Director - Amrit Raj Gupta
Cast - Bhumi Satish Pednekkar, Samara Tijori, Aditya Rawal, Chinmay Mandlekar, Geeta Agrawal Sharma, Sandesh Kulkarni, Ananth Mahadevan, Vibhawari Deshpande, Prateek Pachauri, Rahul Bhat
Platform – Amazon Prime 
Episodes – 7 
 
Mumbai’s underbelly is crawling with danger once again, and this time it’s Bhumi Satish Pednekkar leading the charge in the seven-episode web series Daldal. Hot on the heels of Madhuri Dixit’s thrilling run in Mrs Deshpande, Pednekkar steps into a similarly dark world, where serial killings are rampant, morality is gray, and everyone has secrets. Based on Vish Dhamija’s book Bhendi Bazaar, the series begins with a bang—and a reveal that immediately puts the audience ahead of the protagonist.
 
Newly-appointed DCP Rita Ferreira (Pednekkar) walks straight into her first big case: a dog-feeder found dead with his mouth stuffed with raw meat, wrists slashed. What seems like a singular crime quickly snowballs into a string of ritualistic murders targeting respectable men, setting the stage for a high-stakes police procedural. Ferreira is not just chasing a deranged killer but also navigating office politics—a jealous colleague and a manipulative top boss add layers of tension.
 
At first, Daldal succeeds in balancing procedural authenticity with suspense. The opening episodes are tense, gripping, and grounded in a believable police environment. But as the series progresses, multiple subplots—journalists who know too much, drug addicts with old connections, and threads involving paedophilia and red-light areas—begin to stretch the story into convoluted territory. Moments meant to shock or provoke sometimes feel more bizarre than credible.
 
The show also explores darker societal issues: unfulfilled women inflicting harm on their daughters, struggles with drug addiction, and the moral ambiguities of vigilante justice. These instances have impact but are overshadowed by the increasingly convoluted plot twists. What starts as an intense serial-killer drama gradually leans into eye-roll territory as it tries to cram too many themes into limited runtime.
Performance-wise, Pednekkar dominates the screen but rarely finds nuance. Her portrayal of the conflicted DCP is consistently morose, only briefly breaking out emotionally in one pivotal scene. Samara Tijori, Aditya Rawal, and Geeta Agrawal Sharma shine in their respective roles, with Tijori adding intrigue as the knowing journalist, and Rawal’s drug-addict subplot providing occasional emotional heft. Even small appearances, like Vibhawari Deshpande, manage to leave a mark.
 
The series’ bold attempt to mix a police procedural with societal commentary deserves credit. The direction and pacing hold attention in the early episodes, and the idea of revealing the killer upfront is a clever twist. Yet, the overstuffed plot, combined with occasionally clunky execution, prevents Daldal from fully realizing its potential. It teeters between gritty suspense and melodramatic spectacle.
 
Daldal is a mixed bag: Pednekkar’s stoic DCP, intriguing subplots, and moments of social commentary make it watchable, but the overloaded storyline and underwritten nuance keep it from being truly great. Crime thriller fans might find enough tension to stay engaged, but those looking for sharp, tightly-woven storytelling may feel left wanting.