Daldal Review: Bhumi Pednekar Shines in Mumbai's Dark Underbelly on Prime Video
Daldal | Director: Suresh Triveni | Cast: Bhumi Pednekar, Geeta Agrawal, Aditya Rawal | Hindi | Prime Video
There is a darkness at the heart of crime series which is now beginning to pall even for ardent admirers of the genre. How many scenes of abandoned girls, abused women, and cruel men can one take? Based on Vish Dhamija’s 2019 book, Bhendi Bazaar, the show Daldal traverses Mumbai’s underbelly stretching from railway stations to orphanages to rehabilitation centres.
These are now familiar to us from countless other series. However, there is a dash of novelty in the heroine, a young officer (Bhumi Pednekar) traumatised by her past, and a not very nice mother; and in the young antagonist (a brilliant Aditya Rawal) who taps deep into the recesses of his soul to highlight both the helplessness and the seething rage of an addict. You can smell the ganja on him, and feel his fear, though I have to say his fingernails always look suspiciously clean. There is also a young gender fluid individual who is quite extraordinary though her character is so over the top that it is difficult to feel either disgust or pity for her. Pednekar is good as the woman trying to come to terms with the demons of her past, while also dealing with the misogyny from those she has vaulted over and the even more grating affirmative action of her boss, who has dreams of retiring in a progressive afterglow. The series may be too gloomy for some but Rawal and Pednekar shine bright.