Qubool Hai review: This aha series is original and well set, but lacks quality in execution

3/5

Story: Ameena, a 13-year-old girl is married off to a rich, old man by her poor family in the small town of Talab Katta . A new S.I takes charge in the town, who is soon thrown into the deep side of a child sex trafficking racket, having to fend himself from power politics and a town where anything can happen. Directed by Umair Hasan, Faiz Rai and Pranav Pingle, the show features Manoj Muthyan and Abhilasha Poul, among others.

Review: In various episodes, it is explained, often literally too, that in the small town of Tala Katta, anything can happen. But one wouldn’t expect it to be the centre for a massive child sex trafficking racket that targets families in poverty, to have their teenage daughters married off to rich, old Sheikhs from abroad. But this is what we get in Talab Katta, among other small crimes and criminals, who don’t even have to live in the shadows, because law and order barely cares.

A young sub-inspector named Bhanu takes charge in Talab Katta one fine day, and is oblivious to the town’s dark and harrowing secrets. A man who believes in “Duty Honour Respect”, Bhanu is in for a disappointment when he realises that the police force in the town doesn’t even care enough to look into the many cases of missing girl children.

Shehnaaz is a karate teacher, who works in a school where she teaches young girls to protect themselves using martial arts. She also works in an NGO, which works towards eradicating child marriages and protecting young victims of sex trafficking. A fiery character, she wants to see change and people who commit this heinous crime taken in. She is let down by people around her, who want to do things by the book and want to see change for the sustainable future, rather than for the individuals who are in immediate danger.

Both Bhanu and Shehnaz are soon hit by the hard reality, and decide to go rogue. While Bhanu is still under orders and rules, and has to try and investigate the dark underbelly of Talab Katta by disobeying orders and reporting back to C.I Faisal Khan, a person he looks up to, Shehnaz takes a route very different to this. Clearly a master of the art of karate, she decides to wear a burqa, and take out bad guys. She soons makes it to the news and she is termed the ‘Burqawali’, who slays men in the dark alleys of Talab Katta.

While it feels like the entire world has given up on them and the girls in need, these two, with very little help, have to try and find a solution to the crimes. However, their paths cross with Bhanu being asked to capture the ‘Burqawali’. With both of them working in their own ways, they close in on the bosses of the operation.

Asif Ansari is the third big character in the story. A father of three young girls, he is unemployed and has an issue with gambling, constantly betting on IPL games and more than often losing and owing money to people. He soon finds a job under his rich brother-in-law, who is a marriage broker. Asif soon learns the trade, and is tasked with getting poor fathers to marry off their young daughters to rich Sheikhs. Things take a dark turn for Asif when he is forced to give away his own daughter, who is forcefully taken away by the big boss of the whole operation in the town.

All the stories come together towards the end, and they all head towards the goal of putting an end to this organisation of criminals. The story of Qubool Hai in itself, is engaging and original. A premise and setting that fits the OTT world well, the show also does a fantastic job of taking the viewers into Talab Katta, which is a slow and rotting town. Karthik Parmar’s camera work helps in translating this to the viewers, often capturing scenes with streetlights or even matchsticks.

Talab Katta, however, ends up being a town where people just miss women in Burqa dragging men around, all tied up and gagged. Shehnaz gets away with a lot in the show, and often appears to be a superheroine who is invisible. The show also often loses the interest of the audience, failing to provide something nail-biting in most episodes. But it is still engaging, mostly due to the core of the story. While there is no real cutting edge in the storytelling, there are also a few loopholes. Like when Bhanu sits in his bathroom and talks to himself about capturing the Burqawali, and ends up being on her tail in the next shot.

There are also a few laughs that the show offers, especially by the two goons, who are more comical than scary. The scenes where a drunk, gun-wielding Faizal Khan chases Bhanu and his aides around, ends up being funny. While this would have been enjoyable, it takes away a lot of attention from another scene that is happening simultaneously involving the Burqawali.

The show’s ending, which was created to be a nail-biting cliffhanger, ends up being something that merely annoys the viewer. The editing has to be at fault here along with the directors’ call. The sound mixing also at places ends up being amateurish, but these are things that are made up by the show’s setting.

Qubool Hai has some solid performances from the likes of Manoj Muthyam (Bhanu) and Abhilasha Poul (Shehnaz). While Manoj’s Bhanu slowly turns from a police officer who has hope for change to a man with no cause and back into a police officer of ideals, Poul’s Shehnaz is a show stealer. She goes through various emotions in the course of the six episodes, but is a character that stands out, thanks to her acting chops.

Verdict: Qubool Hai deals with an interesting story and is set up well too. But with execution that lacks any real cutting edge, the show becomes just watchable and does not have anything that would keep the viewer on the edge of their seats. However, it has a few moments where it shines too.