In a typical dialogue exchange in Kull, a woman asks her sister, when was the last time we had a cup of tea in peace? Never, as it turns out – seconds later, the siblings are behaving like drunken men in a pub who feel compelled to brawl without quite knowing why.
Anything that could go downhill rapidly does in Kull The Legacy of the Raisingghs, to give the show its full fortune-baiting title. Created by Ektaa Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor and directed by Sahir Raza, the Hindi-language series follows a bunch of rowdy royals who are impossible to root for or even comprehend.
The JioHotsar show is set in the fictitious state of Bilkaner, with any resemblance to Rajasthan being entirely coincidental. Although Bilkaner has an elected chief minister, Jograj (Rohit Tiwari), the seat of power is the Raisinggh palace – which is on the verge of being leased to a hotel group because of massive debts.
The business deal pits the siblings Indrani (Nimrat Kaur), Kavya (Ridhi Dogra), Abhimanyu (Amol Parashar) and Brij (Gaurav Arora), their father’s illegitimate son, against each other. A murder or two worsen the situation.
Indrani, who is married to the chief minister’s son Vikram (Suhaas Ahuja), tries to play peacekeeper but is compromised by her irrational love for the cocaine-snorting, degenerate Abhimanyu. Brij is blindly loyal to the family despite being treated like a handyman.
Kavya badly wants the hotel deal to go through. She has even conveniently recruited her boyfriend Kabir (Arslan Goni) to shoot a documentary about the family. Video evidence is readily available to reveal the killer’s identity. But the series is just about getting started.
The White Lotus it isn’t, nor is it Succession. Based on a story by Althea Kaushal and Tarana Raja and written by Kaushal, Kull doesn’t supply the narrative building blocks or the moments of relief that might justify eight episodes of scrimmage. Mostly irredeemable feudals carry on squabbling, for no apparent reason than to ensure melodrama in every other scene.
Matters get comical when a preening Siddharth Malhotra lookalike cop turns up to investigate the murder, and then farcical when chief minister Jograj insists on running his cabinet from the innards of the palace. It’s time to stand with the family rather than running the state, Jograj declares.
Poor Bilkaner. We see little of it, which is probably just as well. Much of the show takes place inside the palace and on sets, where the Raisinggh spawn scheme and scream endlessly and relentlessly.
At least three cast members take the proceedings seriously enough to give the royal rumpus a semblance of purpose. Nimrat Kaur, Ridhi Dogra and Amol Parashar behave as though they are in a serious drama about faulty parenting and misjudged entitlement, rather than a soggy soap opera.
Dogra’s Kavya has moments worthy of redemption, although her instinct to use her clout in a crisis undermines her supposed maturity. Nimrat Kaur valiantly plays the impeccably dressed Indrani who is always in danger of coming apart at the seams.
Amol Parashar creates a bit of room to feel something for the odious Abhimanyu – a kind of perverse identification, if not empathy. The actors can’t save Kull from imploding, but they do try their best.
