More than a crime drama, ‘Dabba Cartel’ works as an interesting character study of women across different strata of society.
Dabba Cartel (Hindi), 28-02-2025, Action, Drama, 7 episodes, 16+, OTT
- Main Cast: Shabhana Azmi, Jyothika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Anand, and Sai Tamhankar
- Director: Hitesh Bhatia
- Producer: Farhan Akhar, Ritesh Sidwani, and Shibani Akhtar
- Music Director: Gaurav Raina and Tarana Marwah
- Cinematography: Eeshit Narain
- Rating: 3/5
Hitesh Bhatia’s Dabba Cartel centres on various women across different social strata. The director is successful in creating interesting characters and also making some impactful social commentary.
More than a crime drama, Dabba Cartel works as an interesting character study of women across different strata of society.
Synopsis
There is Raji (Shalini Pandey) running a small Tiffin service with her maid Mala (Nimisha Sajyayan), this soon becomes a drug cartel service thanks to Mala.
Mala secretly distributes a certain kind of Viagra to get extra cash. As a frustrated single mother grappling with society’s degradation of her, she wants to make sure that her daughter gets the best education.
Adding to the mix is a local broker, Shahida (Anjali Anand), and Varuna (Jyothika), the wife of Shankar Dasgupta (Jisshu Sengupta), a top executive at a pharmaceutical giant. Varuna, an ex-employee of the company, is now a regular housewife. Her relationship with her husband is on the brink of disintegration.
Shabana Azmi plays Raji’s mother-in-law referred to as Baa aka Sheila. She has a dark secret of her own. Due to certain circumstances, these five women form a group. On the surface, the connection between women and a drug cartel may seem dubious but here it’s more about survival rather than power.
Strengths
A strong aspect of Dabba Cartel is how Hitesh Batia uses the set-up of the pharmaceutical company. It becomes a very useful accessory for women to run the drug cartel while using the Tiffin service grounded in home-cooked meals as a front.
This setup is used cleverly to play up on some of the societal norms that we reduce women to particularly homemakers.
Thankfully director Hitesh Bhatia, along with the writers Vishnu Menon and Bhavana Kher ground the narrative from the lived experience of these women. The show is shaped more by the biases which play a significant role and the subsequent decisions they make under pressure.
The show also excels in its depiction of gender dynamics. The male characters, particularly the husbands are very dismissive of their wives, particularly Shankar.
There is a brilliant confrontation between Varuna and Shankar, concerning an important revelation. This revelation acts as a major drive for Varuna.
In more ways than one Dabba Cartel is a character-driven show rather than a plot-driven one.
Flaws
A major problem with Drug Cartel is some of the patchily written tracks. For example, in the beginning episodes, a character called Chavan is given a lot of importance but is soon forgotten after a point.
Even the LGBTQ+ track involving Anjali Anand’ Shahida and Sai Tamhankar’ Preeti isn’t organically woven. Varuna’s acceptance in the group could also have been better written particularly given that she is an outsider for others.
Characterisation
The supposed invisibility of these housewives becomes their biggest weapon. Mention must also be made of the track involving Gajaraj Rao and an eager-to-prove police officer played by Sai Tamhankar.
Gajraj Rao’s character is an officer from Narcotics who wants to unveil the duplicities happening in the pharmaceutical company VivaLife. His detective-like persona coupled with the desperation of Sai Tamhankar’s Preeti in solving her first major case adds an interesting layer to the web show, particularly in the middle episodes.
Some of the tension-filled moments where a heist kind of mission takes place with the use of the song from the famous Excel Entertainment movie Don add a touch of mischievousness.
Performances
Not surprisingly, Dabba Cartel is mostly shouldered by its female cast with particular mention of Shabana Azmi, Nimisha Sajayan and Jyothika.
Shabana Azmi has a towering presence and portrays the role with her usual finesse, she conveys a lot through her eyes and overall body language. Nimisha Sajayan does a very good job of capturing the fiery nature of a woman from a marginalized community.
The character’s need for respect has been portrayed brilliantly by the actor. Jyothika as the seemingly happy housewife with a growing resentment is also a delight to watch.
Among the men, Gajraj Rao leaves the biggest impact as the no-nonsense investigator followed by Jisshu Sengupta.
Technical aspects
The music composed by Gaurav Raina and Tarana Marwah is funky jellying perfectly with the nature of the series.
Eeshit Narian’s cinematography is also of a very good standard. He effectively captures the rooted middle-class milieu through his lens. His cinematography is particularly impressive in the scenes of the crowded alleys and the heavy monsoons.
Final take
To sum it up Dabba Cartel doesn’t completely deliver, still, the show is worth watching for its fantastic female cast.
(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha)
