Vadh is an Indian thriller that features a talented cast, with Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta in lead roles, and a stellar story. It’s about an old man who ends up committing a murder — for a very good reason — and how he tries to cope with everything afterward.
The most interesting thing about Vadh’s plot is how it plays with morality and human nature in a delicate manner; so let’s get right to it.
Consider yourself warned: Spoilers ahead!
Vadh Plot Overview
Vadh is the story of Shambhunath Mishra (aka “Masterji”), an old man who lives a rather simple and honest life with his wife, Manju. As nice a man as he is, Mishra is unfortunately stuck under a mountain of debt that he acquired in order to send his son Guddu (who is now too busy and ignores his own parents) to the US.
Prajapati Pandey, a local goon from whom Masterji also borrowed money, frequently drops by to harass the old man. For the most part, Mishra also doesn’t fight back.
However, all of that changes one day.
Pandey visits Mishra and proposes something that sounds too good to be true — the former will forgive a huge chunk of the debt for financial relief. But in return, he asks Mishra to go fetch a young girl he tutors named Naina.
What Mishra does next is as unexpected as it feels justified — he kills Pandey and disposes of his body.
Vadh Ending Explained
Does Mishra Get Caught?
No, Mishra never gets arrested by the cops, even though Shakti Singh is fully aware of what the truth is.
In the end, it is Dada (the MLA) who gets charged for Pandey’s murder.
Why does this happen?
Well, when Mishra first goes to the police station to confess to the killing, Constable Sitaram doesn’t even take him seriously. After all, in a previous visit to Masterji’s house, Sitaram had spotted a copy of a fictional crime stories magazine called Manohar Kahaniyaa, and the cop thinks Mishra has lifted a story from there.
Sitaram simply refused to believe the old man!
So then, Mishra goes home and reveals to his wife his exact reason for killing Pandey, and the husband and wife are able to rekindle their emotional relationship.
When Singh comes back, a drunken Sitaram tells him about Mishra’s confession, and Singh realises the Masterji wasn’t lying.
As such, Singh tries to go after Mishra and get a confession, but the old man denies making any confession to Sitaram in the first place. But the inspector doesn’t let up either; in specific, he wants Mishra to hand over Pandey’s phone to him.
Mishra goes home and searches everywhere, finally finding Pandey’s phone in the crevice of his couch. He then steps out to buy a charger for it, and in the meantime, Dada’s lackeys come and start emptying Mishra’s house before beating up the old man.
After this incident, Singh visits Mishra in the hospital, and the old man hands Pandey’s phone over to the cop. Manju also stops the cop as he leaves and says she will hand him the evidence he needs to prove Pandey was murdered (because, remember, the police don’t have a dead body or any other clue that could prove Pandey’s murder anyway).
The implication of this scene is that Manju strikes a deal with Singh to let her husband go scot-free if she reveals key pieces of evidence related to the case.
It is then revealed that Singh was actually having an affair with the MLA’s wife, and Pandey had a recording of them on his phone, which is why the cop so desperately wanted the device.
Singh then drags Dada to jail, armed with the murder weapon and Pandey’s blood-soaked clothes. Still, in an attempt to cover up his own acts, the corrupt cop throws the politician in jail, thereby letting Mishra go free without any consequences.
Mishra even reveals this much to Dada, who is behind bars, before walking away (to triumphant background music) from the jail.
Why Did Mishra Kill Pandey?
Though the film never explicitly reveals what Pandey wanted to do with Naina, given his past behaviour in Mishra’s house, it is most likely that the loan shark would have sexually assaulted the 12-year-old — which explains the murder-inducing rage Mishra felt.
After all, the film repeatedly establishes that Pandey is a horrible man for whom morals don’t matter (or even exist). Vadh repeatedly showcases Pandey harassing Mishra, even showing up at the old couple’s house with a woman and booze before using their bedroom for sex.
Even when he is having ice cream with his own daughter and spots Masterji coming out of an ATM, Pandey feels no empathy or remorse before taking money out of the old man’s pocket.
Naturally, neither the protagonist nor the audience has any reason to believe that Pandey can curb his more evil impulses.
Mishra even clarifies his reasons for killing Pandey at various points in Vadh, saying that he did not lose sleep over killing someone with such horrible intentions. It is also worth noting that Naina, although his student, is actually more like a daughter to Mishra, so he really seemed to be protecting someone he loved.
Up until he kills Pandey, Mishra is a docile man who just leads his life in a simple and honest way. He has taken on a lot of debt to send his son to the US, only for him to forget about his old and ailing parents.
There’s so much that probably hasn’t worked out for Mishra in his life, but he has largely been quiet about it all, including the harassment he faces from Pandey and feeling abandoned by his own son.
Masterji has been quiet about all his problems, but Pandey’s proposition is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Where Do Mishra and His Wife Go?
In the final scene of the movie, the Mishras lock up their house and are seen leaving with their bags. But before the curtain drops, they hand over the keys to Naina’s family, which has been living in a dilapidated property this whole time.
Vadh never explicitly states where the couple is heading off to, but one thing is clear — they are never coming back.
Given the dismal state of their relationship with their son, it seems obvious that the Mishras aren’t going to jet off to the US.
Instead, it seems as though they are leaving town just so that he can never be pinned to the crime again. It took some luck but a whole lot of pain for Masterji to be able to evade charges, so it is obvious the old couple do not want to risk anything by continuing to stay in the same locality.
In order to protect themselves, it seems the duo will move to some other town or city that is far, far away. After all, since there is nothing tying Mishra to the murder instead of his own word, they have the perfect opportunity to make a clean break for it. But if they were to stay, who knows if the case came back to haunt them?
What About Guddu?
Vadh makes it very clear that the Mishras have a son who is so consumed by his own family and life in the US that it is practically impossible for him to make any time for his parents. In fact, it seems as though the only reason they are in touch is because the parents make an effort to go to a cyber cafe and Skype him.
Even when they do talk to Guddu, he seems short-tempered and perpetually busy.
There’s also the fact that Mishra took a whole load of money for Guddu from Pandey, which is what gets him in trouble in the first place.
But through it all, their son simply cribs and cribs and cribs…
As stated before, Mishra stays quiet about everything, but something in him cracks when Pandey makes the god-awful proposal to him. This isn’t to glorify or justify a murder, but there is definitively a change in Mishra after he kills Pandey.
The old man becomes more confident, especially because no one is onto him. In fact, the only reason the cops even go after Masterji at the end is because he went to them with a confession!
Whatever his state of emotions, it is clear that the darkest hour in Mishra’s life has also lit something new in him — something that wasn’t there before.
Masterji decides to cut all contact with Guddu, given how there was anyway nothing in their bond worth salvaging. Plus, they give the house to Naina and leave the city, and its highly unlikely that they would have called and informed their son about the same. While its hard to predict what the future holds for the Mishra family, the chances of Guddu reaching out to his parents don’t seem all that great.
