The Amazon Prime web series Paatal Lok, produced by Anushka Sharma’s Clean Slate Films, is a crime-thriller that explores the darker side of humanity.
I loved the journey of Inspector Hathi Ram Chowdhury, portrayed by actor Jaideep Ahlawat, in the series. The story revolves around his efficacy to crack a “high-profile” case in order to get promoted. You will love the way darkness in our world unfolds as he unravels the truth. I loved the metaphor that the creator used in the show linking it to the characters.
Jaideep Ahlawat is at his best. Ishwak Singh, playing Inspector Imran Ansari, is also pretty good. Abhishek Banerjee, who plays Hathoda Tyagi as a maniac character, is very effective. Neeraj Kabi, Gul Panag, Vipin Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Swastika Mukherjee, Asif Khan, Niharika Lyra Dutt, Jagjeet Sandhu, Mairembam Ronaldo Singh do their job with utmost sincerity. The casting has been excellently done.
The actors in this series are not so well-known, as was with Gangs of Wasseypur, but the rest is history. But does the series stand out among so many other shows in the same genre?
The content was a mixture of Sacred Games, Family Man and Mirzapur; all in all, the same crime drama of Left-Right, communalism and mob lynching. But the high-profile journalist’s murder and conspiracy case made the content of Paatal Lok different. By the end, this angle was also dead and the story turned out to be something else!
Overall the series is gripping and the actors justified their roles!