Khakee: The Bengal Chapter Review: Jeet, Chitrangada Singh’s Slow-Paced Crime Drama Has Top-Notch Performances!
Neeraj Panday's Khakee: The Bengal Chapter is finally here. Here's our review of the Netflix show.
3 / 5
My excitement for Neeraj Panday’s Khakee: The Bengal Chapter was mostly for two reasons. Firstly, I loved the first season of the show titled Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (for all the obvious reasons, Avinash Tiwary too), and secondly, this new show was based in my city, Kolkata. The trailer had intrigued me and I was looking forward to the brilliant cast that had come together for the new season. The Bengal Chapter stars Jeet Madnani, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee, and Chitrangada Singh in the lead roles. Created by Neeraj Panday and directed by Debatma Mandal and Tushar Kanti Ray. The 7-episode series is quite a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns, bloodshed and mind games. Here’s a quick review.
Plot
Khakee: The Bengal Chapter shows the dark side of the city of Joy, Kolkata. It deals with the city’s politics, goon-raj and sandwiched between the two, the Kolkata police. Prosenjit Chatterjee plays the corrupted minister of the ruling party who uses the Chief Minister as his puppet. Jeet Madnani as Arjun Maitra, is an IPS officer who is initially given the case of finding and killing the biggest goon in Kolkata, Bagha played by Saswata Chatterjee. Bagha’s right and left hands are Sagor (Ritwik Bhowmik) and Ranjit (Aadil Zafar Khan). However, after Bagha’s death, these two take charge of running the illegal business, and Sagor goes on to become a minister after getting a ticket from the party. Chitrangada Singh is an opposition minister running for the position of Chief Minister.
The story is all about betrayal, politics, the deeply-rooted gunda-raj, and how Arjun Maitra makes sure to wipe off the last remaining of Bagha’s men Sagor and Ranjit. How he does that, the series of events that happens, the confrontations between the goons and the police, the politics, and everything in between makes the series an interesting watch.
Also Read: What To Watch From March 17 To March 23: Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, Kanneda, Snow White, And More!
Performance
Jeet Madnani as Arjun Maitra is very convincing in his role. He brings finesse, conviction and a certain kind of ease to his character. Jeet Madnani’s Arjun Maitra is a fun character to watch because he is not the stereotypical cop who uses his physical strength to take over the enemies. The straight face pulled off by the actor in most of the scenes keeps an eerie sense of suspense around the character’s next move. He is too charming on the screen.
Prosenjit Chatterjee has justified the character of a corrupt minister and the mastermind. His on-point dialogue delivery, crisp expression, and screen presence add an element of spice to the series. He convinces us to hate his character!
Saswata Chatterjee perfectly balances his role as the fierce and ruthless Bagha and the submissive puppet of the ruling party. One moment the actor is reading the Gita, and the next moment he is out there slaying a person’s neck. You see the range of this character!
Chitrangada Singh has also nailed her role, especially in the moments when Nibetia dealt with problems in her personal. Chitrangada delivered a gripping act in most of the frames barring a few scenes, where her character’s assertiveness felt forced.
Ritwik Bhowmik and Aadil Zafar Khan stand out with their performances as Sagor and Rajit respectively. The two actors were natural, felt one with their characters and also brought the relatability factor. Aadil Zafar Khan especially gets the local Kolkata accent right most of the time. The two are forces to reckon with in this series.
Complications, Twists
Compared to the first season, Khakee: The Bengal Chapter has a more complex story to tell. It equally focuses on the dynamics between the Minister-Goons, Ministers-Police and Goons-Police. The layered and well-put storytelling keeps you hooked thought because there is a twist waiting at every turn.
The series begins with Aaratrika (Aakanksha Singh), a cop being held hostage by another cop, supposedly the mole in Arjun Maitra’s team. The backstory is then narrated by Aaratrika. So this series grabs your attention within the first few minutes of the show, and you’re invested to know more about how the two officers get there and what will happen next.
Interesting Characters
There were hardly any characters in the series which I did not find intriguing. All the characters have their own story to tell, and in every episode, we are given a short backstory about each of them. This makes us feel and connect to the character and motives even more.
Essence Of Kolkata
‘Dekhiye, ek aur rang Bangal ka‘ is quite an appropriate tagline for the show because it gives us what it promises. The three main elements of the city are captured in quite depth and understanding, making the show enjoyable as well. Attention to details like the use of native language by the actors, whether it’s Bengali or the kind of Hindi that’s spoken in some parts of Kolkata gets us invested.
The direction and the cinematography are commendable as well. Many violent and gore scenes in the series left me thinking about it for quite some time. The build of a few scenes leading up to a horrific event in the series were hard-hitting.
What Lacks?
However, each of the episodes is approximately one hour long which means, one needs patience to watch the show. While the experience of watching Khakee: The Bengal Chapter is not forced in most episodes, some of them could have been more crisp. Many twists in the show were somewhat predictable too. One of the irrelevant aspects of the show was Arjun Maitra’s love angle, which did not add up to the narrative at all.
Khakee: The Bengal Chapter
In short, the new Neeraj Panday series is a binge-watch show that did not disappoint me. The performances in the series are top-notch except for a few which are underwhelming but the story overshadows them. The series has many twists, sometimes the plot may seem predictable too. The episodes are lengthy and demand your consistent attention. It’s currently streaming on Netflix.
First Published: March 20, 2025 2:46 PM
