Chhal Kapat is taut and slick, so was the post-climax needed at all?

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Under 30 minutes of seven episodes, each tightly structured and crisply narrated. No side issues, flirting with characters, red herrings, needless sex sequences—just focused storytelling. And a sort of unexpected climax. And—Wow!!—no gay angle either in any relationship!

Applause Entertainment’s latest offering, Chhal Kapat—The Deception ticks all the right boxes. If was a binge-watcher, I would have watched the story at one go, for the total length is less than 170 minutes, and it would have made for a first-class whodunit thriller as a film. But, but, but…..!

A post-climax, as unnecessary as a postal stamp on a couriered parcel, spoils the pleasure of this taut murder saga. The murder, obviously made to look like either a suicide or an accident, happens at a destination wedding venue where the victim, Shalu (Yahhve Sharma), a social media ace, is found dead in a “pond”. The wedding is of her best friend, Alisha (Kamya Ahlawat) with Jugal (Smaran Sahu). Their two other close friends are Mahek (Ragini Dwivedi), who is married to political heir Vikram Chandel (Anuj Sachdeva) and Ira (Tuhina Das), who has a physically-challenged child.

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Bit by bit, newly appointed (and just-widowed) SP Devika (Shriya Pilgaonkar) unravels the complex threads of lies (which everyone tells for assorted reasons!) and deception, aided by her devoted aide, inspector Dubey (Vijay Kaushik), and homes in on the truth.

The series’ strength lies in its lack of garnishing and the gripping narrative, but, as I said at the beginning, the impact is a shade vitiated with the needless post-climax. If this is related to a new season to come, maybe my view might get modified, but as of now, I was a shade disappointed!

Ajay Bhuvan is the director, and we see him using weird close-ups of the eyes and hands of Devika and the various people she interrogates. All that looks a little weird overall, as if a prose narrative in third person (“Devika saw that X was wringing his hands nervously!”) has been attempted to be shot with a camera! The BGM (Soutrik Chakraborty) is competent, and so is Rajkumar Chaturvedi’s razor-sharp editing.

The script is taut, with a rare scene that may be extraneous. I loved the character of Devika, and her menacingly sweet smile, and Shriya Pilgaonkar is superbly in sync with her character’s seemingly whimsical yet terrific traits. I also liked Vijay Kaushik as Dubey—he was a complete delight and his smile was genuinely infectious, though not meant to be humorous. Yahhve Sharma as Shalu is quite a find, but Anuj Sachdeva as Jugal and Kamya Ahlawat as Alisha need to work on the acting department. Pranay Pachauri as Rohan and Keshav Lokwani as Sapan fare better. But overall, except for Shriya, Vijay and Yahhve, no one is exceptional, while Kamya, Ragini and Smaran need to brush up on their skills from a little bit to a lot.

However, despite these significant shortcomings, the series worked for me as I did not see the post-climax (related only to Shriya’s character) coming. No spoilers. Watch and enjoy the show until the denouement!

Rating: ***

Z5 (ZEE5) presents Applause Entertainment’s Chhal Kapat—The Deception  Produced by: Aditya Pottoe & Samar Khan Directed by: Ajay Bhuvan  Written by: Prakriti Mukherjee, Karishmaa Oluchi & Aparna Nadig  Music: Soutrik Chakraborty Starring: Shriya Pilgaonkar, Vijay Kaushik, Yahhve Sharma, Kamya Ahlawat, Smaran Sahu, Ragini Dwivedi, Anuj Sachdeva, Tuhina Das, Pranay Pachauri, Keshav Lokwani & others

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