Shaitan Web Series Review: The Mahi V Raghav, Rishi, Deviyani starrer has a familiar premise but is narrated in a bold and gripping manner

3/5

Story

The story of Shaitan is showcased through the eyes of Bali(Rishi). Right from a very young age, Bali, his sister(Deviyani) and younger brother(Jaffer) are brought up by their single mother who become the mistress of a cop to make ends meet. One fine day, the cop goes crazy and starts raping Bali's mother and his sister. Left with no choice, Bali turns violent and kills the cop in a brutal manner. This incident turns Bali into a Shaitan and he enters the crime world and even lands up with the naxals after a few years. Now, his only aim in life is to kill the home minister. Will he be successful? Did the cops nab Bali? and what happened to his family? To know the answers, you need to stream the web series on Hotstar.

Review

Shaitan is created by popular filmmaker Mahi V Raghav who directed the super hit show 'Save The Tiger' just a few months back. Right from the day the first look of this series was revealed, the makers have been shouting from the rooftops that Shaitan will be on the lines of Mirzapur and Pataal Lok. Well, Shaitan surely lives up to the hype created and is similar to these said Hindi series in terms of intensity. But in terms of scale, Shaitan is set in a familiar backdrop of Naxals.

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After watching the show, one can surely say that such a series has never been made in Telugu OTT so far. The violence factor is way too intense in Shaitan and is an adults only show for its gore, curse words and killings showcased. Mahi V Raghav has not compromised and has showcased his characters in such a way that it justifies the title of the show. Though the curse words make the show authentic, one gets a feeling there was no need for so much usage of these words which become irritable after a while.

But the screenplay of Mahi V Raghav is on point and does not go wayward. Web series these days have too many subplots to showcase the story in a detailed manner and they get dragged for no reason and bore the audience. But the best part of Shaitan is that there are not many subplots, and the story is narrated in a simple manner without any deviations. Each of the episodes are under half an hour and are breezy to watch.

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When it comes to action, Shaitan has scenes where heads are cut off, women get raped, and dialogues are so bold that cannot be mentioned on paper. Also, Shaitan is not just about violence, romance and bullying. Beyond that, if Bali and his family members are committing murders, the makers have showcased them in a very non-guilty manner as these characters have no emotions.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Shaitan is when the story moves away from Bali and family. Things get bogged down and the scenes related to the key police force are not impressive and a few better actors should have been chosen to play these parts. When it comes to performances, Rishi plays the role of Bali, and he is good. Emotions like anger, grief and rage are showcased well by him.

But it is Devyani Sharma as Jayaprada who nails the role. Be it her look, performance, or screen presence, she is amazing actor and is stunning in Shaitan. You can't imagine anyone else in the role instead of Jaffer but sadly he did not get much screen presence. Kamakshi Bhaskarla, Shelley and Ravi Kale do what is expected of them. The rest of the supporting cast were new faces, and some known actors would have given this a show an even better impact.

Shaitan has a familiar premise and does not show anything novel in terms of story or twists. But the manner in which director Mahi V Raghav has packaged the entire show with intense crime, bold scenes and gritty drama, you automatically get engrosses into the world of Shaitan.

Verdict

Overall, a show like Shaitan has never been attempted before on Telugu OTT. Shaitan breaks many barriers in terms of boldness and brutality. An adults only show, Shaitan has nine episodes and are under half an hour which makes the watching experience easy. Though there is nothing novel in terms of story, the manner in which it is packaged with gripping scenes, intense narration, makes the show surely worth a watch this weekend.