Reviewed By: Shyamala Nawab
Dahaad 2023 Indian Web Series Streaming on Prime Video
*A woman’s goal is not just marriage*
Not a typical ghissa pitta serial killer in some dehati Rajasthani overkill.. Dahaad is anything but!!
Should have known better than to doubt the creators Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti.
It’s their accents that first catch your attention.. never a slip, never a drop, with every emotion, every character holds his own!
Anjali Bhaati (Sonakshi Sinha) is the perfect SI .. full of confidence, while her immediate senior Parghi (Sohum Shah) fits in well with the stereotype of a small town SI looking for promotions via top powers until the wretched state of the world makes him doubt his role in it! It’s the ‘cool’ Devilal Singh (Gulshan Devaiah) who hits that soft spot with his spot on decisions as the cop boss, father, husband and good human!
You are left wondering just what keeps Anand Swarnakar (Vijay Varma) going tho. What a charmer, what a devious and intelligent mind who has been scheming on and on.. and to think that in reality this criminal, Mohan is serving multiple sentences in Karnataka.
We are shown apartments, fancy hospitals, women who drive to work in colleges, hotels and even morgues.. not rural Rajasthan, but a very forward thinking small town. Topics like consenting sex, non committal relationships, contraceptives and even tests to ensure healthy pregnancy is woven into the main theme of the story which is “a woman’s only goal should not be to get married“, the message being to parents not to feel the pressure of dowry and marriage as a woman is an independent thinker capable of multiple roles, especially financial independence!
What’s barely noticeable but makes an impact is the cinematography, the night sounds of cicadas, the chattering of monkeys on the rooftop of the police station and more.
Episode 7 is when SI Bhaati gets a long slow whistle for her dialogue on Casteism, Constitution, Law & Order.. phweeettttt!
This series deserves all the attention it is getting on the international platforms, now for us to stand up and applaud 👏🏼
The World of Movies Rating: 10/10
Title: Dahaad
Season: 01
Year of Release: 2023
Original Network: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Reema Kagti, Ruchika Oberoi
Creators: Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti
Dahaad Cast Members: Sonakshi Sinha as SI Anjali Bhaati/Anjali Meghwal, Gulshan Devaiah as SHO Devi Lal Singh, Sohum Shah as SI Kailash Parghi, Vijay Varma as Anand Swarnakar, Zoa Morani as Vandana Swarnakar, Mikhail Gandhi as Harry, Jayati Bhatia as Devki Bhatti
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Action, Web Series, TV Series
Number of Seasons: 01
Number of Episodes: 08
Episode Length: 49-59 minutes each
Note: “The images used in this article are screen shots taken from the YouTube and have been converted into images for the purpose of this article only. The World of Movies acknowledges that it does not hold any proprietary rights over the images and that their use is solely for the purpose of this article.”
Great review!! Agree with everything you said. I loved the small town India they have shown where cops are clean and women are progressive. The performances and back ground score are top notch
Very well written,, will definitely watch!!