Secrets sprint faster than the departing jets at airports with millions drfits through like ghosts. The Netflix show Taskaree, with intricate wit, peels back the surface of the routine security checks and exposes a smuggling network operating in plain sight. Anchored by Emraan Hashmi, the seven-episode series turns the tedious humdrum of smuggling into a high-stakes mind game that keeps you guessing and glued at every turn, till the end.
The series is not your garden-variety cop-versus-criminals yarn. Co-written by Neeraj Panday and Vipul K. Rawal, Taskaree is sharply written and remains a tightly woven exploration of how a smuggling syndicate operates in the dark and how it is dismantled piece by piece. With grounded, organic performances, this cat-and-mouse chase becomes believable.
Taskaree zeroes in on the inner workings of the Indian Customs Service at Mumbai International Airport. Arjun Meena leads a tough and honest force—formerly suspended officers with their integrity still intact—to break down a sprawling international smuggling empire helmed by Bada Choudhary (Sharad Kelkar). Unlike adrenaline-drunk thrillers, Taskaree earns its tension through methodical work: thorough intelligence cultivation and technical eavesdropping.
All seven episodes has its own title and revelation, trimming back the tangled histories of both the antagonists and the misfit officers, who converge to hunt the syndicate down. Each character gets its sharply etched identity, making the series a wholesome watch. The supporting cast—Amruta Khanvilkar, Zoya Afroz, Nandish Sandhu, and Jameel Khan—all bring their own voltage to the proceedings.
On a humorous note, for all the Emraan Hashmi fans, the series arrives as a miracle—this one you can actually watch with your parents without the panicked jump for the remote or that sudden awkward fascination with your phone screen this time. You get to see a family-friendly Emraan Hashmi hunting down smugglers instead of stealing kisses.
Who knew that the day would come?
Taskaree on Netflix, directed by Neeraj Panday and produced by Friday Storytellers, is currently streaming on Netflix
IWMBuzz rates it 4/5 stars.
