Creator Neeraj Pandey, a keen student of film, is constantly editing chapters that praise the achievements of troops in uniform and fatigues. He performs well on this syllabus. Following a captivating Bihar film that immersed us in the tangle of caste and criminality in Bihar, Pandey and his creative team head further east to provide a glimpse of the power struggles politicians in West Bengal engage in.
Prominent politician and businessman Barun Roy (Prosenjit Chatterjee) keeps ahead of the opposition, led by Nibedita Basak (Chitrangada Singh), by using criminals and police officers. A shady work for the kingmaker is performed by Ganglord Shankar Barua (Saswata Chatterjee), who rose from poverty to become popular among the underprivileged. But when his two entrepreneurial acolytes, Sagar (Ritwik Biswas) and Ranjit (Adil Khan), allow their egos and ambitions to overrule them and shoot down two police officers, Baruah alias Bagha loses control over his lair in the politics of fear. Roy calls in Ajay Mitra (Jeet), a law enforcement officer who prioritizes goals over means, to clean up the mess. However, the strategy fails as anticipated.
The show aims to reveal a mutually beneficial relationship between politicians and criminals in the State for the Hindi belt, set around a time when the Communist Party was in power and Mamata Banerjee was becoming a formidable rival to the red fortress. Although the scenarios and names are made up, the goal is straightforward. These days, OTT platforms prepare the same Bollywood meal in a regional pan to generate a credible taste in order to overcome the restrictions of ideas and imagination. Additionally, authors use gore, blood, and a few profanities to make up for their lack of words.
In order to create this pan-Indian experience, Netflix has enlisted Bengali film industry stars in response to Rana Naidu’s popularity. Although the series has a unique flavor, the Hindi ululation is ineffective. For example, reciting Maula Maula doesn’t always result in a work of art. Sufi, images of Howrah Bridge and yellow taxis don’t give a collection of repurposed concepts a Bengali soul. Furthermore, dim lighting doesn’t give a dilettanteish scene depth.
Furthermore, Jeet is not the ideal candidate to captain a pan-India series that includes three talented Chatterjees: Saswata, Parambrata, and Prosenjit. Jeet isn’t horrible, but in a world where layers are all the rage, he’s too stiff. Prosenjit is a complete joy in the part of a cunning politician. He demonstrates, with Saswata, how to underplay without becoming a piece of furniture in the frame. They may be to blame for our excessive expectations of a vehicle intended for an average rider content with a few kicks in the stomach, since they elevate the series’ opening stanzas in the Bengali-flavored Hindi.
It’s interesting to note that the show’s use of shock and awe in its narrative extends to its casting decisions. The relatively new faces are given the opportunity to show off their skills while the more experienced players fade out. If they had added additional flair to match the experienced players’ elegance, it would have worked. Although Ritwik and Adil do a good job of depicting the shaky connection between fire and ice, they fall short of becoming essential to the plot. Adil seemed like the show’s star until the writers let him down, but he has the voice and presence that the big screen requires.
Saddled with a sketchy character, Chitrangada struggles in the Bangla milieu. Nibedita is the source of fear for the ruling party but instead of giving her character a proper arc, the makers keep dropping her now and then as per convenience to state the obvious. The series ultimately gives the impression that they are opening chapters in the east and the northeast and selling them to log a book on diversity of content because Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh are proving to be no-go regions for streaming giants.
