Vijay Verma shines as the seemingly unassuming Hindi professor, while Gulshan Devaiah delivers a remarkable performance. Additionally, Sonakshi’s portrayal is flawless and captivating.
Synopsis
A serial killer is on a rampage in Rajasthan. The killer targets women explicitly, making their murders appear to be deaths by suicide. Women’s dead bodies have been discovered in public restrooms. However, because the girls’ parents did not register a case, the police department is unaware of these horrific homicides. While looking into a woman’s disappearance, Anjali Bhaati (Sonakshi Sinha), an officer in Mandava town, discovers an underlying trend among all the deaths. Who is the assassin? How does he manage to carry out such horrific atrocities without being discovered? What is the motive behind the killings? Does Anjali and the team manage to apprehend the killer? Watch and find out.
Review
The story, which was developed by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar (who wrote it with Ritesh Shah), immediately reveals who the murderer is. The show’s relentlessly dark and cruel storytelling, which focuses on the killer’s psychology as much as his crime, is never diminished by this, though. The drama’s main theme is caste prejudice, and each episode lasts roughly 55 minutes. Anjali Bhaati, a member of the lower class, is not permitted to enter the residences of the upper class, for instance. Numerous more interactions are a regrettable but necessary reminder that such bigotry still exists.
Dahaad plops the American serial killer thriller tropes on Mandawa, Rajasthan. In public restrooms all around the state, women have passed away in agony. College teacher Anand (Vijay Varma) is suspected by Mandawa police station chief Devi Singh (Gulshan Devaiah), his officers Anjali (Sonakshi Sinha), and Kailash (Sohum Shah). When Anjali starts to make connections between what at first glance seem unrelated incidents, the police are busy pursuing an interfaith relationship. Nobody imagines Anand as a sexist maniac—he’s mild-mannered, an attentive professor of Hindi literature, a loving parent, and a committed husband.
The plot develops in a layered manner, involving the complexity of Anand’s convoluted life, those of other police officers, and the relatives of some missing women. Up to a certain point, they run parallel to one another before becoming intertwined.
Dahaad is more about the road that culminates in catching the guilty man than solving the crime. It wants you to think about the atrocities that have formed him into the vile being he is instead of what he does. If one is willing to devote their complete attention to watching an eight-hour show, Dahaad has much to unravel. The reasoning behind this film’s background layering is amazing. Men are busy wandering with the world while women remain where they were because they lack the means to progress. People have forgotten their missing daughters while claiming they are spared from paying their dowries. The Thakurs exist in a bygone age and attest to their purity.
But on the other hand, after spending over eight hours witnessing this tale develop, the show’s conclusion feels hurried and unsatisfying. Of course, the goal was to highlight the voyage while letting the audience know he would be captured. But it can’t appear so hurried and shoddy.
Verdict
The series would have been a binge-worthy thriller if the nearly hour-long chapters had been given a sharper trim. Dahaad’s sharp script and roaring performances, though, are what make it stand out and make it a compelling watch.