Four fleeing would-be assassins of popular TV news anchor Sanjeev Mehra (Neeraj Kabi) are chased and caught by a Delhi police squad.
As per regional jurisdiction, the case is handed to disillusioned, short tempered inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary (Jaideep Ahlawat). The foul-mouthed inspector realizes this is his one chance to earn respect of his family, friends and boost his career, but other forces and vested interests intervene.
Despite serious setbacks, Hathi Ram pushes on to find the truth, his stubborn investigation revealing a bloody, cruel history of violence. The mustached, irritable, middle-aged inspector slowly discovers that nothing is as it seems.
Pataal Lok reviewÂ
Pataal Lok needed endearing unforgettable characters and moments, instead it features flashes of brilliance, despite the seven-hour, nine-episode format web series.
Also, the episodic format stretches the final climatic reveal which isn’t exactly a shocking twist, considering the wait.
Instead of dark, moody neo-noir, would have loved a racy, two-hour thriller, considering the various threads of the story. The subjects raised get barely explored, be it fake news, caste politics, politicians-goons nexus and religious disparities.
That said, despite its shortcomings, Pataal Lok is a good neo-noir thriller nevertheless, for its confident writing, the barely explored but interesting life-mirroring concepts.
The concept of heaven, earth and hell, sturdy performances, the final monologue on the Mahabharat, the backstories of the four accused, and that surprising touch on dogs, are among elements that make Pataal Lok a quality watch.
Performances, character arcsÂ
The big Pataal Lok drawback is how many of its undeniably interesting characters get miserly screen time for us to know their life journeys, life choices and reasons. This despite nine 40-odd minute episodes.
The only well-sketched character is Hathi Ram Chaudhary, Ahlawat plays him well, channeling a workaholic inspector’s frustration, enduring a chaotic but happy married life, trying to repair a turbulent relation with his son (Bodhisattva Sharma), his face betraying the constant frustration of a thankless job. This is a solid, rugged performance by Jaideep Ahlawat.
But there is less known of Hathi Ram’s supportive, lovely wife Renu (Gul Panag) and his colleague Imran Ansari (Ishwak Singh), despite some nice touches.
Little is also said of opportunistic, once honest news anchor Sanjeev Mehra, TV reporter Sara Matthews (Niharika Lyra Dutt), while Chanda Mukherjee (Anindita Bose) gets a good, brief backstory.
The steal of a performance is by Swastika Mukherjee, she is the only one who invokes empathy as Mehra’s panic-stricken, volatile, dog adoring wife.
These are all good performances let down by vague writing.
The four accused do get terrific back stories, while everything doesn’t fit, a brave attempt is made to hold up their victimized, horrific journeys.
Abhishek Banerjee is unforgettable as Vishal “Hathoda” Tyagi, his death stare is enough to convey why you should be afraid of him. Tyagi’s story needed more juice.
Mairembam Ronaldo Singh as the transvestite has a harrowing past one can sympathize with. It is a character crying out for more screen time. Jagjeet Sandhu as Tope Singh is good as the marginalized, vulnerable attacker, while Asif Khan as Kabir M is good sport too.
Binge watching blues
Pataal Lok is a sometimes meandering, sometimes convincing series better seen with long breaks between episodes to take in the encompassing, unending grim atmosphere.
It is a first season that could have been great, but ends up as a good, bearable watch.
I recommend Pataal Lok for audiences who love brutal, grim noir dramas. They won’t be disappointed.  Â
(As seen on Amazon Prime)
