that doesn't flinch from what it's examining, with real stakes and a refusal to simplify.

But Heavy subject matter handled without catharsis. The investigation doesn't lead to neat answers, which some find frustrating rather than honest.

Mulk2018

A family torn apart by suspicion and a courtroom battle over identity, faith and belonging in modern India. Rishi Kapoor is superb, and the film asks difficult questions without pretending to have solutions.

But Uneven pacing and a sometimes heavy-handed script. The courtroom sections can feel didactic rather than dramatically alive.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Hunt2012

Both are investigations where the process of searching for truth becomes as damaging as the crime itself. Neither indulges in catharsis or reassuring closure.

Thomas Vinterberg's film about a man falsely accused of child abuse and the town that turns against him. It has Ugly's same DNA—an investigation that corrupts everyone it touches, moral certainty collapsing into doubt. A masterclass in sustained dread.

But Danish, and unrelentingly dark with no redemption in sight. The accusation itself, though false, involves a child, which some find unwatchable. Not a thriller you enjoy—one that stays with you.

Badlapur2015

Varun Dhawan in a revenge thriller that's genuinely nasty and methodical. No heroic fantasy here—just a man consumed by his own vengeance, shot with style and sustained moral dread.

But Bleak and punishing, with sexual violence treated as real rather than cinematic. Doesn't offer the release you might expect from a revenge film.

No One Killed Jessica2011

A young woman's hit-and-run death and the investigation into why the powerful go unpunished. Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan dig into a system rigged against justice, with real anger underneath the thriller mechanics.

But Based on a true case, so the ending is known. The preachy moments can overpower the drama, and some sequences feel manipulative.

Thappad2020

A woman leaves her marriage after her husband slaps her in front of guests. Structured like a legal and personal investigation into what violence means and when you stop accepting cruelty as normal. Meticulous and furious.

But No traditional villain or cathartic confrontation. The husband's perspective goes underexplored, which some see as a weakness rather than a choice.

Madras Cafe2013

John Abraham as a RAW agent caught in Sri Lanka's civil war, forced into moral compromises. Tense procedural with real geopolitical weight and strong action sequences that serve the plot.

But The female lead is largely decorative. Some plot twists strain credibility, and the film's politics can feel muddled.

Section 3752019

Richa Chadha and Akshaye Khanna in a courtroom thriller about a rape accusation. Both sides get coherent arguments; the film refuses easy sympathy and stays genuinely uncertain about what happened.

But The subject matter is deliberately divisive. Some feel it tilts toward the accused, others the accuser—which means it's working, but not everyone wants that work.

Kahaani2012

Vidya Balan as a pregnant woman searching for her missing husband in Kolkata. A tight, clever mystery with a genuine twist, shot with style and anchored by a lead performance that carries the whole film.

But The premise relies on contrivance, and once the twist lands, the logic starts to fray. Lighter than Ugly, which some prefer and others find less substantial.

Witness1985

Like Ugly, it's about how an investigation fractures a community and how an outsider's presence in an insular world creates cascading damage that can't be contained.

Harrison Ford in Peter Weir's Amish thriller—a boy witnesses a murder, and an outsider cop must protect him in a closed community where everything he does is wrong. Tense, beautifully shot, and built on real cultural collision and class friction.

But A mainstream Hollywood film, which means it resolves its conflicts and offers closure. The Amish society is somewhat romanticized. From a very different era and register.