Shehar Lakhot Review: Priyanshu Painyuli stars in a drab crime thriller

The one irritating thing about OTT is the repetitive content that is served to us time and again but with a new dressing. Since the introduction of OTT platforms, we have seen numerous movies and series with the same plot- mostly set in a small Indian town, revolving around a group of people that includes a gangster, a protagonist, one true love, a lot of violence, foul language, and drama.

This is the type of stuff that we have seen in too many show however, the one thing we can't deny is that the Indian audience is addicted to the crime thriller genre, and this makes it pretty much obvious why a plethora of films and series keep on being made on this subject. Hence, we can't entirely blame the makers for repeating the same storyline. This week, a new series titled Shehar Lakhot has been released, and it is pretty much on the same premise. 

Director Navdeep Singh, who is the mind behind projects like Manorama Six Feet Under, Anushka Sharma's NH 10, and others, has made his OTT debut with Amazon Prime's Shehar Lakhot, which is packed with bloodshed, gunshots, politics, mystery, twists and turns, and a perfect cast that has all the weight to make this typical guns, goons and gangster story a success.

Set in the fictional north Indian town of Lakhot, in Rajasthan that is particularly known for its marble industry, the eight-episode-long series starts with a scene in the dry lands of Rajasthan, where a group of boys are playing at the side of the road when one of them discovers a dead body. The shot then cuts to Gurgaon, where we meet our lead character, Dev, or Devendra Singh Tomar, played by Priyanshu Painyuli. Dev has been living away from his hometown and family for ten years due to his troubled past. However, his boss assigns him to go back to his city to end a protest that is disrupting the business of a well-known marble company in the town. Dev's objective is simple and clear, but as he enters the border of his hometown, the actual ruckus starts, and he has to deal with much more than just the protest. His troubles deepen when his boss's SUV car, given to him, gets stolen and he's accused of his brother's murder and gets caught up in the dirty politics of the city.

With myriad characters and multiple stories running in parallel, every story and character has its own past and mystery, which gets unwrapped slowly and steadily. The protest that serves as the base of the story is led by the local tribe activist Vikas Kachdaar (Chandan Roy), and they are asking for justice for a deer killed. The other show stealers in the series are SI Pallavi ( Kubbra Sait), SHO Rajbir Rangot (Manu Rishi Chadha), business tycoon Kairav Singh (Chandan Roy Sanyal), and they are all embroiled in the dirty politics of the city, full of deception, lies, secrets, and murders.

The show explores the world of its female characters and their struggles in the male-dominated society of a small town well, while exploring their weaknesses. There is Sandhya (Shruthy Menon), who has a troubled past with Dev and has her own agenda and motives. Apart from Sandhya, Kubra's characters, SI Pallavi and Manjiri Pupala's Bhi, are other strong fighters, but in different ways, with Pallavi being a police officer and Bhi being one of Kherav's helping hand who handles everything with her gun. 

Written and created by Singh and Devika Bhagat, the noir crime drama takes a huge amount of time to set up the plot and demands a lot of patience from the audience. In the first four episodes of the show, the makers are only able to introduce every character and their back story, with the major twists and turns kept for the climax.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Priyanshu Painyuli (@priyanshupainyuli)

×

With so many things running parallel, the storyline becomes convoluted at times, and viewers may need to pause and recall certain details. Despite these flaws, the show is presented well, with different stories being well-layered. Apart from the killings and rough parts, the fun and light vibe of the show keeps the audience entertained and focused. Talking about the storyline specifically, it's not an edge-of-seat thriller, and don't expect anything new or mind-boggling. Despite so many characters, the makers have given ample screen time to every character and made them noticed.

The plot of the show is exaggerated, but the cast takes everything on their shoulders, and this is what you can expect when you bring such a fine cast together. Priyanshu Painyuli brings the innocence, cleverness, and smartness of his character Dev very well to the screen. Sait's portrayal of the cop is exceptional, stealing every scene she's in. Manu Rishi Chadha brings a touch of darkness and quirkiness to his character, SHO Rangot. Meanwhile, Chandan Roy Sanyal's portrayal of the wealthiest businessman in the town exudes Rajasthani royalty.

What made me disappointed in the show was the time limit and the slow screenplay, which made the show a drab watch. All in all, the show is quite predictable with so much foul language, which makes the show tacky. However, the cast's performance was good and saved this slow-paced drama.

Watch this show only if you have so much time and a free mind to focus.