The police station in the fictional town Chhand in Chhattisgarh is unusually busy. A state legislator’s brother has disappeared. A headless male body has been found. A man reports the loss of jewellery meant for his daughter’s upcoming wedding.
Sub-inspector Hemant (Bhuvan Arora) has his work cut out for him – when he isn’t escaping verbal daggers aimed at him on account of his caste. Hemant has adopted the generic surname Kumar to conceal his low-caste background. But in this provincial town, where members of the upper castes walk around with a “Do you know who I am” swagger, nobody is fooled.
Tea seller Kailash (Badrul Islam) emerges as a suspect in at least one of the crimes. The police launch their favourite – and only – strategy to get him to confess. They beat him with a nail-studded board. Time is running out. The pressure is intense. Suspects have to be produced, whether they are guilty or not.
There are no shortage of animals in Janawaar – The Beast Within on ZEE5. The Hindi-language series has a screenplay by Shreyas Lowlekar with dialogue by Sonalii Gupta Srivastava that reflects the local Hindi dialect. Shachindra Vats has edited and directed a show that aims to reveal a crime that is toe-curling in scope.
While the murderer’s identity and motives are suitably creepy, the repeated scenes of custodial torture, the rampant casteism and open misogyny are equally ghastly. With seven episodes that average 20-odd minutes, the show feels like a stretch. In nearly every episode, Hemant’s superior officer asks him: when will you wrap up the case?
When indeed. While the makers manage to stretch out the suspense, the show needed stronger characters and a deeper exploration of the social dynamics to justify its length. But the premise is interesting enough. Hemant, who is in nearly every scene, and the hapless Kailash, are interesting characters. The cast includes Bhagwan Tiwari, Atul Kale, Vaibhav Yashvir, Eshika Dey and Vinod Suryavanshi.
Bhuvan Arora, who is usually cast in supporting roles, turns out an efficient performance as the dedicated cop. Hemant is moved by his personal experiences to try out the one approach that his workplace sorely lacks: compassionate policing. The real beast that is running about in plain view proves far more chilling than the actual killer.
