Bhendi Bazaar, the novel by Vish Dhamija, becomes Daldal’s grounds. The series is up on Prime Video, featuring Bhumi Pednekar in the lead. The series presents a maskless portrayal of Mumbai and its underbelly, bridging the gap between what audiences perceive from afar and the visceral reality unfolding on screen. It’s raw and real, followed by the performance of Bhumi Pednekar.
Bhumi Pednekar holds an unusual charisma of her own and shines in roles that are in the grind. She portrays DCP Rita Ferreira in the series, the youngest DCP of the Mumbai Crime Branch, but just like any other woman, with gut-punching ambition in her heart, she gets to deal with constant sexism in the workplace, naturally, which pushes her into imposter syndrome, and in between, she juggles with her traumatic past. Amidst this tumultuous juggle, she embarks on a pursuit of a merciless serial killer.
There is gore, there is grit, and gregarious bloodthirst in each episode. Somewhere it falters, somewhere it picks up the tempo, but what we feel it pulls up on are the imperfections of the real world as it is, so the world is not perfect. The characters are not perfect, so it somehow navigates the very mix of reality and the polished threads of a script that keep you glued to the screen, all the while. Aditya Rawal shines as Sajid, embodying volatile chaos haunted by his dark past and shackled to addiction. Samara Tijori adds to the plot’s conviction.
What we feel the series could have been an early wrap and not lingered for 7 episodes. Therefore, viewers might feel a bit sluggish in the middle, but the story holds it together. The predictability is there, which also takes a bit of the excitement out of continuing till the end, and the murders look as if they were almost forced to become more abhorrent.
Amrit Raj Gupta directs, and that, in turn, makes the series a worthy watch. The screenplay and narrative spring from the collaborative efforts of Sreekanth Agneeaswaran, Rohan D’Souza, and Priya Saggi, with Suresh Triveni serving as creator and lead writer.
Watch the series on Prime Video.
IWMBuzz rates it 3.5/5 stars.
