Star Cast: Bhumi Satish Pednekkar, Samara Tijori, Aditya Rawal
Director: Amrit Raj Gupta
Synopsis:
DALDAL is about a troubled police officer.
Rita Ferreira (Bhumi Satish Pednekkar) is part of the Crime Branch's Detection Unit and has recently been made the new DCP. Vikram Sathe (Chinmay Mandlekar) has been waiting for a promotion for five years and is upset. His senior, Commissioner Sandesh Kulkarni (Sanjay Deshpande), advises him to stay patient and hopeful that Rita might mess up, which would make Vikram eligible for her position. Rita isn't happy about the promotion as she is still dealing with the effects of her past. She desperately needs weed and calls her supplier, named Doctor (Prateek Pachori), to meet her at a secluded beach after midnight. There, she meets Manohar Swamy (Ananth Narayan Mahadevan), a dedicated pet lover who feeds stray dogs. He tells her that someone has been feeding raw chicken to the dogs, which is unhealthy. Rita ignores him, meets Doctor, gets her weed, and leaves. Just as she exits, Manohar is brutally killed. Rita takes charge of the case but can't tell anyone she was at the scene just before the murder. Meanwhile, a journalist named Anita Acharya (Samara Tijori) makes things difficult for Rita by asking tough questions during a press conference. At the Geeta Rehabilitation Center, a drug addict named Sajid (Aditya Rawal) is hiding secrets. As Rita investigates and another murder takes place in the city, she starts to think that Anita and Sajid could be connected. What happens next makes up the rest of the series.
Daldal Story Review:
DALDAL is based on the book 'Bhendi Bazaar' by Vish Dhamija.
The story adapted by Suresh Triveni, Sreekanth Agneeaswaran, Rohan D'Souza, and Priya Saggi is interesting. The screenplay by Sreekanth Agneeaswaran, Rohan D'Souza, and Suresh Triveni is engaging but has some loose ends and unconvincing parts. The dialogues by Hussain Haidry and Suresh Triveni are natural and easy to follow.
Amrit Raj Gupta's direction is decent.
He keeps the episodes short. The show has only seven episodes, with the first and last episodes being longer than 40 minutes. The rest are well-paced. The investigative part is the best part of the show, and the subplots support the main story well. Technically, the show is good, and the monsoon setting adds to the dark tone. Some scenes really stand out, like Manohar Swamy trying to talk to Rita, Rita yelling at her junior Indu Mhatre (Geeta Agarwal) in her office, and Rita talking about her childhood with Geeta. Geeta's character is very likeable, and the writers did a great job with her storyline. The ending is also quite tense.
On the other hand, the main female character, Rita, is portrayed as a no-nonsense, no-fun person with mental issues.
This is similar to characters seen in other shows like DAHAAD, THE BUCKINGHAM MURDERS, and MARE OF EASTTOWN. Rita is also one-dimensional, constantly angry, irritable, and bored. It's hard to get used to this kind of portrayal. Because of this, people don't really connect with Rita or support her. Sometimes, her actions and behavior are even annoying. Some parts of the story are not convincing, like Anant's mother jumping off a building, Indu struggling to find the culprit without realizing the ambulance door is open, Anita randomly looking for Sajid in a big city like Mumbai, and the scene where a news website reveals the source's name in a footnote. That scene feels silly.
Daldal Performances:
Bhumi Satish Pednekkar, known for her strong performances, fails to impress in this role.
There are some moments where her talent is visible, but overall, her performance is dull. Samara Tijori and Aditya Rawal give amazing performances. They play complex characters and do a great job. Geeta Agarwal is the heart of the show and once again shows why she's one of the best actresses. Chinmay Mandlekar is reliable as always. Ananth Narayan Mahadevan and Sandeep Kulkarni (Prabhat Raut) have limited screen time but leave a strong impression. Sanjay Deshpande, Vijay Krishna (Aditya; Rita's love interest), Vibhawari Deshpande (Isabel Ferreira), Kartavya Upadhyay (Atharva; Indu Mhatre's son), Shivraj Walvekar (Uday Acharya; kaka), Saurabh Goyal (Jatin Shukla), Sanjay Naik (Chandu Naik), and Mehul Dinesh Buch (Edward Fernando) all support the story well. Emily R Acland (Vivianne), Rahul Bhat (Jay Acharya), and Jaya Bhattacharya (Lolita) make fair appearances.
Daldal music and other technical aspects:
Subhajit Mukherjee's music is well-integrated into the show, especially the song 'Tu Hai Toh Hai'.
'Yaadein Dhundhli Hain' sung by Sonu Nigam doesn't make much impact. The background score by Subhajit Mukherjee is fitting.
Rakesh Haridsas' cinematography is good.
Jyoti Tulsyan and Shravan Ravikant Patil's production design is without bright colors and stays true to the show's theme. Maria Tharakan and Kirti Kolwankar's costumes are realistic and not glamorous. Shivkumar V Panicker's editing is appropriate.
Daldal Review Conclusion:
Overall, DALDAL tells an interesting story and has some powerful moments.
The supporting cast helps elevate the material, while the ending delivers real suspense. However, the series has some flaws, like convenient twists and loose ends, and the main character remains too one-dimensional, which weakens the story. It's an average show.
Rating – 2.5 stars.
