The 2023 Hindi-language spy comedyMrs. Undercoveris an action-packed and funny thriller that also has a message about societal and family expectations of women. Directed by Anushree Mehta,Mrs. Undercoverpremiered on August 24, 2025, with Radhika Apte leading the cast as the titular undercover agent, Durga.Mrs. Undercovertakes lessons fromthe best spy comedy moviesand makes sure to balance the laughs with some fantastic stunts.2023 was a great year for Bollywood, with films likeMrs. Undercoverpropping up the industry.
InMrs. Undercover, a serial killer (Sumeet Vyas), known as “The Common Man” is targeting Indian women of high professional standing and who consider themselves independent. To catch the killer, a special forces team recruits a deep undercover agent, Durga. Durga has been undercover for 13 years and has completely forgotten her training. Running out of options, the team sends Durga to Kolkata Girls College, where “The Common Man” is running a woman’s empowerment seminar, under his alter ego, Ajay.Durga must remember her training and learn to be independentto stop the killer.
Durga Stops Ajay And Kills Him
Durga Rescues The Chief Minister And Saves The Day
Durga does not figure out that her instructor and the serial killer she’s been after are the same person until near the end of the film. After killing the treacherous Aisha (Roshni Bhattacharya) who was a mole for Ajay, Durga uncovers his real identity. Durga realizes this just as the year-ending art performance at Kolkata begins, with the female Chief Minister (Nandini Chatterjee) in attendance. As Ajay leaves the auditorium, Durga realizes who he is and understands that there’s a bomb hidden within a box of confetti set to go off at the end of the ceremony, killing everyone.
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Durga defuses the bomb and saves the CM and everyone else. She manages to corner Ajay with an entourage of police officers and points to a mole on his arm as irrefutable proof that he and The Common Man are the same person. However,Ajay revels in the fact that there’s still not enough evidence to convict him, a fact that Durga and the police must concede, but that doesn’t stop her.
Durga asks the CM and the police to leave the auditorium and, in a moment of extrajudicial vengeance, she and the other woman at Kolkata beat Ajay to death.
Durga asks the CM and the police to leave the auditorium and, in a moment of extrajudicial vengeance, she and the other woman at Kolkata beat Ajay to death. Before they do so, Durga makes Ajay film a video, much in the same way he would force his victims. It’s a brutal end to Ajay, but an ironic fate considering how much he delighted in forcing powerful women to cower in front of him before he killed them.
Ajay Was Using His Position At Kolkata Girls College To Target Powerful Women
Ajay Was The Instructor For A Women’s Empowerment Class
By day, Ajay was a professor at the Kolkata Girls College, but by night, he donned the terrifying alter ego of, “The Common Man”, a serial killer who targeted successful women. Likeany good serial killer movie,Mrs Undercovermakes a connection between the two lives of the murderer, and it’s not a coincidence that Ajay works to empower women.
In a way, he is farming his next victims. By running this seminar, Ajay has a first-hand look at prospective targets. Working at Kolkata, he can determine who will go on to be a successful professional, and therefore, who will be his next victim. It makes for an interesting dynamic thatthe man these women are putting their faith in to empower and teach them has a completely different motivationfor doing so. Ajay succeeding at Kolkata actually enhances his serial killing efforts.
Deb Apologizes To Durga For Cheating On Her
Deb Was Cheating On Durga With One Of Ajay’s Moles
While spending time at Kolkata, Durga meets Aisha, who she becomes friendly with. However, while investigating a lead, Durga uncovers that Aisha has been romantically texting her husband, Deb (Saheb Chatterjee). This becomes a double betrayal whenDurga learns that Aisha is actually an undercover mole, working for Ajay. Aisha incorrectly assumes that Deb is the secret agent that is after Ajay, and so tries to get close to him and Deb happily accepts her overtures.
Aisha invites Deb to her hotel room, ostensibly for a romantic liaison, but secretly plans to murder him. Durga, who has access to the messages now, decides that despite the betrayal, she can’t let Deb die and goes to the hotel to confront Aisha. In the ensuing fight, Durga manages to get the drop on Aisha and kills her. At the very end of the film, Deb comes clean to Durga about his cheating, but Durga does not accept the apology.
All film, Deb talks down to Durga, and discourages her from attending Kolkata, telling her that the woman’s place is in the home.He is every stereotypical male figure who believes women can’t achieveand to try is disrespectful and unnatural. After learning about his cheating, Durga realizes how hypocritical and weak her husband actually is. When he tries to apologize, she hears the lack of sincerity and finally cuts ties with the man who never thought much of her in the first place.
Durga Leaves Her Husband To Start A New Undercover Mission
Durga Decides To Be A Spy Full Time
After refusing to accept her husband’s apology, Durga returns to her government handlers and happily accepts another deep cover mission. Durga has been out of the game for 13 years, but after the events ofMrs Undercover, she realizes she still has more to give to the agency. Her decision to reenter the service is an acknowledgment of her own talent and capabilities.
For the longest time, Durga had been so deep into her undercover role, she had forgotten that she had her own life to live, andher decision to take on a new mission is a sign of rediscovering her own path.
The Real Meaning Of Mrs. Undercover’s Ending
Durga Gains Independence From The Men In Her Life
Mrs Undercoveris primarily an action comedy with a lot of focus on the jokes and the thrills. However,the film still has something consequential to say about women, and how they are expected to act. The main killer, Ajay, specifically targets independent, successful women, and forces them to record a video that mocks their power. His point is clear, these women, no matter how far they go, will always be at the mercy of men.
This story is paralleled with Durga’s life, though in a much less violent way. She has accepted the role as a wife and mother for 13 years, but when she decides that she may want to do something else, the man in her life, Deb, mocks her for striving. The women inMrs Undercoverconstantly have men lording over them and any attempts to become something more are met with ridicule or even violence. It’s not until the women stand up for one another, like at the end ofMrs Undercover, that they reveal how small these men are.
