After playing a workaholic corporate boss in Netflix’s ‘The Royals’, Bhumi Pednekar is now back donning the khaki uniform with Prime Video’s new crime thriller ‘Daldaal’. Set against the grim backdrop of Mumbai’s dark streets and ‘Bhindi Bazar’, the series explores a serial killer whose brutality is soul-stirring.
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The Swamp: The Story
The series opens with Bhumi Pednekar’s character Rita Ferrera sitting with Geeta Aggarwal’s character Indu Mahatre in a restaurant in Mumbai, where Indu is reading a poem written on a piece of paper by a man at a nearby table. This moment creates disturbing thoughts in Rita’s mind. As the story goes, Rita and her accomplice Indu Mahatre successfully rescue the girls from the Pilawadi red-light area in an 8-week covert operation. After the successful operation, Rita Ferreira, who was the ACP at the time, is promoted to the post of DCP in the Mumbai Crime Branch. The story gets complicated when a dog-loving man who regularly feeds stray dogs on the beach is murdered, interestingly the same man Rita met the night before. Meanwhile, new reporter Anita Acharya questioned the police investigation. As the investigation deepens, another murder occurs, where Rita realizes that more than one person may be involved, following the same pattern of murder and targeting morally good people. And with every murder, the case gets more complicated. But will Rita be able to catch the real serial killer? Will more innocent people be killed? And what is the connection between Rita’s tragic past and current crimes? The answers to this emerge in the crime thriller swamp.
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Direction and star power
Directed by Amrit Raj Gupta, the series is based on Visha Dhamija’s famous novel ‘Bhindi Bazar’. The cast of the series is quite strong:
Bhumi Pednekar: For the first time, she is playing the role of a serious and repressed police officer.
Geeta Agarwal Sharma: After the success of ’12th Fail’, Geetha is in a pivotal role here, which lends emotional depth to the story.
Supporting Cast: Seasoned faces like Rahul Bhatt and Jaya Bhattacharya along with youngsters like Samara Tijori and Aditya Rawal add to the thrill of the series.
Technical aspects and writing
Mumbai is presented in a ‘gritty’ and dark style. Due to the length of seven episodes, an attempt has been made to unravel the suspense gradually. Crime scenes and serial killer patterns are filmed in great detail, promising to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Rita Ferreira’s character is that of a woman who is simultaneously battling the patriarchy within the department and her own internal struggles.
Our suggestion: If you love suspense and murder mystery, you can watch ‘Daldaal’ on Prime Video this weekend. Overall, Prime Video’s Daldal is a good series worth watching. If you like thrillers, you will love this. Despite having a good cast, the series has some flaws, including Bhumi Pednekar’s dull and subdued expressions. However, the performances of Samra Tijori, Aditya Rawal and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma are excellent and leave an impression. This series also gives you shocking moments and makes you wait for the climax. Therefore, Swamp deserves 2.5 out of 5 stars.
OTT Platform: Prime Video
Director: Amrit Raj Gupta
Cast: Bhumi Pednekar, Geeta Aggarwal Sharma, Samra Tijori, Aditya Rawal, Rahul Bhatt
Basis: Book ‘Bhindi Bazar’ by Visha Dhamija
Star- 2.5/5