Dahaad Review: A well-conceptualised, layered narrative

Eight-episode crime drama starts on a suspenseful note and keeps up the pace

Title: Dahaad (series)

Streaming on: Prime Video

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Directors: Reema Kagti, Ruchika Oberoi

Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma, Gulshan Devaiah, Sohum Shah

Amazon Original series Dahaad starts on a thrilling note: a woman is found dead, foaming at the mouth, in a public bathroom – presumably a case of suicide. This sets the premise of the series.

Set in Mandawa, Rajasthan, the story revolves around Sub-Inspector Anjali Bhaati (Sonakshi Sinha), the only woman cop who strives to hold her own in a room full of male police officers. She has to wage many battles at once — oppression because of her caste and gender, societal (and mother’s) pressure about her marriage, and pressures in the line of duty.

A complaint of a missing woman, filed by her brother two months ago, gets assigned to Anjali. She unearths a chain of similar events and finds a pattern — girls from poor backgrounds find love and elope with the boyfriend leaving behind a letter, as the family cannot afford dowry. And then, they go missing only to be found dead later in public bathrooms.

Anjali believes that there’s a serial killer out there, even as the SP feels otherwise. As the number of missing women keeps rising, she spreads her net wider and paces up the investigation. She gets complete support from SHO Devilal Singh (Gulshan Devaiah) and grudging assistance from Sub-Inspector Kailash Parghi (Sohum Shah).

As events unfold, lecturer Anand Swarnakar (Vijay Varma) becomes Anjali’s prime suspect, though she has no proof against this man with his calm demeanour.

The story progresses in a multi-layered manner with the lives of other police officers and their own complexities, Anand’s complicated life, and the families of some missing women are also thrown into the fray. These run parallel to each other till they get entangled at some point.

The eight-episode crime drama starts on a suspenseful note and keeps up the pace. Though each episode is almost an hour long, it is racy and the well-conceptualised narrative doesn’t make it feel lagging anywhere.

Sonakshi dons the uniform and steps boldly — and successfully — into the shoes of a cop. As Anjali, she proves she’s up to the task. Vijay Varma’s cool and composed act in the face of disaster(s) proves, yet again, his brilliant acting chops. Gulshan Devaiah and Sohum Shah offer balanced portrayals.

Overall, Dahaad is surely worth spending your eight hours on.