Kaala is an Indian Hindi-language crime thriller television series created and directed by Bejoy Nambiar. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Bejoy Nambiar under the banner of T-Series Films, it deals with reverse hawala[1] and stars Avinash Tiwary, Rohan Vinod Mehra, Nivetha Pethuraj, Taher Shabbir and Hiten Tejwani.[2] It was started streaming from 15 September 2023 on Disney+ Hotstar.[3]
| Kaala | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime thriller |
| Created by | Bejoy Nambiar |
| Directed by | Bejoy Nambiar |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Gaurav Godkhindi |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producers | |
| Cinematography | Siddharth Srinivasan |
| Editor | Priyank Prem Kumar |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company | T-Series Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disney+ Hotstar |
| Release | 15 September 2023 |
Synopsis edit
The time is 2018 and there is a millionaire business tycoon ‘Naman Arya’ whose business is recycling but under its guise he carries out black business like Money Laundering and Hawala Works to convert black money into white money. IB Officer Ritwik Mukherjee is trying to stop those black businesses.
Cast edit
- Avinash Tiwary as Kolkata IB officer Ritwik Mukherjee
- Rohan Vinod Mehra as Ex-Army officer Subhendu Mukherjee/Adinath Bagchi, Ritwik's father
- Jitin Gulati as Balwant Bir Rana/Shakti Arya, Naman's father/mother
- Nivetha Pethuraj as Kolkata IB officer Sitara "Tara", Ritwik's girlfriend
- Anil Charanjeett as Kolkata CBI officer Danish Khan
- Taher Shabbir as Naman Rana/Naman Arya
- Danish Aslam as Kolkata IB officer Himanshu Desai, Ritwik and Tara's superior officer
- Hiten Tejwani as Bismil
- Mita Vashisht as Chief Minister Jyoti Sen alias "Didi"
- Sreelekha Mitra as Paromita Mukherjee, Ritwik's mother
- Saurabh Sachdeva as Colonel Himmat Singh Maan
- Elisha Mayor as Aaloka Bagchi, Subhendu's adopted daughter and Ritwik's step-sister
- Abhijit Sinha as CBI Director
- Siva Ananth as Delhi IB officer Mohan Sethuraman
- Alistar Bennis as Wilson, the assassin
- Shakti Kapoor in a special appearance as Ghulam
- Priyanka Bose in a special appearance as Vandana
Production edit
In August 2023, the series was announced by T-Series Films for Disney+ Hotstar.[4] Avinash Tiwary, Rohan Vinod Mehra, Nivetha Pethuraj, Taher Shabbir and Hiten Tejwani joined the cast.[2] The principal photography of the series commenced in 2022.[5] The launch event for the series was held on 31 August 2023.[6]
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Bollywood Hungama |   [8] |
| Cinema Express | [9] |
| Firstpost | NA[10] |
| The Free Press Journal | [11] |
| The Indian Express | NA[12] |
| India Today | [13] |
| Hindustan Times | NA[14] |
| Moneycontrol.com | NA[15] |
| NDTV | [16] |
| OTT Play | |
| Rediff | [17] |
| Scroll.in | NA[18] |
| Times Now |  [19] |
| The Hindu | NA[20] |
| The Times of India | [21] |
Critical reception edit
Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India rated 3 out of 5 star and wrote that " Despite its shortcomings, it consistently provides an engaging dose of excitement in a fictional narrative of power, politics, and the darker aspects of human desires, making it a watchable experience."[21] Santanu Das of Hindustan Times stated that "unfortunately, emerges out of the many tendencies that takes place in Kaala in breakneck speed and style."[14] The Hindu crtic gave mixed reviews[20] NDTV critic rated 2 out of 5 and stated that "Kaala, all sound and fury, is a shot in the dark that misses the mark by a mile and a half."[16]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar on Kaala: I Was Keen to Explore the Concept of 'Reverse Hawala'". Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ a b "'Kaala': Disney+ Hotstar Unveils T-Series First OTT Streaming Drama". 23 August 2023. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "'Kaala' Trailer: Bejoy Nambiar's Crime Thriller for Disney+ Hotstar, T-Series Sets Launch Date for September 15". September 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Disney+ Hotstar unveils new series 'Kaala' from filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar". 23 August 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Exclusive! The REAL reason Avinash Tiwary doesn't talk to the media often". Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Bejoy Nambiar, Avinash Tiwary, others attend 'Kaala' trailer launch". 31 August 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Kaala review: Bejoy Nambiar crafts a layered financial crime drama". Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Web Series Review: Kaala : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. 15 September 2023. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Kaala Series Review: Dazzling and confused". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Avinash Tiwary's Kaala review | Disney+ Hotstar". 15 September 2023. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Kaala Review: Avinash Tiwary's Show Surprises as a Queer-Thriller That Wasn't Expected". Archived from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Kaala review: This web show on money laundering is an incoherent mess". 15 September 2023. Archived from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Kaala review: Avinash Tiwary's show is all about half-baked thrills". Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Kaala review: Intelligence has left the building in Bejoy Nambiar's new series overstuffed with hollow style". Hindustan Times. 15 September 2023. Archived from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Kaala review: Avinash Tiwary, Bejoy Nambiar's impressive visuals fail to lift a muddled thriller". 15 September 2023. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Kaala Review: All Sound And Fury, A Shot In The Dark That Misses The Mark". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Kaala Review: Muddled Mess". Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "'Kaala' review: Gone with the hawala". 15 September 2023. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Kaala". Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ a b Mitra, Shilajit (15 September 2023). "'Kaala' series review: Bejoy Nambiar fashions a competent but dull thriller". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Kaala Season 1 Review : Chaos rules in this dark and desperate thriller". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
External links edit
- Kaala at IMDb
- Kaala on Disney+ Hotstar
