Kaala Paani Review: A Hauntingly Brilliant Masterclass In World Building, Acting & Everything That Falls In Between; Which Dark Variant Of Biswapati Sarkar Did We Just Meet?

Cast: Mona Singh, Ashutosh Gowariker, Amey Wagh, Chinmay Mandlekar, Vikas Kumar, Arushi Sharma, and ensemble.

Creator: Sameer Saxena.

Director: Sameer Saxena and Amit Golani.

Streaming On: Netflix

Language: Hindi (with subtitles).

Runtime: 7 Episodes, Around 60 Minutes Each.

Kaala Paani Review: What’s It About:

Set in 2027, Andaman & Nicobar Islands are about to celebrate an annual cultural festival. A few days before the event a head doctor finds out an incurable virus that can turn into an epidemic. But the greed of a wealthy businessman and his corrupt move still bring in half a million tourists in. The hustle to survive begins and an indigenous tribe has the answer. But how to decode it?

Kaala Paani Review: Star Performance:

My mind is still in the process of digesting the fact that Kaala Paani, a show that is darkest of the shades of dark, is created and directed by three men who have TVF’s Permanent Roommates, Tripling, Kota Factory, The Pitcher and other urban-audience centric shows to their credit. A haunting look at a time that might come to haunt us someday, Kaala Paani is about being human, a greedy human, a generous one, one suffering, maybe marginalised, what matters is what each of them does when the sky is falling on them. That last decision they take when fate locks them in prison, literally and metaphorically is what makes this seven-episode-long show.

Created by Biswapati Sarkar (who is having a moment this week considering Permanent Roommates Season 3 also releases the same day), and written by Amit Golani, Nimisha Misra, and Sandeep Saket, Kaala Paani is a show layered so delicately that there is no single loose end in sight. A woman has to go home to feed her dog she calls her ‘mister’, a girl living with the trauma of her surname because the people from the privileged caste never let her forget it, a father pushed to the wall by destiny but battling the situation with full force, there is literally a story in every single corner of this show. Even a passing-by cameo gets to talk about someone he lost decades ago and the guilt of not being with them. This has to be the most detailed screenplay in years and I know Scam 1992 was released recently, but in terms of world-building and that too fictional, this one tops.

The power of Kaala Paani is in the metaphors. It is not just about a physical prison situated on Port Blair, but the entire island is a prison and one cannot escape it without ample resources. So when an epidemic breaks and half a million people are stuck on an island, what is the system supposed to do? Sacrifice some to save many, or let many die but not sacrifice any. Metaphors run deep and strong, except the scorpion-frog story (Darlings, Kuttey), we are done with it now. But there is also an attempt to dilute them which does become preachy.

It is commendable how Biswapati with his team try to dive deep into his characters even when the canvas is spread so wide. He invests in every single character he introduces. But then he also decides to give Mona Singh a role so limited. Her presence for a longer span must have not done any harm to the essence of the climax. The most shattering part of the end though is how a love story ends. Not saying much.

I still want to know what angst and darkness Biswa exactly tapped into. We deserve more of this.

Kaala Paani Review: Star Performance:

Vikas Kumar deserves to be called the actor of the month and he can easily bag many awards for this portrayal. A man who has never dared to raise his voice even when alone is on an island with his family with an epidemic claiming lives. The array of emotions he goes through from the first frame to the last is haunting and a character study that is not just an idea but also visual.

Sukant Goel as Chiru is technically our window to this world. He is as clueless about the situation as us but is confident that nothing can kill him. The actor gets into the skin of his character and is unrecognisable. So is Chinmay Mandlekar, who does a great job at balancing the drama with his subtle act and is supported amazingly by Radhika Mehrotra.

Ashutosh Gowariker manages to give a decent performance as the leader of the island. Amey Wagh is definitely fun to watch and evil to the max. But his dramatics are more of a Hindi film than a show where every character is nuanced and mostly subtle.

Mona Singh, in the little she gets, establishes how good an actor she is and how criminal it is to make her take an exit literally in the beginning.

Kaala Paani Review: Direction & Music:

It isn’t an easy task to build a story visually about the conflict between man and nature and also create an entire fictionalised world in the near future with a tribe that has not progressed with the times. Sameer Saxena and Amit Golani have done a brilliant job at creating this world on screen. You can imagine these people having a life beyond the frame and the landscape they are locked in and that’s a victory. There is no combat, or visual gore to back the darkness of this idea, the idea in itself is potent to haunt you.

The visual richness of Kaala Paani is unique. The show is established visually and the landscape is used so well to fit the narrative. It is about an indigenous tribe marginalized and left behind in the progress, the visuals of their settlement are not forced to look like the Stone Age. They have seen city dwellers but chose to stay away from them. The use of music is impressive minus the times when it is guiding you to feel a certain way till a point you want to look at the sound designer and say, “I get it”.

Kaala Paani Review: Last Words:

Kaala Paani has to be the most detailed, layered, and visually stunning long-format content to have come out of the Indian diaspora in a minute. Go for it but also not on a day you want to consume something breezy. This definitely has no light moments.

Must Read: Choona Review: A Heist Drama Laced With Humour That Lands Well, Entertains, & Offers Good Performances

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