Star Cast: Bhumi Satish Pednekkar, Samara Tijori, Aditya Rawal
Director: Amrit Raj Gupta
Synopsis:
DALDAL is the story of a troubled cop. Rita Ferreira (Bhumi Satish Pednekkar) works in the Detection Unit of the Crime Branch and has been appointed as the new DCP. Vikram Sathe (Chinmay Mandlekar), who has been waiting for a promotion for five years, is dejected. At the advice of his senior, Commissioner Sandesh Kulkarni (Sanjay Deshpande), he asks him to stay put and hope that Rita messes up as that would make him eligible to take up her place. The promotion doesn’t give any joy to Rita as she’s grappling with the scars of her past. Desperate for weed, she calls her supplier, named Doctor (Prateek Pachori) and asks him to come to a secluded beach with the narcotic substance well past midnight. At the beach, she bumps into Manohar Swamy (Ananth Narayan Mahadevan), an ardent pet lover who is feeding stray dogs. He recognizes Rita and complains to her that someone has been feeding raw chicken to the dogs and that it’s not good for their health. Rita ignores him, meets Doctor, collects weed and leaves. Just when she exits, Manohar is brutally murdered. Rita takes charge of the case but realizes that she can’t tell anyone that she happened to be at the scene minutes before the crime was committed. Meanwhile, a journalist named Anita Acharya (Samara Tijori) tries to make life difficult for Rita by asking pointed questions during a press conference. Meanwhile, at Geeta Rehabilitation Center, a drug addict named Sajid (Aditya Rawal) is hiding secrets. As Rita begins investigating and as one more murder rocks the city, Rita realizes that Anita and Sajid may also have some connection to it. What happens next forms the rest of the series.
Daldal Story Review:
DALDAL is based on the book 'Bhendi Bazaar' by Vish Dhamija. Suresh Triveni, Sreekanth Agneeaswaran, Rohan D'Souza and Priya Saggi's adapted story is intriguing. Sreekanth Agneeaswaran, Rohan D'Souza and Suresh Triveni's screenplay is gripping but at the same time has its share of loose ends and unconvincing moments. Hussain Haidry and Suresh Triveni's dialogues are conversational.
Amrit Raj Gupta's direction is decent. He keeps the duration in check. The show consists of just 7 episodes, with only the first and last episode’s run time exceeding over 40 minutes. The rest of them are crisp. The investigative bit is the best part of the show while the sub-plots also complement the principal narrative well. Technically, the show scores and the monsoon setting further adds to the dark element. A few scenes stand out like Manohar Swamy trying to have a conversation with Rita, Rita blasting her junior, Indu Mhatre (Geeta Agarwal), in her office, Rita opening up about her childhood to Geeta etc. Geeta’s character is adorable and the writers really get her subplot right. The climax is also quite gripping.
On the flipside, the lead female character is shown to be a no-nonsense, no-fun character with mental issues. Sadly, we have seen several such characters in recent times in DAHAAD, THE BUCKINGHAM MURDERS, MARE OF EASTTOWN etc. Moreover, Rita is uni-dimensional; 24x7, she roams around with anger, irritation and boredom. This bit seems difficult to digest. Due to this depiction, one doesn’t get moved by Rita or root for her. Instead, there are times when one gets irritated by her actions and behaviour. A few developments are very unconvincing, like Anant’s mother jumping off, Indu struggling to find the culprit and not realizing that the ambulance door behind is open, Anita looking for Sajid randomly on the streets in a mega city like Mumbai etc. The scene where a news website gives out the name of the source in the footnote is outright silly.
Daldal Performances:
Bhumi Satish Pednekkar, known for her solid performances, fails to entice this time. There are scenes where one sees her brilliance, but overall, her performance is monotonous. Samara Tijori and Aditya Rawal deliver stupendous performances. Both play complex characters and yet came out with flying colours. Geeta Agarwal is the soul of the show and yet again proves that she’s one of the finest actresses today. Chinmay Mandlekar is dependable, as always. Ananth Narayan Mahadevan and Sandeep Kulkarni (Prabhat Raut) have limited screen time but they leave a huge mark. Sanjay Deshpande, Vijay Krishna (Aditya; Rita’s love interest), Vibhawari Deshpande (Isabel Ferreira), Kartavya Upadhyay (Atharva; Indu Mhatre's son), Shivraj Walvekar (Uday Acharya; kaka), Saurabh Goyal (Jatin Shukla), Sanjay Naik (Chandu Naik) and Mehul Dinesh Buch (Edward Fernando) lend able support. Emily R Acland (Vivianne), Rahul Bhat (Jay Acharya) and Jaya Bhattacharya (Lolita) are fair in special appearances.
Daldal music and other technical aspects:
Subhajit Mukherjee's music is well-woven, especially 'Tu Hai Toh Hai'. 'Yaadein Dhundhli Hain', sung by Sonu Nigam, doesn’t register. Subhajit Mukherjee's background score is apt.
Rakesh Haridsas' cinematography is satisfactory. Jyoti Tulsyan and Shravan Ravikant Patil's production design is devoid of any bright colours or tones and is in sync with the theme of the show. Maria Tharakan and Kirti Kolwankar's costumes are straight out of life and non-glamorous. Shivkumar V Panicker's editing is appropriate.
Daldal Review Conclusion:
On the whole, DALDAL tells an intriguing tale and delivers several arresting moments. The supporting cast, in particular, lifts the material, while the climax lands with genuine tension. At the same time, the series stumbles in places due to a few convenient turns and loose ends, while the central characterization remains somewhat one-note, which dilutes the impact. An average fare.
Rating – 2.5 stars
BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2026 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.