Bobby Deol’s Film “Bander” Makes it to TIFF 2025 – Anurag Kashyap Brings an Untold Story to Life

Bander: Bobby Deol returns with a striking and ghastly image in an upcoming movie known as Bander or Monkey in a Cage directed by Anurag Kashyap. The movie is one of the most awaited ones, which is now selected officially to take part in the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which will take place between September 4 and 14, 2025. The movie is also a milestone in the Indian cinema when it strides on to one of the most revered world platforms.

This was announced along with the intentional poster of the first look of the film which shows Bobby Deol in a packed, dark room with his face portraying despair and silence. The visual is almost a tell-tale sign of the intense and emotional plot of the movie that is purported to be having a basis on real events.

The team of the film wrote the following caption, “A story that possibly was not the story to tel

l… but now, it is officially selected at the 50 th Toronto International Film Festival.” These are words which are deep and daring in the narration of the film. Bander is not another movie, it is a story that does not hesitate to talk about hard core facts.

The movie will go under the pick of Special presentation at TIFF 2025. The section is notable to present powerful and remarkable news globally. To be included in this category is a great accomplishment and it shows how Indian story telling has appeal across international levels.

The protagonist of this film is Bobby Deol who has been riding high on his years of successful career resurgence following his critically acclaimed work of late. His face in the poster is a deep puzzle of a tragic character who is strangled by the conflict of emotions and mind.

She is accompanied by Sanya Malhotra who is a versatile actor and takes up bold roles that are out-of-the box. Saba Azad and Sapna Pabbi are also part of the supporting cast and they add weight and variety to the group.

The film is directed by Anurag Kashyap who is famous in the uncut and uncensored story telling of his films especially in Gangs of Wasseypur, Black Friday, and Ugly. In “Bander,” he takes us back to where he belongs and introduces us not only with a bold story but also a very brutal one. Kashyap is not an ordinary director whose style may include the mixture of reality and fiction that questions the norms and truth of society.

Nikhil Dwivedi is a filmmaker and producer who has already proved himself by giving hits such as Veere Di Wedding and CTRL and is the producer of the film. Dwivedi is still in favour of unconventional and relevance cinema. He is also in the project of fantasy drama named Naagin with Shraddha Kapoor in the house.

The fact that Bander was chosen in Toronto Film Festival is not only a success of the cast and crew but the success of the Indian Cinema as well. One of the films at TIFF 2025 will be presented in more than 30 countries, and it will be a pride to have the film called “Bander” among them. It proves that the world has acknowledged the fact that Indian movies have now achieved through strong story lines and international quality performances.

What is notable about Bander is that it aims at telling a story which stretches the viewer. The themes that the film evolves around are confinement, mental illness, social abuse and social deception. The title, Monkey in a Cage is symbolic of the emotional and societal trap that the characters and possibly the society at large is going through.

The character that Bobby Deol plays in the movie turns out to be a voice which has been suppressed long enough. There is some allusion to something much deeper than meets the eye with every statement and every silence in the film. Along with the fearless direction of Kashyap and fine actors in the supporting roles, one can be sure that Bander, is going to be a film that you can never forget.