Series: Naxalbari
Language: Hindi
Season: 1
Episodes: 9
Streaming Platform: Zee5
Release Date: November 27, 2020
Cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Tina Datta, Sreejita De, Satyadeep Mishra, Shakti Anand, and Aamir Ali
Director: Partho Mitra
Produced by: Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartik Nishandar
DOP: Hari Nair and Modhura Palit
Action Director: Aejaz Gulab
Screenplay and Dialogues: Pulkit Rishi and Prakhar Vihaan
Original Background Score: Paresh Shah
Partho Mitra, who is popular for the TV serials Bade Acche Lagte Hain, Kasamh Se, and Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyaar is out with his web series, Naxalbari. Starring Rajeev Khandelwal, Amir Ali, Tina Dutta, Satyadeep Mishra, and Sreejita Dey, the series explores Naxalism and its impact on the people fighting it. The story majorly takes place in the village, Gadchiroli.
Plot:
Agent Raghav (Rajeev) works for the Special Task Force. After his partner’s sudden death, he is held as a hostage by a group of radical Naxalitesm led by Binu and Prakruti in his village of Gadchiroli. The rest of the plot reveals the incidents that led to catching Raghav and the incidents that happen around him. The plot also tells the Maoists’ anger towards FICA, an organization building a mining plant on their land. What did Raghav do in such a situation? Forms the series’ plot.
Actors & Performances:
Rajeev Khandelwal is the best performer in the series. He is perfect as the officer on duty. Shakti Anand played another key role in the series, and he impressed with his performance. Sreejita Dey and Satyadeep Mishra played the Naxalites. They look good and carried the emotion properly. Aamir Ali shines in a crucial role. Narayani Shastri supported the key cast well. Tina Dutta is a good choice for Raghav’s love interest. The rest of the cast made their presence felt.
Analysis:
The Maoist movement had great significance in India two decades ago. It is a thing of the past, and there is not much of Maoist movement in rural parts of the country in the current times. The creators of the series wanted to represent the olden times and introduce the lives of people who pushed themselves to join the Maoist movement. The series Naxalbari begins on an interesting note, and the scenes that follow also create a special curiosity. However, the show is not completely about talking about those times’ socio-political situations but also tries to discuss other areas of the movement.
The series gives an impression of a thriller, but there are no thrilling moments to keep us hooked. The series resembles a TV serial because of the clarity. There are enough twists in the lot, but they were driven badly. The screenplay is very dull in the series. As the series progresses forward, our interest in proceeding with further episodes goes down. There are some predictable turns in the plot which could have been dealt nicely. The series is overly stretched and could have been ended in a limited number of episodes.
The action scenes are crucial for stories like this, and the show creators took good care in realistically choreographing them. The presence of star actors from Television in the series is a big plus point of the series. Unfortunately, the series ends as a regular action drama without offering any thrills.
