Kaala Paani Review: Grounded Dark Realities Come Alive With a Well-Rounded Cast Fighting for Survival
Created and co-directed by Sameer Saxena of TVF and Amit Golani, the Hindi thriller drama series marks Ashutosh Gowariker's acting comeback, the 7-part show also stars Mona Singh, Amey Wagh, Sukant Goel, Vikas Kumar and others.
Touted as the first Indian survival series, Kaala Paani is a compelling, emotional and haunting watch that has been shot from start to end at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Hinging on issues of survival, adaptability and evolution, the latest Hindi Netflix series pens down a saga with several characters' lives converging into the other, in turn raising very existential questions about human nature and the constant change it undergoes.
At the heart of the Andaman of Nicobar Islands, a life-threatening twist emerges in the form of a mysterious illness that is brushed off by higher authorities with the exception of Dr Soudamini (Mona Singh) being the only one considerate enough wanting to go to the bottom of the case. When others finally realise the true deadly extent of the disease, it's too late and the islands are cut off from the mainland to fend for themselves, with the people inside trapped behind the unclimbable walls of water.
Kaala Paani episode 1 makes for a bang-on premiere as it introduces us to a great number of characters and despite that heavy move being made right at the beginning, the execution is carried out so seamlessly that the thought of these many people cluttering the storyline doesn't even cross our mind.
With each of their stories running parallel to the other, the rest of the episodes are well-paced enough to finally converge their narratives without making a hassle out of it. The heavy concept so introduced through the series is enough to shake us up again, especially after having been subjected to a real pandemic in recent memory.
The first episode paints some characters in a certain way, and regardless of what kind of graph (in terms of characterisation) they chart out, whether it goes up or down, we get to see them all embark on a humane path. It's a treat to see the way these characters are developed over the subsequent episodes, especially since they're all fleshed out as multifaceted people.
The entire series' journey is quite like that of a rollercoaster and it hits you hard. With an exceptional screenplay, the show constantly reminds us of the walls closing in, further exacerbating the essence of the place itself as a prison. Moreover, much like how the makers asserted in an interview that the location birthed the series' concept and storyline, Andaman and Nicobar Islands are portrayed in a completely new light, especially with the place itself taking shape as one of the elusive characters of the show.
The show's title itself refers to the Cellular Jail of Port Blair set up during the British colonial era, thus highlighting the profound meaning of being caged in by water on all sides of the island, and the entirety of the location acting as an extended prison. And on top of that, the way each episode title makes relations to the story that go beyond the mere first meaning that comes to our head, the show's progression bleeds out as a heavy piece of literature worth watching till the end.
Each episode is as strong as the previous one and they all have the potency to break you emotionally. Kaala Paani dares to shine as its own and doesn't solely rely on the presence of an ensemble cast, but rather weaves captivating characters out of their contributions. Although each one of them deserves to be applauded for what they've accomplished, Amey Wagh's Ketan Kamat was an especially despicably eccentric character and Wagh did a memorable job of working hard to make us hate him.