Disney+ Hotstar has been on a roll these last few months with their content releases across several languages. Kaala, the brand-new Disney+ Hotstar special, is created and directed by Bejoy Nambiar, who is known for presenting out-of-the-box stories from the crime drama and action thriller genres. The subject matter of the show, as shown in the trailer, is the underhand hawala dealings done by businessmen, corrupt politicians, and drug lords. Hawala, in layman terms, is the money that is transferred without actually physically moving it. The name Bejoy Nambiar is enough to create a sense of intrigue in the viewer.
Kaala, which essentially means black, in the trailer of the show takes us through the underbelly of black money, money laundering, and the nexus around it. There is always an honest officer who is trying to do right by breaking up rackets in shows like this. Kaala is all about getting to the bottom of the truth. Crime dramas such as Kaala are always filled with undertones of animosity and darkness, which is essentially what the trailer looks like.
Story And Plot
The trailer for Bejoy Nambiar’s brand new show Kaala gave us enough of a peek into what the basic plot of the web series could be. IB Officer Ritwik is named after the businessman Naman Arya, who claims to own a massive recycling and upcycling business that benefits the city and society in general. His character in the show probably encourages people to take this job seriously to avoid the proliferation of toxic and nontoxic waste. This massive project is just the face of his huge money laundering business, where he converts white money into black money, a term many are not familiar with.
This television series will explain how reverse hawala works and why it is much more dangerous for the economy than the regular money laundering dealings that are rampant in our country. Bejoy Nambiar and the writers on the show will also talk about how demonetization probably did not help curb the influx of black money into the economy since 2016. The movie will also talk about the cross-border exchange of the same cash and how this money probably goes towards the training of terrorists and the purchase of weapons for their cause. As stated in the trailer, black money is used for drug trafficking as well, which is a rampant menace in the country right now. Counterfeit money will also be one of the subjects the series will talk about. There are many ways to track black money, and Kaala will emphasize that subject. The first episode will establish the plot and the characters to help the audience get a grip on the subject matter.
The show will take us through the personal lives of all the leads to help us understand their present state personally and professionally. Their pasts will probably haunt them, and Kaala will get into the nitty-gritty of how to keep one’s personal life separate from one’s work life. There are glimpses of soldiers charging towards a particular target. This could be an indication that Ritwik is an ex-army officer and is suffering from some kind of PTSD.
Naman Arya, the antagonist, will most likely try his level best to dodge law and order in the beginning to showcase his power. The powerful and the corrupt never stop killing people, and this would be incorporated into a hard-hitting narrative for this show. The soundtrack of the trailer makes the audience wonder if the show is a black comedy like Farzi by Raj and DK. Officer Ritwik might be surrounded by a loyal team, but there is a possibility that his team has a mole who is sharing intel with the antagonist. From the visuals in the trailer, we sense that the show is more about moral dilemmas than arresting criminals. There are also going to be intense action and fight sequences to showcase Naman Arya’s might. Officer Ritwik and his team will be shocked to witness the depth of the nexus, and it will probably be difficult to break this wheel without any of them getting harmed in the process. Kaala is a web series many are looking forward to just for the theme the makers are dealing with. Hopefully, the narrative will not be half-baked.
Cast And Characters
Avinash Tiwary rose to prominence in Sajjad Ali’s Laila Majnu and Anvita Dutt’s Bulbbul, and his acting prowess has been the talk of the town ever since. Avinash Tiwary, as Officer Ritwik, will bring to the table various emotions such as intensity, despondence, and rage. Avinash’s career is only a handful of movies old, but he will be able to put forth the right kind of performance in a role we assume is meaty, as the trailer suggests.
Rohan Vinod Mehra is turning out to be a good actor who is willing to experiment with different kinds of roles that are offered to him. He was previously seen in Four More Shots, Please as a Maharashtrian politician. In this show, we believe he will be given some substance to work with, which will further enhance his acting prowess.
Nivetha Pethuraj is a Telugu actress who has tremendous experience working in Telugu and Tamil films. Bejoy Nambiar is known for casting actors for their potential and what they could bring to the table as artists. Nivetha Pethuraj will surely have a good role to play in this web series.
Taher Shabbir is only a decade old in the industry, and so far, he has acted in many prominent projects of the last decade. The audience can only hope the writers do justice to his character instead of presenting him as a caricature villain. Officer Ritwik in the show will be hunting him, which will create an interesting dynamic between the two.
Hiten Tejwani was a popular television actor whose career shot up after the Ekta Kapoor serials in the early 2000s. Nothing much is said about his character in the show, but we are expecting him to be on Naman Arya’s team, helping him run his business successfully and smoothly. Hiten Tejwani is a wonderful actor, and it is exciting to see his foray into OTT shows, which will expand his horizons as an actor.
Bejoy Nambiar is an exceptionally talented director. Despite the many setbacks he has faced, the director does not stop churning out good shows and movies. He left quite a mark after his first film, Shaitan. His last prominent project as director was Sweet Kaaram Coffee, a Tamil language series about three generations of women living under one roof. Through Kaala, we get to see Bejoy again donning the hat of the creator, director, and writer of the show. The trailer gave us everything we were supposed to know. With a strong plot coupled with solid drama and action, Bejoy hardly disappoints, and we hope Kaala is as engaging as his previous works.
Where To Watch
Kaala is a Hindi-language crime action drama that releases on Disney+ Hotstar on September 15th, 2023. This platform is on a spree to release some engaging cinema and web series across states and languages. They have released some interesting web series in this genre, and it is thrilling to see an OTT platform such as theirs seriously consider quality content over quantity.
Conclusion.
Audiences are looking forward to another Bejoy Nambiar venture. The story around black money and money laundering always creates quite a stir before and after the release. The audience cannot wait to see what Bejoy has in store for them.
