In 2012, filmmaker Reema Kagti directed Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, a quintessential Bombay noir starring superstar Aamir Khan as a vulnerable and reticent cop. It opened to rave reviews and has remained in the minds of audiences till date. At a time when onscreen male cops were only seen in their testosterone pumping alpha avatar beating up gangsters, here was Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat, who challenged every rule in the book and insisted that male cops should be sensitive, polite and courteous. Can also be emotionally injured. ,
Eleven years later, Reema is back in another cop drama, Dahad, which just released on Amazon Prime. Now, in all honesty, it is quite unfair to draw parallels between the two projects as they revolve around a cop. Having said that, one can’t help it. Dahad has eight episodes, each of them lasting around an hour, and it still doesn’t make the same impression as the 139-minute-long Talaash.
A web series gives a golden opportunity to portray each and every character elaborately. But the same cannot be said about Dahad. It lacks the emotionality and nuances it seeks. Talaash resorts to supernaturalism to pull at our heartstrings. Dahad, on the other hand, is based in the heart of India and plays on everything realistic. Despite the realistic quotient and content required to run a successful crime drama, the essence of Dahad evaporates quickly and before long, you end up questioning the intention behind why it was made in the first place .
Previously titled Fallen, it is set against the backdrop of a small-town Mandawa, and follows sub-inspector Anjali Bhati and her colleagues. It all begins when a series of women are mysteriously found dead in a public bathroom and she is tasked with investigating. At first, the deaths appear to be apparent suicides, but as cases unfold, Anjali begins to suspect that a serial killer is roaming free. What follows is a game of cat and mouse between a seasoned criminal and a downtrodden cop as she pieces together the evidence before another innocent woman’s life is lost.
Dahd also skilfully touches upon themes of sexism and casteism without making the narrative too preachy. Anjali belongs to a lower caste community and has to face hurdles every now and then. Her superintendent at work does not trust her in serious matters and leaves no opportunity to see her as an object of tickling, even suspecting a senior male constable, Devilal Singh, of adultery with her, when she chooses to keep him on all major things. affairs. The family of a criminal, on the other hand, refuses to let him go for investigation saying that his presence would destroy the sanctity of the haveli which belongs to an upper caste family. While Anjali is busy probing the murder case, her mother leaves no stone unturned to find a groom for her as the unmarried status of a woman can raise many eyebrows. Devilal’s wife is seen telling him how she does not want to give any freedom to her daughter as she is afraid that she will end up like Anjali.
Reema and her co-writers Zoya Akhtar and Ritesh Shah also deserve praise for the way they portray the male characters. They are a far cry from the prototype of the cops we grew up watching on celluloid and that is one thread of similarity between Talash and Dahad. Here too, men are emotionally vulnerable, dealing with their inner demons, silenced and not burdened and excused by toxic masculinity. Devilal is a feminist and apart from being Anjali’s pillar of strength and support, he is also his daughter’s biggest cheerleader. He repeatedly reiterates how he does not discriminate between his son and daughter. He becomes the epitome of soft masculinity and his character an interesting addition to the trailblazing slate of Farhan Akhtar and Zoya’s male characters like Gully Boys (2015) Murad Ahmed, Dil Dhadakne Do (2019) Kabir Mehra and Sunny Gill and Made in Heaven Is. 2019) Karan Mehra. Congratulations Gulshan Devaiah for playing Devilal with rare poise and understated charm! While the character is a far cry from the Guru Narayan of Badhaai Do (2022), it can be safely said that he is one of the most distinct faces of modern masculinity in contemporary Bollywood owing to his offbeat choices .
There is another Inspector Kailash Parghi in the police station. His part is portrayed with a great moral arc and Sohum Shah nails it perfectly. In the beginning, he appears to be vindictive and jealous, who looks down upon his female counterpart, but as the story progresses, you feel for him. What appears selfish on the surface is just Parghi fighting for himself in a world that has been unjust to him and has failed to see his true worth. A sub-plot explores the complicated relationship he shares with his newly pregnant wife and that too is written with a lot of compassion and thought.
The antagonist Anand Swarnakar is played by Vijay Varma, who has already proved his mettle as the bad boy in Darlings (2022). Here too, he’s creepy and unassuming and holds the darkest of hearts and souls. Beneath the outer shell of a charming and calm literature professor, he is ruthless. Anand appears to be a vague extension of the heartless and vicious Hamza Shaikh and while Vijay plays the role with great sincerity and conviction, it will be interesting to see him break out of the pattern and veer away from this area and do something else soon. To give us a glimpse of his potential and versatility.
Anjali Bhati, on the other hand, is an undercooked and very safely written character, even though she is the protagonist. Sonakshi Sinha plays her well enough, but has no graph to play. She is always worried and serious and it might be in keeping with the theme of the show but it does not give any spark and layer to her character. Having earned the nickname of one of the poster girls of mainstream pot-boilers, Sonakshi could have shed that image with a dash of gusto. The actress, who came into limelight a decade ago with her portrayal of the terminally ill but compelling Pakhi in Lootera (2013), could have switched gears and made another impressive mark with Anjali but the lackluster writing comes in the way.
What mainly works against Dahad is its length. Its run-time is excruciating at eight hours in the range. The show picks up pace only in the fourth episode but by then it is too late. A crisp narrative would definitely have helped the crime drama. There are barely any cliff-hangers and sadly, hardly any scenes that wake you up, hook you up and catch your fancy.
The story has prophecy written all over it and even if you are not a fan of crime fiction, you will be able to guess what is going to happen next. At times, you might even wonder why it is so difficult to get to the bottom of a murder case and catch a serial killer as it seems like child’s play with hardly any loose ends tied up. This kind of story is done to death and lacks innovation. What further frustrates is that the combined forces of Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby, which have changed the game for Indian cinema, have put together the amateurish world of Dahd. It’s nothing more than a run-of-the-mill, plain Jane, super easy puzzle.