Agnibaan (2026) Movie Review: An Action Film that Gets Pulled in Too Many Directions 

“Agnibaan” (2025) is an important film for two individuals: Jatin Bora and Kamal Lochan Deka, because it is Jatin Bora’s first release after the debacle of “Raghav” (2023), while for Kamal Lochan Deka, it is his first major release since “Abhimannyu” (2024). In “Agnibaan,” the socio-political situation of Assam is in a bad shape. It has been affected by a serial bomb blasts which have killed many. Moreover, the state is filled with dubious people of unknown origins involved in illicit trades of illegal materials like drugs. And if the mention of dubious people of unknown origins paints a particular picture in your mind, blame contemporary politics, not the film. Meanwhile, the hero is surnamed Sharma, with the villain being a Jahangir Alom Khan, and the wise don’t need it spelled out. One character thinks that the government’s actions are merely a PR stunt, but, unfortunately, they are killed halfway through the film.

There is a sub-plot of Kuddus (Siddartha Mukherjee), an illegal immigrant, who has enough on his plate to make the film peculiarly attuned to the dominant narratives of the current issues of state politics. To eliminate many like him, the CM (Bobbeeta Sharma) employs an off-the-books covert team, led by the fiery Ahiran Sharma (Jatin Bora), for whom a gun or an umbrella makes no difference. Sharma often cross path with the more legally backed procedural arms of the state, which includes the team of PK Rahman (Himangsu Prasad Das) with Veena (Konkana Chakraborty) as their boss. They are not of much use as they repetitively fail in their assigned tasks. And then there is the plot of an international crime nexus targeting Assam and the Northeast India, which involves everyone from local politicians and kingmakers to nasty drug lords and criminal master minds.

This triptych structure and moving between a revenge story, a police procedural, and a narco-terrorism plot keep a lot of things going on in the film. However, it leans more towards fragmentation rather than complementing each other. There are multiple narrations and points of view to follow, to the extent that one begins to wonder which strand constitutes the main story and which functions as its subplot. The chapterisation and the dialogues that continue forever, without adding anything new, do not help either. In essence, the film lacked certain urgency in its storytelling, which makes action-thrillers like this fast, tense, and gripping.

The promising lack of a convenient structural arrangement doubles up the film’s emphasis on the characters as much as it squeezes thin the plot. Every small and big character has a back story, which is shown with an equal amount of emphasis. It is also counterproductive that the lead character breaks the alarm clock in the opening moments of the film, especially since the film then proceeds to run for nearly two hours and fifty minutes. Meanwhile, the casual feminism arc with Prerona (Preety Kongana) and the forced comedy scenes built around toilet humour could have been easily avoided.

Nevertheless, the film’s notable strength lies in its action design. With well-choreographed hand-to-hand combat scenes, stylised gunfights, and large-scale action set pieces, “Agnibaan” is successful in generating the contemporary action aesthetics of Bollywood and South Indian films. Its cinematography (by Pradip Daimary) and action choreography are top-notch. Meanwhile, Bhaimon Da fame Bondip Sarma as a transgender is an amazing highlight, but it falls into the age-old trap of capturing them in a negative light. Then Ravi Sharma, as Legend, is another highlight of the film, who dominates the frame with his small guest appearance.

The film also leans into meta-humour, sprinkling in tongue-in-cheek references to the actors’ earlier work. Himangshu Prasad Das name-drops “Hanuman”; tracks from “Ratnakar” (2019) accompany scenes featuring Jatin Bora; and Jivitesh Mazumdar—Bora’s co-star in “Raghav” (2023)—makes a cameo in a party number in “Agnibaan”. Add to this a handful of blink-and-you-miss-it meme references, and the film rewards attentive, pop-culture-literate viewers with quiet in-jokes.

In terms of acting, Jatin Bora’s stardom felt somewhat underutilized, as if the director was unable to capture him in all his glory. His heroic aura didn’t fully come through the screen, though he still maintained a strong screen presence. And it was good to see Bobbeeta Sharma back on the screen after a long break. Kamal Lochan Deka, as the villain, brought a sense of menace and looked cool, but his character seemed to lack depth and grounding, giving the impression that he was performing in a vacuum. Furthermore, there is nothing much to write about Himangshu Prasad Das’ performance here, but Kankana Chakraborty definitely overperformed.

“Agnibaan,” which was released on February 6, 2026, across more than seventy cinema halls of the state, marks the final film in which Zubeen Garg has lent his voice to a Jatin Bora film. It thus brings to an end a nearly two-decade-long creative journey of the duo. “Agnibaan” also stands as the final screen appearance of veteran actor Kulada Kumar Bhattacharya, who passed away in 2024. And it’s the second time writer Ajit Giri has put Kulada Kumar Bhattacharya in a bathtub (previously in “Bisaa”). The nation needs to know why.

The songs and music treatment of “Agnibaan” is also noteworthy, with a new XMX song being the main highlight. Much like “Joy Hanu Man” (2024), “Agnibaan” also ends with the promise of a sequel where Legend is set to take revenge on Ahiran and team. Now, only time can reveal how the sequel will come into fruition. The poster design of the film is another aspect where the film deserves appreciation, which otherwise is an often-ignored aspect of Assamese cinema. Hope other filmmakers soon catch up in their poster game.

“Agnibaan” is directed by “Kolongpar fame” Mrinmoy Saikia and produced by Mayurakshee Sharma and Sailen Sharma. It is written by Ajit Giri, Saptrashi Gogoi, and Mrinmoy Saikia.

Read More: Assamese Cinema 2025: From Record‑Breakers to Rapid Flops

Agnibaan (2026) Movie Link: IMDb

Where to watch Agnibaan