An
upright
police
officer
fighting
wrongdoing
is
something
we
have
seen
umpteen
times
before,
but
Khakee:
The
Bengal
Chapter
holds
our
interest,
thanks
to
a
layered
and
complex
story
with
a
dozen
of
well-detailed
characters,
observes
Mayur
Sanap.
First
things
first:
No,
Sourav
Ganguly
is
*not*
making
his
acting
debut
in
Khakee:
The
Bengal
Chapter.
It
was
a
marketing
ploy
for
the
crime
Web
series.
The
second
chapter
in
the
Khakee
franchise
takes
forward
creator
Neeraj
Pandey’s
cop
versus
crook
narrative
which
he
introduced
in
2022
with
Khakee:
The
Bihar
Chapter.
While
the
Bihar
story
was
adapted,
the
crime
lore
in
The
Bengal
Chapter
is
fictional.
The
story
is
centred
around
decorated
police
officer
Arjun
Maitra
(Jeet),
known
for
his
no-holds-barred
crime-solving
skills.
He
has
been
just
posted
in
Kolkata,
where
a
recent
murder
of
a
noble
policeman
has
ignited
public
rage
against
the
authorities.
But
this
is
just
the
beginning.
Arjun
and
his
team
of
officers
closely
monitor
dreaded
gangster
Baghadada
(Saswata
Chatterjee)
and
his
illegal
activities,
which
are
sheltered
and
supported
by
powerful
politician
Barun
Roy
(Prosenjit
Chatterjee).
The
body
count
starts
mounting
as
the
cop-and-criminals
cat-and-mousery
begins,
and
Arjun
takes
it
on
himself
to
end
criminal
operations
in
the
city.
The
story
template
of
an
upright
police
officer
fighting
wrongdoing
is
something
we
have
seen
umpteen
times
before,
but
Khakee:
The
Bengal
Chapter
holds
our
interest,
thanks
to
a
layered
and
complex
story
with
a
dozen
of
well-detailed
characters.
It’s
a
dense
plot
with
gangsters,
gang
wars,
corrupt
politicians,
organ
trafficking
and
a
handful
of
people
fighting
a
failed
system.
The
story
even
takes
us
back
to
1954
and
1991
to
highlight
the
backstory
of
certain
characters.
Directors
Debatma
Mandal
and
Tushar
Kanti
space
out
the
narrative
in
seven
entertaining
episodes
as
they
unravel
this
complex
tale
without
making
it
too
complicated.
It
is
only
towards
the
final
episode
where
things
get
a
bit
silly
and
you
can
see
the
show
losing
its
potential.
But
by
that
time,
we
are
so
invested
in
this
story
and
these
characters
that
this
downer
doesn’t
hurt
the
powerful
whole
much.
Just
like
its
predecessor
The
Bihar
Chapter,
we
are
presented
the
same
gritty
crime
cinema
sensibilities
of
the
1980s
and
1990s
with
a
good
mix
of
police
thriller
and
gangster
epic.
The
show
is
further
accentuated
by
violent
energy
and
relentless
twists
and
turns
that
keep
the
drama
full
of
high
stakes
and
thrills.
‘This
is
not
a
city
of
joy,
this
is
a
city
of
bhoy
(fear),’
a
character
says
at
one
point
and
the
scene
immediately
cuts
to
a
brutal
rampage
of
more
killings.
The
star
of
the
show
is
Jeet,
whose
performance
of
a
morally
upright
police
officer
may
feel
a
little
familiar.
Still,
he
commands
your
attention
every
time
he
is
on
screen,
whether
it
is
his
piercing
gaze
or
the
operatic
bravura
of
his
slow-mo
walks.
Prosenjit
Chatterjee
and
Saswata
Chatterjee
don’t
get
much
scope
and
play
slightly
different
forms
of
the
charismatic
crooks
they
have
done
before.
As
justice-seeking
politician
Nibedita,
Chitrangda
Singh
takes
a
little
time
to
warm
up
to
her
character
but
ultimately,
leaves
an
impression
as
the
most
human
character
in
the
show.
Bandish
Bandits‘
Ritwik
Bhowmik
departs
from
his
sweet
and
affable
image
and
tunes
into
the
ruthlessness
of
a
power-seeking
hoodlum.
He
is
especially
terrific
in
episode
five.
Khakee:
The
Bengal
Chapter
streams
on
Netflix.
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The
Bengal
Chapter
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