Thursday, October 19, 2023

Bambai Meri Jaan: blood in thy hands!

There is very little to be said for a series where the particulars are so carefully designed.

Brilliant direction (Shujaat Saudagar), outstanding acting (Kay Kay Menon, Kritika Kamra, Nivedita Bhattacharya, Jitin Gulati, Nihar Gite, Sumeet Vyas), fitting costume design that matches the decades depicted (Bibi Zeeba Miraie), crisp storyline (S Hussain Zaidi), impeccable cinematography (John Schmidt)!

Spanning several decades from the sixties through the seventies, the series traces the shift of power in the Mumbai underworld when a rookie, the son of a policeman, challenged the clout established by the brain of Haji, the intelligence of Mudaliar and the muscle of the Pathans. Beginning his career in the black market with occasional cons and duping customers with his sleight of hand techniques, Dara Ismail Qadri soon rose to infamy in the smuggling business, thanks to his industrious efforts, his daring gang of friends as well as dedicated siblings, a few twists of fate and his ever increasing ambition for power that ushers wealth. But, alas, the rise to glory was not without pain! Not only did he breed enemies, but he also lost the dear ones in the process! Battling all the odds as they came, the steadily rising don had, however, his own fierce ways of dealing with the crises. To the utter dismay of his father, Ismail Qadri - once an honest cop whom fate forced to serve the corrupts - the Qadri clan seemed to be devoured by the Devil. The authorities also tried to take advantage but was miserably trapped in their own game. Terror was redefined while mercy seemed to vanish. Massacres followed revenge as the D gang challenged the mafia veterans.

Based on true events of the underworld, Shujaat Saudagar directs this fast paced crime drama that unfolds a dark history of power struggle, soaked in blood, while reeking of betrayals. Fictionalizing several true incidents with alterations wherever necessary, the series rides on the thorough research of Hussain Zaidi to depict the mob bosses that ruled Bombay for decades. As to the acting, all played their characters precisely but Kay Kay Menon is superb. His portraiture of the principled policeman and when fate chose, the unwilling accomplice to crime deserves applause. The agony of the despairing father, the plight of the helpless, the desperation for the family he headed, the courage of the honest heart and the uncompromising hate towards evil - could never have been better depicted than what he did with a masterful act that deserves nothing short of a countless applause. Kritika Kamra acts as his stubborn daughter with a deceptive trait to surprise when needed. Nivedita Bhattacharya compliments him well with the demeneour of the lady torn between the the choice of standing by the person she respects and the others she loves. Jitin Gulati as the older Saadiq Qadri and Nihar Gite as his younger version, both deserves no less praise in depicting the sibling, elder to Dara but being less astute, standing tall when situation demanded, respecting the leadership of the deserving while quietly grieving at being the apparently lesser favoured individual right from his very tender age. Sumeet Vyas also highlights his short appearance as the ruthlessly calculative assassin with a contrasting sense of black humour. The bell botts generation is aptly sketched by the costume design of Bibi Zeeba while the feature of the sixties is agreeably captured in sepia tones by John Schmidt.

This gripping series is a thrilling watch that showcases, albeit fictitiously, the rise of a new generation of mafia in the city of India that the world is destined to bear for several decades to come.