With the release of the mini horror series, Betaal, on Netflix, fans have been going crazy. Bollywood has not provided enough horror films to catch on in the past year. Hence, spook lovers have heightened expectations from this web series. Indian cinema is finally releasing amazing content on the OTT platforms.
Here’s the complete review of the Hindi horror web series Betaal so you can decide whether to watch it or give it a skip.
Synopsis
Betaal has an Indie storyline revolving around the British East India Company. The plot involves an industrialist who sends a counter insurgency team to clear a village in order to set up a factory. In the process of clearing out the village, the team inadvertently unleashes a curse where the British soldiers of the pre-independence era come to life as zombies. How the counter insurgency team deals with the zombies is the rest of the story.
The pros
The storyline is the strength of the series. Hindi Cinema is finally making content from our very own Indian history. This is something we should be proud of.
The background score of the film is a major advantage for the film. The music deepens at times of tension and us enough to send chills down your spine. Also, the creators have carefully set the music so that the dialogues are not overlapped with the ongoing background score.
The actors have done an incredible job with their characters. Vineet Kumar Singh, Suchitra Pillai-Mallik, Meenal Kapoor and the supporting cast have put forth a genus performance which makes the show even more convincing.
The duration of each episode is also short so as to contain the entire attention of the viewers. There is no unnecessary prolongation of scenes and the editing is crisp. You won’t be distracted from the screen even for a minute.
The cons
Although the storyline is impressive, the zombies depicted in the movie don’t seem convincing enough. They often come out as funny and disappointing. Also, some of the scenes which were designed to jump scare you, come out as boring and mundane.
The industrialist who ordered to clear the village comes out to be simply cunning. He has no layers to his characters at all. The other characters in the series have layers to them and are often caught in a turmoil of the right and wrong. However, that is not the case with the industrialist. His character could have been written with more depth.
The first two episodes of Betaal are honestly gripping. However, viewers might find it tedious to watch the remaining episodes. The story feels getting prolonged and you might lose attention after a point of time. When the initial episodes are gripping, you would expect a lot more from the upcoming episodes. However, this is not the case with Betaal.
Watch Trailer:
Conclusion
Betaal has yet to answer several questions. Why have the British soldiers turned into zombies? Who planted the curse? Will the counter insurgency team be able to wipe out the zombies? It is very clear that there will be a sequel to this mini series. If you are looking for Indian content that is intriguing and off the beat, Betaal might be a suitable match for you.
Cast Information
Vineet Kumar Singh as Vikram Sirohi
Suchitra Pillai-Mallik as Commandant Tyagi
Aahana Kumra as Ahluwalia
Jitendra Joshi as Ajay Mudhalvan
Meenal Kapoor as Shakuntala Mudhalva
Pawan Singh as Yadav
Jatin Goswami as Assad Akbar
Manjiri Pupala as Puniya
Ratan Nag as Tripathi
Krishna Singh Bisht as Kaushal
Richard Dillane as Colonel Lynedoch
Swapnil Kotriwar as Kanji
Ankur Vikal as Bhunnu
List of all four episodes of Betaal
- The Tunnel
- The Barracks
- The Battle
- The Colonel
Your Turn!
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