Khakee: The Bihar Chapter review: Good story but suffers from poor pacing

Khakee: The Bihar Chapter tells the story of two individuals, a police officer named Amit Lodha and a criminal named Chandan Mahto, whose paths cross in the state of Bihar. The series is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Amit Lodha is a fresh and dedicated IPS officer who gets posted in the turbulent state of Bihar for his first assignment where he has to come to terms with how things are done differently.

Chandan Mahto is a lower-caste man who slowly rises up the ladder from lowly truck driver to an influential gangster in Bihar who has control over several regions.

The two have different trajectories that occasionally intersect until they face off in a bid to come out on top. Chandan wants to retain the power that people of his caste don’t enjoy too often while Amit wants to do his duty and put a criminal behind bars.

Much violence is involved in this simple tale of good vs evil.

Performances

Karan Tacker and Avinash Tiwary are the two leads and they complement each other well in the series. They’re both clever and determined to succeed and Tacker and Tiwary excel in these roles.

Tacker nails down the poise and stiffness of a police officer that is purely focused on their job. He also shows his softer side occasionally while he’s not averse to some humour from time to time.

Tiwary is calm and collected as Chandan but when his character does lose it or is cornered, Tiwary showcases the anger and rage built up within a man of his stature.

Ashutosh Rana is the real wildcard in this series as he comes across as corrupt or lazy and very clearly shifts allegiances like a leaf in the wind. However, he does provide Amit with useful advice occasionally and helps him out by doing the right thing too.

There are good performances all around that do not truly shine but provide the impact that they’re supposed to.

Positives

The series explores the thankless job of being a police officer as they are constantly under scrutiny and often have to bend to the will of someone higher up the chain. It also shows how there are bad apples that always exist and sometimes ruin the bunch.

There is not so subtle nod to the significance of caste in the politics of the state and how it is a mitigating factor in the social climate despite being a decisive system. Some of those issues are still seen today and need to be thrown into the spotlight to enact change.

The storytelling follows an exciting path as the two leads have mirroring journeys that come to a head in the final episode. The occasional shift in the balance of power maintains the intensity throughout.

Negatives

The episodes drag on for about 10 minutes too long and feel much longer than they are. The story is slightly let down by the pace at which it is played out.

The primary characters are well-written but there are too many secondary characters which give the series a bit of an overcrowded feel to it. The series could have done some trimming on the cast and run time to make it more palatable.

Verdict

Khakee: The Bihar Chapter is a moderately good series that certainly cannot be binged in one sitting and would be better enjoyed across a staggered time period. In yet another depiction of the darker side of Bihar, the violence, politics and corruption do an adequate job of improving a very basic story.

Khakee: The Bihar Chapter
Khakee: The Bihar Chapter review: Good story but suffers from poor pacing 1

Director: Bhav Dhulia

Date Created: 2022-11-25 13:30

Editor's Rating:
3

Also Read: Khakee: The Bihar Chapter ending explained: Does Amit successfully arrest Chandan?

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