'Shehar Lakhot' web series review: Priyanshu Painyuli and Kubbra Sait shine in Navdeep Singh's gritty show

Cast: Priyanshu Painyuli, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Kubbra Sait, Manu Rishi Chadha, Shruthy Menon

Director: Navdeep Singh

Language: Hindi

Navdeep Singh has his way with places, be it Rajasthan in the immensely absorbing Manorama or Gurugram in the chilling NH10. He has now made a web show called Shehar Lakhot. It’s hard to describe what exactly the genre of the show is, as it combines thrill, drama, tension, and even comedy. It’s about a man (an understated Priyanshu Painyulli) and his reluctance to return to his home town. When he does, he’s in for some unexpected adventure.

The set-up

Singh and his co-writer Devika give a glimpse of the set-up of the show and the characters it boasts off by the way our protagonist reacts to going back to Lakhot, the very place of conflict he belongs to. To blend thrill with humour and add a cherry of idiosyncrasies isn’t easy, but the team of the show try their best to create this concoction and mostly succeed.

The performances

Priyanshu plays Dev with a mix of despair and humor. A part of him is looking for redemption by connecting with his past. However, that changes when he is falsely accused of murder. His show Charlie Chopra that was directed by Vishal Bhardwaj was fun, and Shehar Lakhot comes close. It becomes even more boisterous and bizarre in good ways as more characters begin to inhabit his world that’s already getting bogged down by chaos.

Kubbra Sait plays SI Pallavi Raj with swagger and also adds doses of comedy. Pallavi is a woman with a spine, one who takes risks and is not afraid to go up against the offenders and delivering justice to the victim. When presented with the chance to investigate a gruesome murder, Pallavi uncovers a web of lies.

The one actor who makes the biggest impression is Chandan Roy Sanyal, very closely followed by Manu Rishi. Sanyal is named Kairav. He hates to lose anything in life whether it’s a deal or a game. He is ambitious and a hedonist, unafraid to manipulate for his own gains while lacking any empathy. And Rishi’s character is best kept mysterious.

Oh yes, there’s the firecracker called Shruthy Menon as Sandhya, a gorgeous, bright, and ambitious young woman, who is Dev’s former girlfriend and one he hopes to reconnect with. Trapped in Kairav’s ambitious world, Sandhya wants nothing more than to leave Lakhot.

Shehar Lakhot works if you focus more on the characters than the narrative they have been thrown into. It’s not Navdeep Singh’s best, but worth giving a shot.

Shehar Lakhot is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video IN