Police vs the underworld is a trope that Indian cinema has adapted too many times. An honest officer trying to clean the system even as he and his force are outdone by smart crooks who are hand in glove with the powerful leaders is a story well too familiar. Netflix's new series Khakee: The Bengal Chapter falls in a similar category- where an honest and brave IPS officer is out to clean up the city- in this case Kolkata- even as his work is hindered by powerful leaders and local crooks. 

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Showrunner Neeraj Pandey and directors Debatma Mandal and Tushar Kanti Roy shift the cop drama from rural Bihar (The first part was Khakee: The Bihar Chapter) to the underbelly of Kolkata where goons and politicians work hand in hand and run a nexus of organ trading, kidnapping, real estates and more. Everyone knows that the system is corrupt and people in government are involved but the honest are scared to raise an alarm while the local goons want a piece of the pie. 

Plot of Khakee: The Bengal Chapter

Arjun Maitra (Jeet) is appointed to investigate the murder of IPS officer Saptarishi Sinha (Parambrata Chatterjee) who was investigating a case of a high-profile kidnapping. Both are honest officers, but their ways of functioning are poles apart. While Saptarishi is played by the books, Arjun is more brazen, sometimes flouting orders just to do what he feels is right. Local mafia lord Bagha (Saswata Chatterjee ) is named as the main culprit behind Saptarishi’s murder even though the Bagha is careful to never cross the force. Bagha’s aids Sagar (Ritwik Bhowmik) and Ranjit (Aadil Zafar Khan) are also suspects. Bhagha along with his aids is known to be ruthless and has instilled fear among the people in the city. 

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While investigating the case, Arjun realizes the situation is more murky than it appears. Barun Roy( Prosenjit Chatterjee) a conniving neta runs the show from behind even as CM Shirshendu (Subhasish Mukherjee) is the man giving orders from the front. While the government wants to project it is taking cognizance of the crime in the city and hence appoints an honest officer like Arjun to investigate, members of the ruling party are also involved in the nexus- pocketing good money from real estate deals, organ trading and more. 

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There is also an opposition leader Nibedita Basak (Chitrangada Singh), a woman in a man’s world, raising important issues on the misdeeds of the government. 

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Things get murky and complicated when Sagar and Ranjit break away from Bagha, yearning to make a name for themselves in politics and power. Sagar, the smarter and calmer of the two even gets a ticket for the local municipal elections, which leads to an ego tussle with Ranjit, the brash and volatile of the two. But a tussle between two goons can lead to blood on the streets of Kolkata and Arjun who already has his hands full, has to get his fingers brunt in the process of setting things right. 

The actors of Khakee: The Bengal Chapter

The biggest win of Khakee: The Bengal Chapter is its casting. It casts some of the most prominent faces of the Bengali film industry and almost all are in top form. Jeet, a bonafide superstar of Bengali commercial cinema, is splendid as the no-nonsense cop Arjun Maitra. The actor has made a name for himself as an action star in a career spanning over three decades. He is in familiar territory, making Arjun Maitra the gritty cop that the narrative needs. Giving him company is the other Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee as the clever, manipulative and cold-blooded politician Barun Roy – who knows how to get work done, who to let go when needed – loyalty notwithstanding. It’s a joy to watch the two actors pitted against each other on screen. 

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Those who grew up in Bengal in the 1990s and early 2000s – would know that Pandey and Netflix pulled a huge casting coup by including these two actors in series. For years, the media has pitted them against each other at the box office and it is for the first time that the two share screen space together in Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, and the two stars do not disappoint. 

The other actors who shine are Ritwik Bhowmik and Aadil Khan- who are the backbone of the story and represent the underbelly of the 'City of Bhoy (fear) and not joy'. They harbour big dreams and can go to any length to realise them. Both are spectacular in their respective parts. 

Saswata Chatterjee and Parambrata – both now well known names in the OTT world – and stars in their own right in Bengal, are good in the show, even though they have limited screentime. 

OTT releases of this week (March 17 to March 23) - Sky Force, Khakee: The Bengal Chapter and more!

What does not work 

Despite a great cast and setting- a lot is shot in actual locations of Kolkata giving it an authentic feel- the series runs its predictable course. You know which character will go rogue at what point in the story, you know there is a mole in the force and the action sequences do not offer anything out of this world. While the show begins on a very engaging note, one seems to lose interest halfway due to the sluggish narrative. It somewhat gets back its edge towards the end of the series. 

The women are there but not doing much. Chitrangada Singh and Akanksha Singh only aid the story, but their characters have limited scope. It is a story of men, male egos and power tussles and showcasing their machismo. 

The seven-part series is earnest even though predictable. I do wish they had dwelled deeper in Bengal polictis, which in reality, is never debvoid of thrills and drama.  Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, ultimately works for its actors and not so much for its predictable story. 

Khakee: The Bengal Chapter is now streaming on Netflix. 

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