कहाँ थे ये लोग (actors)?

कहाँ थे ये लोग? : My quick take on Hotstar's new web series ‘Ghrahan’

My spontaneous reaction after watching this masterpiece web series which is based on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots was ‘where were these fantastic actors before acting in Grahan, where was this stupendous team of a talented director, writer, set designer & cameramen’? In my view, the series has scored a perfect 10 with its fantastic screenplay, tight editing, awesome photography, and top-notch performances. Take a bow to the casting director for this talented ensemble of performers. Beauty is that but for veteran Pawan Malhotra in the cast, I did not know anyone else till I saw this series, but now after binge-watching 8 episodes, I will not forget beautiful Zoya Hussain, talented Anshuman Pushkar, and serene Wamiqa Gabbi.

The plot revolves around how politicians play with people's emotions by opening up 84 riots files to gain political mileage over opposite parties. An upright no-nonsense IPS rank police officer is made in charge of this SIT (played beautifully by Zoya). The plot takes a turn when she finds that her father (played by talented Pawan Malhotra) is one of the accused rioters.

The beauty of the plot is that unlike a usual ‘whodunnit’ kind of mystery the director resorts to a new technique of ‘whydunnit’ as he keeps the audience guessing as to why this happened. On the performance front, if there was any Oscar-type award for web series then I have no hesitation in saying that Pawan Malhotra would have won it for his subdued yet riveting performance, it's a classic example of how one can emote well without dialogues but with effective body language. The story is filled with love, hate, anguish, revenge, betrayal, and dirty politics yet it is so beautifully narrated that it will rivet you to yr TV Sets.

The plot is set in Jharkhand (Bokaro), not sure whether it is shot on location, but the camera work and set designer has done a fantastic job in recreating the 1984 era. The scenes toggle between today and 1984 era, I wished if director had shot past era in different color (maybe sepia tone) it would have added more credibility to the plot.

Grahan (eclipse) has a negative connotation in India n language, it is generally used to describe a ‘blot’ or something unpleasant. The title is apt as communal conflict is indeed a blot on any civil society, such a sensitive topic is so well crafted and delivered by believable performances on screen. Take a bow writer Shailendra Jha and director Ranjan Chandel.