Nishaanchi is a 2025 Bollywood Hindi crime drama film; the director is Anurag Kashyap, who co-wrote the film with Ranjan Chandel and Omjit Sahu, while the film producers are Ajay Rai and Ranjan Singh. Produced under the banner of JAR Pictures and Flip Films.
The first instalment of a duology, it stars Aaishvary Thackeray in his film debut, playing dual roles, while Vedika Pinto, Monika Panwar, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Vineet Kumar Singh appear in important roles.
Inspired by the masala films of the Salim-Javed team in the 1970s, Kashyap created the script for Nishaanchi in late 2016. The project came to fruition with the help of Amazon MGM Studios. After casting and pre-production delays, the movie started shooting in early 2024 and was shot in Lucknow and Kanpur until July of that same year. Anurag Saikia, Manan Bhardwaj, Dhruv Ghanekar, Nishikar Chhibber, and Aaishvary himself wrote the soundtrack for the film, which was photographed by Sylvester Fonseca and edited by Aarti Bajaj. The movie was divided into two parts due to its four-hour running time, with the first segment lasting 177 minutes.
On September 19, 2025, Nishaanchi was released in theaters. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from reviewers and made ₹1 crore at the box office. Due to the film’s poor reception, a direct sequel, Nishaanchi Part 2, was released on Amazon Prime Video on November 14, 2025, alongside the first part.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Anurag Kashyap
- Writer: Anurag Kashyap, Ranjan Chandel, Omjit Sahu
- Producer: Ajay Rai, Ranjan Singh
- Star Cast: Aaishvary Thackeray, Vedika Pinto, Monika Panwar, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Vineet Kumar Singh
- Cinematography: Sylvester Fonseca
- Editor: Aarti Bajaj
- Music Director: Anurag Saikia, Manan Bhardwaj, Aaishvary Thackeray, Dhruv Ghanekar, Nishikar Chhibber
- Production companies: JAR Pictures, Flip Films
- Genres: Drama, Action, Crime
- Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios, Pen Marudhar
- Release date: 19 September 2025
- Running time: 177 minutes
- Country: India
- Language: Hindi
Nishaanchi movie 2025 Trailer
Star Cast
- Aaishvary Thackeray in a dual role as Babloo Nishaanchi and Dabloo Wafadaar Singh
- Vedika Pinto as Rangeeli Rinku, Babloo’s love interest
- Monika Panwar as Manjari, Babloo and Dabloo’s mother
- Kumud Mishra as Ambika Prasad
- Girish Sharma as young Ambika Prasad
- Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Inspector Kamal Ajeeb
- Rajesh Kumar as Bhola Pehalwan
- Durgesh Kumar as Bank Security Guard
- Shubham Tiwari as Hawa Hawai
- Sachin Singh as Druggie Prisoner
- Mukesh Bhatt as Brilliance Band Emcee
- Jameel Khan as Brilliance Band Member
- Vineet Kumar Singh as Zabardast Pehelwaan, Manjari’s husband, and father to Babloo and Dabloo
- Erika Jason as Anjana (anti-social Anjana), Babloo’s fling
Story of the film
A story of twin brothers stuck between crime and conscience, where love, loss, and fate test the strength of their tie.
Production
Development
Nishaanchi emerged from a very intimate and instinctive space, according to Anurag Kashyap. The film’s origins may be traced back to 2016, while Kashyap was working on Mukkabaaz (2017). He somehow harbored the idea of intentionally writing a story that would be produced on a larger scale, even though that picture was a return to his “older, more raw style of filmmaking” with newer skills. After coming up with the one-line concept of a mother and her twins, Kashyap wrote a full script in three to four days.
Kashyap claimed that Salim-Javed’s films, including Mother India (1957), Ram Aur Shyam (1967), and Sholay (1975), inspired him to reimagine the storytelling tradition he grew up with. The films explored themes of emotions, family bonding, crime, and punishment, all of which were blended through the commercial aspects of 1970s Indian films. The movie was first co-produced by Ranjan Singh’s Flip Films and Ajay Rai’s JAR Pictures, which had previously produced Gangs of Wasseypur, Gangs of Wasseypur 2 (both 2012), and Choked (2020).
Casting
Because they could give his project their whole attention, Kashyap chose to work with up-and-coming actors in the lead parts rather than seasoned performers. He selected the late Bal Thackeray’s grandson, Aaishvary Thackeray, to play the main part in his first movie. In late 2020, Kashyap showed the script to Aaishvary, who was impressed. Two years later, Vedika Pinto was asked to portray the female lead. In order for Aaishvary and Vedika to devote all of their attention to Nishaanchi, Kashyap told them not to commit to any other projects.
In order to attend workshops, see the city’s culture, and learn the local accent, both performers traveled to Kanpur, where the majority of the movie was filmed. Aaishvary and Vedika were eager to take on more and more obstacles, according to Kashyap, who also noted that both performers had given a “huge amount of hunger and devotion” to the process and stayed with the characters, something he had hardly seen in any other actors. Due to his inexperience at the time, Aaishvary did not disclose his dual role until six months after filming. The mother of the protagonists, whose character develops from her twenties to her forties, is portrayed by Monika Panwar.
Filming and post-production
Nishaanchi was shot largely in Uttar Pradesh, with Lucknow and Kanpur serving as the principal locations. The film began production in early 2024 and was virtually completed by that July. Kashyap claimed that Nishaanchi was his “longest, most elaborate shoot yet” because it was completed in 69 days, whereas the majority of his films were completed in 30 days. Red Chillies VFX handled the visual effects for the dual role scenes, which were filmed two months apart. According to Kashyap, the usage of special effects was effective in conveying the two contrasting roles.
Themes and influences
Although Kashyap had often stated that the movie was influenced by Salim-Javed’s masala endeavors, many critics acknowledged that the movie was inspired by the Gangs of Wasseypur series; however, Kashyap refuted this.
Songs/Music
In his first composition and songwriting career, Anurag Saikia, Manan Bhardwaj, Dhruv Ghanekar, Nishikar Chhibber, and Aaishvary wrote 15 songs for the album. Shashwat Dwivedi, Varun Grover, Dr. Sagar, Pyarelal Yadav, Renu Chhibber, Bhardwaj, and Aaishvary wrote the lyrics. The album was published under the Zee Music Company label on 5 September 2025.
Marketing and release
On August 8, 2025, the teaser was made public. On September 3, 2025, the trailer was made public. Nishaanchi was theatrically released on 19 September 2025.
Review
NDTV’s Saibal Chatterjee gave it a rating of 3 out of 5 and noted that the film was full of twisted emotions, earthy humor, and raw action that frequently resulted in full-blown violence.
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated 2.5 stars out of 5 and commented that the finest of Anurag Kashyap has always contained moments and scenarios which go for the jugular, no waffling, no wasting time, but in this one, you are hard set to locate those that will be stayers.
Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India stated that Anurag Kashyap seeks vintage Anurag Kashyap for 176 minutes, but the patience does not pay off.
Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times rated 3 stars out of 5 and commented that Nishaanchi is Kashyap returning to familiar territory, armed with a fresh cast and his typical combination of grit and comedy. The film has moments that dazzle but also stretches that weigh it down. Though it never completely leaves the shadow of Wasseypur, the performances and Kashyap’s attention to detail make it worth seeing if you can get beyond the drag.
According to Anuj Kumar of The Hindu, this wild story of crime and retribution feels like an extravagant homage to the filmmaker’s finest qualities.
“Nishaanchi” is a gripping movie, but it’s not flawless, according to Abhishek Srivastava of The Times of India, who scored it 3.5 stars out of 5. The runtime is hefty, and the songs don’t stick with you, but the world Kashyap crafts and the performances make it worth it to suffer through. It blends comedy, crime, and family drama in a way that is simultaneously modern and classic.
Sana Farzeen of India Today awarded it 3/5 stars and remarked that Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Nishaanchi’ presents a vibrant blend of drama, humour, and outstanding performances. The film’s overindulgence and familiar cliches may divide fans, but a sequel promises additional twists.
Although Nishaanchi is not a home hit for Anurag Kashyap, there is enough joy in this crowd-pleaser, according to Mayur Sanap of Rediff.com, who gave it three stars out of five.
Scroll’s Nandini Ramnath. The film features several outrageous scenes, sardonic humor, and meta-asides regarding the impact of popular Hindi films. Kashyap’s ability to push performers to reach their full potential is a tremendous asset to Nishaanchi.
Anurag Kashyap revisits criminals and the heartland, although not as harshly as Gangs of Wasseypur, according to Shubham Kulkarni of OTTPlay, who gave it a rating of 3 out of 5. Although the setup is sound and the sparks are present, Part 1 hardly reaches its full potential.
“Nishaanchi is pure Salim-Javed drama,” said Devesh Sharma of Filmfare, who awarded the movie 3.5 stars. Aaishvary Thackeray, a recent arrival, makes an impression in two roles.
A critic based at Bollywood Hungama awarded it 3/5 stars and said that Nishaanchi is a gritty, engrossing journey that proves Anurag Kashyap’s aptitude for combining crime, drama, and dark humor into a compelling narrative.
Subhash K. Jha, writing for News 24, gave it 4 stars out of 5 and wrote in his review that Anurag Kashyap never fails to tell it how it is. A bank robbery opens his latest film, Nishaanchi, a beautiful blend of ferocity and compassion that ends with one of the protagonists feeling terribly deceived and compromised.
Ganesh Aaglave of Firstpost awarded it 3/5 stars and commented that, with its non-linear editing, storyline, rural set-up, and desi dialogues, Nishaanchi brilliantly unfolds as a revenge crime thriller with a musical touch.
References:
- Contributors to Wikimedia projects. (2026). Nishaanchi – Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishaanchi
- BookMyShow. (2025). Nishaanchi (2025) – Movie | Reviews, Cast & Release Date in Kurukshetra- BookMyShow. BookMyShow. https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/kuru/nishaanchi/ET00449979
