00:00Good afternoon, this is Manjusha from Gulf News, and this weekend,
00:03I saw the absolutely riveting and terrifying crime series called Paatal Lok.
00:14It stars Jaideep Allawat, Neeraj Kabhi, and a clutch of very talented actors.
00:19It's a nine-episode series that released on Amazon Prime,
00:23and it takes you into the world of Inspector Khatiram Chaudhary, played by Jaideep.
00:29You know him from Raazi, Gangs of Hasekpur, and he's one of the most talented actors.
00:33And this is his really breakout role, and he does full justice to it.
00:38You have Inspector Khatiram Chaudhary, who's like this odd-bellied cop, he's down on his luck,
00:44he's swimming in mediocrity. One day, he gets tasked with this very high-profile case,
00:49where he has to solve the case of four assassins trying to murder a very high-profile journalist,
00:57played by Neeraj Kabhi. It's based on Tarun Tejpal's former editor of Telka,
01:04who was tainted, who was accused of sexual misconduct and rape charges, who's now out on
01:10bail. It's based on his book called The Story of Assassins. However, he was not involved in
01:15the series at all, according to Amazon Prime. However, it's a very dark and disturbing thriller.
01:21It's not very easy to watch this series, honestly, because there are times when you
01:26need to take a break, because there is plenty of violence, there is blood, there's gore,
01:31and the backstories of the assassins is very, very disturbing. It takes you into both the
01:38dirt and grime of the current India, both in the urban and the rural villages. So,
01:45what you have is a very unsanitized, deep and dark web thriller. And what you love about it
01:53is also the performances. I mean, you look at Jaideep as Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary,
01:58he just reels you in with his very wicked and warped act. Here is a cop who knows that he
02:04isn't very good at his job. He has not got the promotion that he perhaps deserves, or did not
02:09play his political games right in his office. But suddenly, he's got this chance to redeem himself.
02:16And you see this cop who fights against the system, within the system, and tries to solve
02:22the case. It's one of the few series that also does not pull back when it comes to showing India
02:30in a not so flattering light. I mean, it deals with child abuse, it deals with the Islamophobia,
02:37it deals with how even minority cops who are Muslims are not given the same treatment,
02:42were treated like secondary class citizens in India. These are issues that are usually
02:48not addressed in web series. But then to have the kind of time and the depth to delve into it
02:54and give it the right spin, I think Anushka Sharma, who produces the series has done a great job.
03:00It's directed by Prasit Roy and Avinash Arun, who have done such a tremendous job of bringing
03:06together a clutch of very talented actors and giving us a very wicked tale. I mean,
03:12it's not easy to watch. Like I said, I had to take a few breaks in between the episodes
03:16so that I could just absorb it. However, it's also perfect for a binge watch if you're really
03:22into a series that does not glorify all these all-conquering heroes. Here, you have a series
03:29that, you know, that throws its spotlight on a central character who is jaded, who's cynical,
03:36who somehow is not on top of his game. I mean, it's such a departure of sorts from the usual
03:41Bollywood heroes who are indestructible, who are larger than life, who are like Salman Khan in,
03:45like, say, the Bang series. Here, you have a very dark series, and that's what I really enjoyed
03:50about it. Another part that I really liked are, like, the backstories of the anti-heroes. It's
03:56not just the cops who are given. There's also a nexus between the politicians, the paid serial
04:01killers. What are their backstories? What leads these criminals to do such terrible acts against
04:06humankind? That's also the kind of psychology that goes into it was also delved into. The
04:11backstories are very disturbing. There will be times when you don't know where this particular
04:15series is headed. Where is the case heading? There are so many texts and subtexts and sub-layers that
04:21you're often confused. And even the political nexus between the criminals, the politicians,
04:27their game of power, the caste politics, the Islamophobia, etc. may get a bit too dense and a
04:33bit too dark. But be at it because this is one series where redemption is not for sale. There
04:39are no happy endings, but it just shows you a crime thriller that is really as good, if not
04:45even better than The Family Man and The Sacred Games. I've gone with 3.5 out of 5. For my full
04:51review, go to gulfnews.com.
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