MELBOURNE, 29 May 2023: The death of a woman in her wedding attire is the start of Dahaad (means roar), the eight episodes Season 1 on Amazon Prime, a serial murderer kills 29 women in and around a Rajasthan town Mandava. Loosely based on the real-life serial killer Mohan Kumar, also known as Cyanide Mohan. Mohan Kumar AKA Cyanide Mohan was charged of murdering 20 women in Karnataka from 2003 to 2009, the murder mystery produced by Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby Films, is co-directed by Reema Kagti and Ruchika Oberoi.
Cops team including Anjali Bhatti (Sonakshi Sinha), try to connect the dots of women murdered in similar circumstances, appearing to be suicides. The sensational killings are baffling and mysterious. The suspense builds up, the serial killer Anand Swarnakar (Vijay Varma), a family man keeps the pace with his mondus oprendi luring women for marriage, having sex with them and then eliminating them with a pill laced with cyanid. He is a Hindi teacher, smart in talking, cool and good at using mobile phones (changing sim cards) in his ruthless criminal endeavour. The combination of mobile technology and a killer’s mind here could be a viable case study in criminology. When Graham Bell invented the telephone, he could not have imagined what lies ahead.
This serial is not just about a criminal and his crimes. It’s also a drama that reflects what we are as humans and our doings. We are all part of a whole, called society. Or. maybe, Indian society. The criminal is a family man and and so are the cops. Why does one become a criminal? The serial delves into the social issues and tensions anyone faces. The characters of Dahaad are no exceptions. Spouse frustrations or tensions, parenting, gender, caste, religion, dowry, inter-faith issues, poverty, policing are deeply entrenched in this sordid tale.
Anjali is from Meghwal, a dalit caste. She faces issues based on caste and gender. During a search operation she is stopped from entering a property because of her caste. As a woman, her mother presses her to get married , while she is firmly embedded as a professional. The gender issue also comes up when a police officer’s daughter has to go for a school trip and his wife opposes it. There is much more ahead.
The eight episodes – The Missing Woman, The Devil Incarnate, The Plain Sight, The Love Letter, A Leave of Absence, The Impossible Choice, The Stakeout and New Beginnings weave a step by step search for the serial killer on the loose. And within the episodes social issues are weaved. The husband-wife quarrel scene, Altaf case dialogues in the courtroom, the accused talking of lack of love from parents, the accused’s style of soft talking and trapping the nurse from a bus stand, kids watching pornography, parents chiding women to get married, and the pressures facing cops in a tough case make this serial look realistic. The Marwari touch in the dialogues gives the serial a unique flavour.
The actors do well with apt direction. There are love making scenes, a self-harm scene (graphically shown) and the serial killers antics that add to the bizarre happenings in the episodes. The gripping dark narrative could have been better with a tighter script and editing. In fact, the story pace starts to pick up in the 6th episode (An Impossible Choice), when the accused is identified. The last 8th episode (New Beginnings) shot in Goa, is stunningly engrossing, well directed. Goa vaguely reminds of a bit similar The Serpant (Netflix) on the crimes of Charles Shobraj.
The end is important not because the brute is nabbed, but from behind bars he justifies to Anjali the killing of flirting, unchaste women who could have sex with a stranger. He reminds her of her backward caste and questions her character. Anjali decides to go back to her roots and change her name from Anjali Bhatti to Anjali Meghwal. It speaks for itself.
NAME- Dhaad (8 episodes).
DIRECTORS – Reema Kagti (4 episodes, 2023) and Ruchika Oberoi (4 episodes, 2023).
CAST- Sonakshi Sinha (Anjali Bhatti), Vijay Varma (Anand Swarnakar), Gulshan Devaiah (Devilal Singh), Sohum Shah (Kailash Parghi), etc.
OTT- Amazon Prime Video.
DURATION- Each episode around one hour.
I give the serial 3 and half out of five stars.
