Breaking Down the Ending of Netflix’s Indian Supernatural Thriller Baramulla

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The tragic past behind the ghosts

The house Ridwaan and his family move into once belonged to the Sapru family – Kamalanand, his wife Mansi, and their children Eela and Sharad – who were Kashmiri Pandits. For centuries, the Pandits, a Hindu minority, lived in Kashmir, a region with a majority Muslim population. However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they faced persecution and were forced to leave their homes due to a rise in militant groups demanding independence for Kashmir and its conversion to an Islamic state. Thousands of Pandit families were displaced or killed during this time. The story revisits this tragic period through the Sapru family, whose house was attacked by militants. Kamalanand was killed first, followed by Mansi and Eela, after Eela’s friend, Zainab, unintentionally revealed their hiding place. Only Sharad survived the initial attack, but he disappeared soon after. The house became a place of lasting sorrow, and the spirits of the Sapru family – especially Eela and Mansi – are said to remain there, haunted by their deaths. The film portrays these spirits through the appearance of white flowers, which appear before each child disappears in the present day.

Why are the children disappearing?

Ridwaan initially suspects that local extremists are kidnapping children to force them into becoming soldiers, but the investigation quickly reveals a much more complex situation. The disappearances begin with Shoaib Ansari, son of a prominent former politician, who vanishes during a magic trick. Then, another boy, Faizal, disappears while fishing. The situation becomes deeply personal when Ridwaan’s own daughter, Noorie, vanishes from their home, and another boy, Yassir, seemingly disappears into a tree that transforms into a dark gateway.

It turns out the extremists, Khalid and Juneid (Yassir’s uncle), are targeting these vulnerable children, hoping to recruit them into their militant group with false promises of faith and acceptance, all under the direction of a shadowy figure called Bhaijaan. However, before the extremists can act, the children vanish after encountering white tulips near the locations where they disappeared.

These tulips mark the presence of the Sapru spirits, who are actually rescuing the children. They’re taking them to a spiritual realm where they sleep safely, protected from the extremists. The film surprisingly reveals that the ghosts aren’t the ones causing harm—they’re the heroes who are saving the children.

Who is really behind the kidnapping attempts?

The story reaches its climax as Juneid attacks Ridwaan’s house, convinced he’s hiding the missing children. The house, haunted by a past tragedy, becomes a scene of violence once more, echoing history. The spirits of the Sapru family intervene, protecting the Sayyed family and killing most of Juneid’s group. Juneid escapes with Zainab, who is revealed to be the same woman who betrayed the Saprus in the 1990s and now works as a teacher at the children’s school. Earlier, she had claimed to be receiving threats from militants.

With the police surrounding the house, Juneid demands safe passage. In a dramatic turn, Gulnaar, possessed by Mansi’s spirit, shoots Zainab, and Ridwaan kills Juneid. The shocking truth is then revealed: Ridwaan calls Bhaijaan using Juneid’s phone, but it’s Zainab’s phone that rings – she is actually Bhaijaan, the extremist leader who used her position as a teacher to find and recruit the children.

After Juneid and Zainab die, the missing children reappear unharmed in the places they were last seen, as if waking from a long sleep.

How does Baramulla end?

The movie concludes with Ridwaan being hailed as the hero who cracked the case. He and his family then leave Baramulla to start a new life. Six months later, in Mumbai, we see Ayaan giving an elderly man a small box of seashells – the very same box that once belonged to Eela Sapru when she was a child. This man is revealed to be Sharad Sapru, the only person who survived the massacre. Overcome with emotion, he clutches the box and gazes off into the distance, creating one of the film’s most powerful scenes.

The film ends with a sense of spiritual healing, as the troubled spirits of Sapru finally find peace after years of turmoil. Ultimately, Baramulla is more than just a thriller; it’s a story about guilt, belief, and how communities remember the past. By blending horror with the realities of political trauma, the film presents its ghosts as symbols of Kashmir—a place where the past isn’t truly gone, but suppressed, and where lasting freedom requires acknowledging the suffering of everyone involved.

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2025-11-08 05:06