PremiumAbar Proloy review: Raj Chakraborty’s OTT debut is a masterclass of entertainment in the Bengali industry
In its huge star cast, the web series features Saswata Chatterjee as Animesh Dutta, Paran Bandyopadhyay as Binod Bihari, Ritwick Chakraborty, Gaurav Chakrabarty, and others
Last Updated: 12.18 PM, Aug 11, 2023
Story: Cops chase a gang that runs a human trafficking chain in Sunderban. Animesh Dutta (Saswata Chatterjee), a police officer of the Special Crime Branch, gets deputed to Sunderban to investigate and bust the racket. There, he gets introduced to a number of characters, including Hujja gang members, godman Shombhu Baba (Ritwick Chakraborty), Mohini Ma (Koushani Chakraborty), Poritosh Sarkar (Loknath Dey), and his colleagues – Madhabi (Sohini Sengupta), Karali Babu (Partha Bhowmick) and others. How Animesh Dutta explores the characters in his style and finally identifies the criminal is Abar Proloy in a nutshell.
Review: Raj Chakraborty enters the OTT space and he is here to stay. Abar Proloy is a testimony of his calibre as an entertainer. The 10-episode-long supercop drama that features Animesh Dutta is well-written and masterfully laid out on the big canvas of Sunderban.
Abar Proloy is total binge-watch material with everything over the top. Raj ditches the idea of a dark and grim realistic approach and yet makes it a sensible show with songs, dances, actions, and emotion. The wind blows when Animesh walks and human beings fly away by his one blow. And then there are scenes like three destitute children dancing and teasing each other in a dilapidated church building, or a young man takes his catch – a girlfriend – to the middle of the river and sells her off in straight face and gets ready for the next catch, are the shots that will be etched in your mind. The lush green Sunderban and silver lines of narrow rivers are beautifully shot throughout the show.
Abar Proloy begins like a supercop drama and then rises to be a tale of love, friendship, betrayal, and jealousy. The dialogue and screenplay are the forte of the series. The story flows seamlessly until the climax, which is a tad drab. In fact, after a while, one will get a fair idea of the storyline. And yet, predictability will not plague it. The way the timeline is treated will remain interesting. Also, the dialogues are engaging and unputdownable. Viewer discretion is advised for profanity, but not a single swear word seems imposed or out of place. Rather, it makes the dialect more convincing.
It is nothing short of a casting coup, with a series of ace actors portraying crucial characters in the series. Before getting into the senior cast members, one must take a moment to appreciate the world of the young actors and actresses of the Hujja gang, Parul, Haru, Kanu, and Moni. Moni is simple, bubbly, and beautiful, but Pushan as Haru deserves a special mention for his strong performance. The Hujja members are seamlessly blended into the script. Rubel, Pintu, and others are perfectly convincing.
Among the bigger stars, Gaurav Chakrabarty as Kanu is a revelation. He is known to be one of the finest actors of his generation. However, Abar Proloy shows how criminally underutilised the actor is. He breaks every bit of perception that surrounds him and makes a perfect Kanu—a tad dimwit and a lot gullible, but a 100 percent charming poor man. However, the series misses the chance to explore his character to the fullest.
Saswata aces Animesh Dutta with sheer swag and confidence. As the seasoned actor that he is, Saswata knows too well what is needed to make the supercop convincing. Animesh is sharper, smarter, and funnier than Proloy, and Saswata captures the general progression of this character perfectly. Paran Bandyopadhyay has little to do apart from his presence to build the connection between Abar Proloy and its previous film.
There is little surprise to see Ritwick Chakraborty shining on the screen. His makeup can be influenced by others, but he is perfectly original as Shombhu Baba. His interactions with Animesh Dutta are delightful. Shombhu Baba is calm and shrewd, and the hanging smile on his lips sends out a chilling vibe. Ritwick steps out and hits a sixer with this character. Koushani surprised everyone with her de-glam avatar. She pulls off the role to the best of her ability, but the charisma of her co-actors steals the spotlight away from her. It is heartening to watch Saayoni Ghosh on screen in a meaty role after a while, and she does justice to her character.
Sohini Sengupta is another character to be remembered. She is so effortless as Madhabi that one feels she is indeed a constable from rural Bengal who suffers gender discrimination at every point in her career. Loknath Dey as Poritish Sarkar and Partha Bhowmick as Karali Babu are a treat to watch on screen.
Also read: Abar Proloy: After Alia Bhatt’s Khela Hobe, Raj Chakraborty blends the phrase in a dance number
The series has an intriguing soundscape that deserves special mention. Be it the spine-chilling, ominous background score while showing the dense Sundarban or the hero-worshipping background for Animesh Dutta’s swag, the BGM is fitting. Raj introduces two dance numbers, and he surprises with both. The first one is a gender-fluid dance number with the members of the Hujja gang, and the other one, which comes a bit later, is Menoka, where Gaurav surprises with his moves with Nusraat Faria. Both have gained momentum in terms of the number of views on social media.
Verdict: Abar Proloy has its problems. The family side of Animesh is a mismatch with the rest of the show. The ending is a tad far-fetched, and the climax is pretty blah. However, that does not take away the fact that it is a fantastic piece of entertainment. Raj knows his forte, and he has left no stone unturned to make Abar Proloy a grand show. In terms of scale, his show is the first in the Bengali OTT space. Binge-watch it this weekend.