Rawkto Bilaap is a horror TV mini-series directed by Monideep Saha and Arnit Chetry and stars Sohini Sarkar, Saptarshi Maulik, Tuhina Das, Gourab Roy Chowdhury, and Mokksha, alongside other cast members. The series as 5 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes.
Hoichoi describes the series as:
A group of friends gather for a bachelor party at an eerie house in the outskirts of Kolkata. Things take a dark turn when they bite the dust one by one.
– Rawkto Bilaap review does not contain spoilers –
Even if the Hoichoi description didn’t mention that people are going to die, the way Rawkto Bilaap showcases our gang of friends talking about Maya and the whispers of something happening in the past pretty much cements the fact that some, if not all, are going to die tonight. On top of it, within the first half-an-hour episode, you realize that it’s probably for the best that these characters die – they are just so insufferable!
This gang of misfits consists of horrible people all around. Some are cheating each other financially or emotionally, some are just horrible people in general and almost none have the decency to respect that they are in someone else’s house. Either way though, the series just goes from annoying to unbelievable in a matter of moments. The clues are all there, you know who is doing what in the show, but the way the series shows us what we already know is nothing short of stupid.
As more secrets come to the surface, the series doesn’t take that many turns. It turns out exactly how you’d expect it to. The predictableness of the series is its biggest downfall. And, well, all of these unlikeable characters. In spite of the predictability, the story had the necessary arsenal to turn it into a horrifying blood bath. But the creators probably didn’t understand what to do with these different things. Supernatural things are introduced that are not explained later and the plot holes are glaring. The last episode is something else altogether – the introduction of a new character makes the already weird story stupider. The entitlement of these people is shocking but the explanation is just mind-numbing.
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For people who like horror shows, this one will come as a slap on the face. You’d expect all the convoluted stories of the past to give birth to something a bit more of a fresh story. Unfortunately for all of us, that’s the case here. As I mentioned earlier, you know from the first episode or two who is doing what. Unfortunately, the last episode spells that out in a painfully obvious manner while also making it stupid. I am yet to understand what the point of a new and unnecessary character was. They were just there for the exposition dump and it just goes off the rails after that point.
Summing up: Rawkto Bilaap
Rawkto Bilaap is a painful show to sit through. IT shows some promise at first when some dirty secrets come up – you expect there to be some twist somewhere that throws us off of the usual suspect. However, that definitely is not the case and it’s exactly what you’d expect. At 5 episodes, it’s at least short enough not to be a headache. The characters are miserable and one-dimensional and there are no redeeming aspects. You won’t be able to sympathize with any of them, much less root for their survival. If anything, you’d want all of them to die. For the sake of your mental health, give this one a skip.
Rawkto Bilaap is streaming on Hoichoi.
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