When upper-caste people, cushioned by years of privilege, casually say that “things have changed in our country,” these are films like Kartavya (2026) reveal how casteism continues to thrive and how power protects itself, truth is manipulated to protect existing hierarchies, and oppression is normalized under the illusion of progress.
“Kartavya” means “duty,” a word that is constantly being examined philosophically. Duty, operating within the framework of politics and culture, is never neutral. In India, the concept of duty is tied to caste, class, gender, power and patriotism.
Kartavya is written and directed by Pulkit, the filmmaker behind films like Bhakshak (2024), Maalik (2025) and Dedh Bigha Zameen (2024). Staying true to his previous work, Kartavya brings themes of social justice to the fore by telling a story of oppression and power. The film asks a simple question: What happens to an official who challenges those in power? Saif Ali Khan portrays Pawan Malik, a police officer who stands up for truth in the face of unchecked power, caste violence and regressive beliefs.
The script is powerful yet delicately intertwined with social themes such as casteism, honor killings, abuse of power and the villagers’ worship of a ruthless leader. Although none of these themes are laid out lazily, Kartavya occasionally finds it difficult to fully articulate these ideas.
Given that political neutrality and indifference have prevailed in cinema in recent years, Kartavya can be described as a political confession. The film offers no answers, but it illuminates important questions and highlights the country’s emotional exhaustion through Khan’s character.
Given that political neutrality and indifference have prevailed in cinema in recent years, Kartavya can be described as a political confession. The film offers no answers, but it illuminates important questions and highlights the country’s emotional exhaustion through Khan’s character. It assumes that justice is an impossibility in systems infected by corruption, caste favoritism, religious fundamentalism, bigotry, institutional decay and political opportunism.
Kartavya dismantles the caricatured righteous, heroic officer
Pawan Malik is a Station House Officer (SHO) tasked with investigating the murder of a journalist, a task that brings him face to face with caste oppression, child abuse and spiritual exploitation. However, Malik does not follow the Hindi cinema template of what a righteous, heroic and morally untainted officer must be like. He dismantles the idea of heroism by embodying righteous anger while remaining emotionally exhausted, fighting a system he doesn’t believe in, making decisions that dirty his white shoes (literally in this case), and denying redemption.
A scene from Kartavya. Image source: Red Chillies Entertainment
As part of the system, Malik is forced to negotiate with it from within, revealing how miserably the state machinery is failing. The emotional architecture of the film is shaped by this confrontation with institutional power. The filmmaker illustrates how belief in these structures is gradually overshadowed by skepticism and distrust of how they work, reflecting the broader contradictions that define contemporary India.
Caste, godmen and lost future
Caste-based political influence and violence occur throughout the film, with upper-caste individuals making decisions for those from marginalized castes, labeling this arbitrary and violent social hierarchy as “tradition,” transforming caste into an infrastructure deeply embedded in families and communities, land ownership and rights, and language. This ultimately normalizes caste violence; within Kartavya’s world (similar to our own), Honor killingFor example, it is not an aberration, nor is it treated as such by its characters. In the rural countryside, such caste violence is completely normal.
For example, in Kartavya’s world (much like our own), honor killing is not an aberration and is not treated as such by its characters. In the rural countryside, such caste violence is completely normal.
Godman Anand Shri (Saurabh Dwivedi) is the mastermind behind much of what transpires in the film, reflecting India’s contemporary political landscape where spirituality merges into politics and the two are deliberately conflated until they become indistinguishable; Fame, reputation and power come together.
Saurabh Dwivedi as Godman Anand Shri in Kartavya. Image source: Red Chillies Entertainment
Anand Shri manipulates and exploits the beliefs of the marginalized for his own gain, and because of the power he wields and his fame, he is not held accountable. This reflects contemporary India, where religious and spiritual leaders are increasingly becoming politicians and political influencers, shielding themselves and their actions from public and institutional scrutiny.
The film also explores the lost future that lies buried beneath the rubble of such unchecked power and violence. Children, each hoping for a better future, become symbols of despair as the system they are expected to inherit is recognized as morally corrupt. And in Kartavya’s bleak world, there is no hope that such systems can be reformed.
The moral fatigue of fighting an unwinnable battle
Pawan Malik is a morally ambiguous character who brings the weariness of the story through his role. The aging character embodies structural and institutional decay, presenting him as a witness to systemic failure rather than an invincible hero. Pawan’s despair and moral collapse reflect the emotional fragility of contemporary India. Khan anchors the film emotionally with his performance, making Pawan Malik not a revolutionary hero but one who survives through moral compromise.
A scene from Kartavya. Image source: Red Chillies Entertainment
Pawan’s character is not the typical nationalist male hero in films who knows his enemies well, chooses violence to ensure justice and is powerful and invincible. Pawan is emotionally exhausted; He has a family, is always worried and often unable to save lives, including his own. When Pawan chooses violence, that choice is not celebrated with amplified music or elaborate action sequences. His character dismantles the male celebration of violence and is ultimately unable to become more powerful than the system itself.
Kartavya is not a perfect film; However, it shows the current precarious nature of India. Kartavya is essentially a film about the emotional exhaustion and moral exhaustion that comes with navigation systems that were never built for the common man without political power and power. The film understands something fundamental: authoritarian systems psychologically and emotionally exhaust the people within them and do not always rely on physical violence or oppression.
Kartavya leaves you with the hope that good people can bring about change within the state machinery; However, there is also the question of whether good people can survive the system or even the state itself.
dynasty is a film graduate from AJK MCRC, Jamia Thousands Islamia explores the world of film through archives and the lenses of political history, gender, culture and social movements. He draws inspiration from the eccentricities of everyday life and blurs the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction.