MXPlayer’s recent web series Nakaab created by The Zoom Studios is streaming now on its digital platform in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, and Telugu languages. MXPlayer is at the forefront in providing varied content that caters to various tastes of the people in the country. Aashram, Indori Ishq, and Cartel are its new offerings which have become quite popular with the audience. Nakaab is another addition to these popular web series on MXPlayer.
Story
Famous TV actress Vibha Dutta (Ankitaa Chabraborty) met with a tragic death under mysterious circumstances. The needle of suspicion points to many suspects including her family members, co-stars, and her producer friend Zohra Mehra (Mallika Sherawat).
Aditi Amre (Esha Gupta), the forensic specialist in the police department and, Pavan Bhist (Gautam Rode), the investigation officer have to retreat from Vibha Dutt case due to pressure from the top.
Aditi who happens to lay her hands on crucial evidence in connection with the death of Vibha continues her investigation. Disgruntled with her monotonous family life and work life, she decides to dig it out to reach the power centers that are behind the death of Vibha.
How Aditi and Pavan crack the mystery behind the death of Vibha amidst countless challenges and threats is what Nakaab is all about.
Performances
Mallika Sherawat glitters in her uber cool filthy rich TV baron role of Zohra Mehra to the hilt. It’s a big treat to watch her come back in the forceful yet loving character of Zohra.
Esha Gupta continued her cop image which she played multiple times (remember Rejcx ?), has displayed elegance in the character of Aditi by showcasing her struggle and emotions perfectly. She was at ease in those scenes at the club rather than as a police officer.
Gautam Rode also has belted out a superb performance as Pavan. He was in top form in those climax scenes with DCP and the politician Vikas Varde (Amitabha Bhattacharya).
And then, Ankitaa Chakraborty in a pivotal role with most of her portion relegated to speak and act to the camera has done a decent job and she has demonstrated all the struggles she faced in her life through her balanced expressions and dialogues.
Behind the scenes
Some of the issues like domestic violence and the frenzy of media were very well highlighted by the writers Soumik Sen and Saurav Mohapatra. They were very well presented by the director Soumik Sen without disturbing the flow of the narrative.
Some of the scenes like the DCP’s video leakage and Aditi’s retort against her husband and mother-in-law were very well-conceived and executed.
The club scenes should have been cut shorter along with some trimming of run time. Apart from this, the narrative manages to sustain the interest of the viewer with several twists and turns all through the 8-episode series.
The photography by Ranjan Palit and Manas Bhattacharyya was eye-pleasing whereas the background score by Diptarka Bose was spot on elevating the narrative to new heights.
Final Verdict & Rating
A decent effort and an absorbing cop thriller about power and powerlessness that portrayed the wider gap between these two in society. Also, the nexus between police and politicians have been exposed again in Nakaab adding the contemporary edge to the series.
Except for minor flaws, Nakaab was recommended for its excellent storytelling and for reflecting on the real-life incidents that have taken place recently.
Rating: 3/5
