Kaala Review: Gripping tale of reverse money laundering
Bambai Meri Jaan Web Series Rating: 3 Stars
Finally watched Kaala Web Series on Hotstar. So, let’s analyze the cast, release date, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this web series.
Cast: Avinash Tiwary, Rohan Vinod Mehra, Nivetha Pethuraj, Jitin Gulati, Hiten Tejwani and Taher Shabbir
Director: Bejoy Nambiar
Release Date: 15th September 2023 on Hotstar
Duration: 8 Episodes/ 40 Minutes
Story: Set in 1988 series opens with a big explosion in which a group of soldiers are killed in a surprise attack near the India-Bangladesh border. Shubhendu Mukherjee (Rohan Vinod Mehra) survives but declared as traitor. He has assumed the new identity of Adinath Bagchi after 30 years. He has a family of his own, comprising daughter Aloka (Elisha Mayor) and handicapped wife Madhu (Madhyama Segal).
The show then takes a leap of 30 years and then keeps going back and forth painstakingly connecting the dots between the past and the present. In present IB officer Ritwik Mukherji (Avinash Tiwary) is chasing kingpin Naman Arya (Taher Shabbir) who is doing illegal money laundering but known for his business of recycling garbage. He is also known as a waste king for his stellar work in the recycling of waste products.
Through his father tip Ritwik finds out that Naman is into reverse hawala. In a rare instance, Naman converts black money into white and is all set to send a huge consignment of cash out of India. He also able to nab cash worth Rs. 150 crores. Naman is arrested but the charges against him are not concrete enough. As a result, he secures bail. The chief minister of West Bengal (Mita Vashisht) promises help to Ritwik and his senior Himanshu (Danish Aslam) but later goes back on her word.
Amid all this, someone poisons Shubhendu and he dies. When Shubhendu doesn’t contact Ritwik for a couple of days, the latter realizes that the former is dead. Ritwik is able to locate Shubhendu’s residence in Darjeeling and that’s when he realizes that he’s none other than his father. Ritwik, however, has grown up thinking of him as a traitor. Hence, he’s stunned not just to know that he was his informer but also that his father lived happily with his family while he and his mother Paromita (Sreelekha Mitra) had to suffer extensively.
Will Ritwik able to stop money laundering and arrest Naman Arya. Who is behind him?? Why his father was declared as traitor and who did it?? How are the two storylines connected? To know the answers, you need to watch this series.
Positives
1. Excellent Performances
2. Story
3. Direction
4. Screenplay
Negatives
1. Length
2. Unnecessary Sub-plots
3. Climax
4. Slow & repetitive at many places
5. Music
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this web-series, planned to watch this series in my free time as trailer looks gripping and entertaining.
When a young Intelligence Bureau officer Ritwik Mukherjee is implicated in a massive reverse Hawala racket, he must do whatever it takes to clear his name. In the process, long-buried secrets about Ritwik’s father and a decades-old tale of vengeance resurface, unveiling a shocking truth that began three decades ago.
Kaala is set in two decades. The action begins in 1988 and comes back to Ritwik in 2018. The connection between the decades is slowly unveiled and made clear. You are taken inside the turbulent world of scams, money laundering, accusations and gore without wasting any time. The show is too fast-paced and intertwined and might not fall under the category of a merry-watch. You ought to be attentive about names and plot changes to be able to phase through the episodes. It’s a super busy screenplay that is just as desperate and relentless as it is engaging. Nambiar stays committed to the pace of his storytelling and keeps unraveling mysterious new curveballs that aren’t always predictable. It does get tiring to keep up with so many tracks running concurrently and the constant switching between the years. But some stories truly stand out. With all its elements, series remains dedicated to offering a grand cinematic experience, even when viewed on a smaller screen. Loaded with intense action, adrenaline-pumping car chases, and explosive scenes, the story is skillfully brought to life. Performances and direction is major highlight of this film.
On the flipside, By the fourth episode, the multiple timelines, subplots and characters start to weigh heavily on the narrative. From interesting, it turns to messy and all over the place. The story jumps erratically from Kolkata to Siliguri to Darjeeling to even foreign shores of London and New York. The sole aim of this tactic seems to be to lend gravitas to a plot that has none. The plot too lacks in gravitas and a sense of urgency. The second half of the series is even more dull, drab and lacking in any real emotions. Certain characters are given a lot of importance, and one wonders why. It takes a while to realize the reason behind it. Once he ties up the loose ends and answers the unanswered queries, one gets impressed by the narrative. But until that happens, viewers might get restless. It has eight episodes and series could have been finished in 6 episodes to make this one crisper. Also, climax does leave any impact and could have been more meaningful.
Overall, series consistently provides an engaging dose of excitement in a fictional narrative of power, politics, and the darker aspects of human desires making it a watchable experience despite its flaws. It is a gripping saga works due to the performances direction and the impact generated by the last few episodes. My view on this web-series is Recommended.
For more updates on Bollywood and Cricket visit my page on Facebook Durgesh Tiwary’s View and website Cricket Movie Website