# Vadh (2022 film)

Vadh (meaning: Execution) is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language thriller film written and directed by Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Rajiv Barnwal and produced by Luv Films. Vadh was theatrically released on 9 December 2022. It was featured at the 54th IFFI Indian panorama section.

## Plot

Shambhunath "Shambhu" Mishra (Sanjay Mishra) is an old man who works as a private teacher. He lives with his wife, Manju Mishra (Neena Gupta), in a dilapidated house in Gwalior and barely manages to make ends meet with his pension and tuition fees from his students. They have a son named Guddu, who has settled in America and feels no connection to them. Guddu doesn't care about them despite the fact that they mortgaged their only house to take a loan from a loan shark to fund his education in America, which enabled his immigration. Guddu had promised to repay the loan once he graduated, but now he is unwilling to fulfill his promise. Shambhu struggles to pay the loan interest to the loan shark, Prajapati Pandey (Saurabh Sachdeva), who frequently harasses and threatens the elderly couple.
Besides being a loan shark, Pandey is also a notorious gangster involved in various crimes. He buys protection from corrupt police officer Shakti Singh (Manav Vij) and, as a result, roams free. One day, he visits Shambhu's house to collect the loan interest, but Shambhu cannot pay the full amount and promises to pay the remaining sum in two days. This enrages Pandey, who harasses them once again.
Shakti Singh is also unhappy with Pandey, believing that he pays too little in bribes. He demands a higher amount. In response, Pandey devises a plan to seize Shambhu's house and sell it. He visits Shambhu’s home to inform him of his decision, but Shambhu refuses to comply. During his visit, Pandey notices 12-year-old Naina, one of Shambhu’s students, and develops vile intentions toward her, which disgusts Shambhu.
Shambhu goes to the police station to file a complaint, where Pandey coincidentally happens to be present. Officer Shakti Singh refuses to take action, claiming that Shambhu is responsible for the situation due to his unpaid debt. Furious at Shambhu’s attempt to involve the police, Pandey returns to his house that night to assault and further threaten him. He orders Shambhu to vacate the house soon so he can sell it and erase the debt. He also promises to give Shambhu some money after selling the house. However, Pandey then makes a sinister demand—he orders Shambhu to bring Naina to him for an hour, implying his intent to exploit her. This is the breaking point for Shambhu. While Pandey is momentarily distracted, Shambhu stabs him in the throat with a screwdriver, killing him instantly.
A while later, Manju returns home to find Pandey’s dead body on the floor and realizes what has happened. She is so shocked and terrified that she refuses to speak to Shambhu. Shambhu discreetly disposes of Pandey’s body and meticulously cleans up the crime scene, leaving no evidence of the murder. A few days later, the police arrive to investigate Pandey’s disappearance, as his last known location—according to phone signals—was Shambhu’s house. Shambhu and Manju claim to know nothing about it.
Pandey’s widow and daughter visit Shambhu, pleading for information about his whereabouts. Once again, Shambhu denies any knowledge. After they leave, Manju finally breaks her silence, condemning Shambhu for committing a grave sin. Overcome with guilt, Shambhu goes to the police station to turn himself in. However, the officer dismisses his confession, believing it to be nonsense, and sends him away, warning him not to waste their time.
Shambhu returns home and tells Manju everything, including his failed attempt at surrendering. Manju, seeing his sincerity, changes her stance and fully supports him. The officer later informs Shakti Singh about Shambhu’s confession, which enrages Shakti, as he realizes that Shambhu was telling the truth. He calls Shambhu to the station, demanding that he formally surrender, but now, with Manju’s support, Shambhu refuses to confess.
With no confession, Shakti has no choice but to gather evidence to prove Shambhu’s guilt, but his efforts yield nothing. In desperation, Shakti secretly approaches Shambhu with a deal: he will stop investigating the murder in exchange for Pandey’s phone. Shambhu once again denies any knowledge of its whereabouts.
Meanwhile, MLA "Dada" Rathore (Jaspal Singh Sandhu), whom Pandey worked for, reaches out to Shambhu, warning him that his house will soon be seized since Pandey failed to collect the debt. Rathore gives him three days to either repay the loan or vacate the house. Desperate, Shambhu and Manju contact their son Guddu for help. However, Guddu refuses and insults them, accusing them of always making excuses to ask for money. Heartbroken, they end the call and cut ties with him.
Later, Shambhu unexpectedly finds Pandey’s phone in his house. When he turns it on, he discovers why Shakti is so desperate to retrieve it—it contains video evidence of Shakti’s affair with Rathore’s wife. If leaked, the video would ruin Shakti’s career and possibly endanger his life.
Three days pass, and Rathore’s men arrive to forcibly remove Shambhu and Manju from their home. They resist, leading to Shambhu being beaten by Rathore’s men. He is hospitalized, and Shakti visits him there. Shambhu gives him Pandey’s phone and explains why he killed Pandey. He also reveals the location of the evidence—his blood-stained clothes and the murder weapon—leaving the decision of what to do up to Shakti. Feeling sympathy for Shambhu, Shakti decides to keep his promise. He retrieves the evidence but claims it was found at Rathore’s residence, successfully framing Rathore for Pandey’s murder and leading to his arrest.
After Shambhu recovers, he and Manju move into an under-construction house. Before leaving, they gift their old house to Naina.

## Cast

* Sanjay Mishra as Shambhunath Mishra
* Neena Gupta as Manju Mishra
* Saurabh Sachdeva as Prajapati Pandey
* Manav Vij as Shakti Singh
* Nadeem Khan as Constable Sitaram Gadariya
* Jaspal Singh Sandhu as 'Dada' alias Rathore
* Sumit Gulati as Bittu
* Ananya Singh as Naina
* Umesh Kaushik as Navin
* Diwakar Kumar as Diwakar Mishra
* Pranjal Pateriya as Bakery owner
* Abhitosh Singh Rajput as Pawan
* Tanya Lal as Pandey's wife

## Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10.
Sonal Pandya reviewing for Hindustan Times praised the performances of Mishra and Gupta. Pooja Biraia Jaiswal reviewing for The Week rated 4/5 and praised Mishra and Gupta. Deepa Gahlot reviewing for Scroll.in praised the performances of Mishra, Gupta and Vij.

## Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
| Filmfare Awards | 17 April 2023 | Best Film (Critics) | Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards | 17 April 2023 | Best Debut Director | Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal | Won |
| Filmfare Awards | 17 April 2023 | Best Story | Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards | 17 April 2023 | Best Screenplay | Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards | 17 April 2023 | Best Actor (Critics) | Sanjay Mishra | Won |
| Filmfare Awards | 17 April 2023 | Best Actress (Critics) | Neena Gupta | Nominated |