The story
Sanjeev Mehra (Neeraj Kabi), a well-known journalist is calling the shots at a leading news channel. After performing a number of successful sting operations, Sanjeev is found walking on thin ice as someone has decided on raking the dead, threatening Sanjeev’s life. Four suspects, Vishal Tyagi (Abhishek Banerjee), Tope Singh (Jagdeep Sandhu), Kabir M (Aasif Khan) and Mary Lyngdoh (Marirembam Ronaldo Singh), are caught red-handed by the CBI. Labelling the case unimportant, the CBI dumps it on Delhi Police. An inexperienced cop, Hathiram Choudhry (Jaideep Ahlawat), is put in-charge of the case. Hathiram and his assistant Imran Ansari (Ishwak Singh) get cracking and soon realise this is no ordinary ‘open and shut case’. Hathiram decides to take a look at the past of each convict to understand their mindset. In the process, he discovers Mary is a transgender along with a hoard of startling facts. But the quintessential question still remains, ‘Who’s after Sanjeev Mehra and why?’
The Review
Prosit Roy gives us a new perspective on horror as he walks us through the ground realities of the corporate world and gives us a glimpse of corruption in the service sector. The cast is prolific and the story is realistic. The plot sticks to the ground reality of the case without needlessly lionising the same.
Jaideep Ahlawat’s character is very grounded. Unlike other crime stories, the protagonist ‘Hathiram’ is shown as an inexperienced cop, who manages to work his way up the ladder, with a dint of hard work. Jaideep has showcased nuanced emotions and has played his part with utmost conviction.
Neeraj Pabi’s dialogues are limited, but he uses his eyes to do most of the talking. Abhishek Banerjee, plays the most challenging part. One can see that he’s enraged and fearless at the same time. Authorities find it extremely difficult to get the truth out of him. Gul Panag, who plays the part of Hathiram’s wife, could have done a better job. However, one cannot deny that she’s worked well on the intonation.
The series is well-executed, but stretches seamlessly. The directors could have worked around making it crisper — the back-stories could have been slightly curtailed to render the desired effect and keep with the viewer’s attention span. The good thing is there are no loose ends. The plot and the characters evolve very organically. Pretence has been parked as viewers can feel the pulse of each character as they play their part. The children have given their best shot at walking us through Mary’s childhood. Overall a must watch!
BOX
Name of the series: Paatal Lok
Cast: Jaideep Ahlawat, Neeraj Kabi, Gul Panang, Abhishek Banerjee, Marirembam Ronaldo Singh, Jagdeep Sandhu, Aasif Khan, Niharika Dutt, Neeraj Kabi, Swastika Mukherjee and Jai Malik.
Directors: Prosit Roy and Avinash Arun
Platform: Amazon Prime
Number of episodes: 9 (42 mins approx.)
Date of release: May 15
Rating: 3/5
