Kaala (2023) S01 [Bengali-Hindi]

Avinash Tiwary, Rohan Vinod Mehra, Taher Kaala Shabbir, Jitin Gulati, Hiten Tejwani, Nivetha Pethuraj, Trishaan and others star in this crime-drama-thriller series created and directed by Bejoy Nambiar. The series has 7 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30-45 minutes.

IB Officer Ritwick’s hard work over a span Kaala of years comes crashing down when he is falsely accused in the hawala operation he just cracked after the operation goes sideways. However, he soon learns that his work goes deeper than just money laundering when the blood trail of money takes him to the Indo-Bangladesh border, and the past, surrounding the truth about his father, comes rushing back as a 30-year-old revenge saga threatens to destroy everything in its path. Jokes aside, this dark thriller follows Bejoy Nambiar’s signature serious and gritty storyline that focuses on important issues. The series takes its time introducing several characters who have a very important connection with a bloody past that has the capability to destroy Ritwick’s present. Ritwick, played by Avinash Tiwary, who has been absolutely amazing in every show that he has starred in, is an IB officer who has been persistently going after a hawala operation for quite some time with an elusive informer. Unfortunately, the story starts to get murky when things don’t work out in his favour. Kaala is an interesting watch that will keep you guessing about what will happen next from the first minute because it doesn’t always follow a linear storyline. We follow different threads that merge together into one. The series is thoroughly engaging, although some of the decisions these people make are sometimes a bit baffling. There are moments wherein the series’ interest drops off, especially when you start to learn about some random person out of the blue. But things pick up once they all come together sometime later.