‘Shaitan’ Web Series Review: Presented A Predictable Partially Captivating Survival Story

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‘Shaitan’ review: Web series presents a captivating survival story

When confronted with no other option, Bali murders the police officer brutally. After a few years, Bali joins the criminal underworld and even the Naxals because of this tragedy, which transforms him into a Shaitan.

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July 21, 2023 17:25 IST
‘Shaitan’ review: Web series presents a captivating survival story
‘Shaitan’ review: Web series presents a captivating survival story

New Delhi: Streaming on Disney + Hotstar since June 15, 2023, the web series Shaitan caused some controversy because of its explicit language and extreme violence scenes.

Plot

Bali’s perspective is used to tell the whole series of Shaitan. Baali, his older sister Jayaprada, and his younger brother Gumthi are raised by their single mother, who takes a job as the mistress of a police officer so the family can make ends meet. One day, the officer loses his mind and became becomes aggressive and begins a sexual assault on Bali’s mother and sister. When confronted with no other option, Bali murders the police officer brutally. After a few years, Bali joins the criminal underworld and even the Naxals because of this tragedy, which transforms him into a Shaitan.

Review

The premise is not very original, but its thrilling setting makes it enjoyable to watch. At first, we see the struggles that a family endure, and those scenes make us emotional about the condition of the character.

As Baali, Rishi excelled magnificently. The young actor is spot-on as a ‘Shaitan’, and his brilliant portrayal had everyone in stitches. In the action scenes, he brings a lot of energy, and he did a great job conveying Baali’s range of emotions. Even the supporting cast members, including Deviyani, Shelly, Jaffer Sadiq, and Lena, performed a great job. The show’s last episodes have been good thus far. The series nicely presents the extreme inequality experienced by certain members of society and the way some males see women as nothing more than sexual objects.

Despite its merits, the show ultimately fails to make an impactful emotional or intellectual connection with its audience. Unfortunately, the director is only focusing on the conflict between the police and Naxals, and we learn very little about their philosophy or beliefs. The development of the protagonist should have been shown more clearly. After a certain point, we can easily anticipate what will happen in the programme and foresee several scenarios. Furthermore, several sequences seem redundant, and very little is shown about what Naxalism is. If the creators of the show had focused on those aspects and reduced the usage of a lot of curse words, the result would have been much more powerful.

Where to Watch: Disney+ Hotstar

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