After the success of ‘Khaki: The Bihar Chapter’ created by Neeraj Pandey, ‘Khaki: The Bengal Chapter’ was released on Netflix on March 20, 2025, as part of the same franchise. This Hindi-Bengali crime thriller series is directed by Debatma Mandal and Tushar Kanti Ray and stars leading actors from the Bengali film industry like Jeet, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee, Ritwik Bhowmik. Available in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Bengali, the series depicts a political-crime drama set in 2000s Kolkata. Is this series as impressive as ‘Bihar Chapter’? Let’s see in the review.
Story:
The story of ‘Khaki: The Bengal Chapter’ revolves around crime and political corruption in 2000s Kolkata. Shankar Barua alias Bagha (Saswata Chatterjee), a fearsome don in Kolkata, runs his empire. His two confidants, Sagar Talukdar (Ritvik Bhowmik) and Ranjit Thakur (Adil Zafar Khan), work under Bagha. However, their greed and ego turn against Bagha, resulting in Bagha murdering an IPS officer, Saptarshi Sinha (Parambrata Chatterjee). SIT officer Arjun Maitra (Jeet) steps in to solve these murders. In the process, he exposes the criminal-political nexus between politician Barun Rai (Prosenjit Chatterjee) and Bagha. Opposition leader Nibedita Basak (Chitrangada Singh) fights for a crime-free society. How does Arjun destroy this criminal empire? What twists and turns did the conflict between Sagar and Ranjit take? This seven-episode series revolves around these questions.
Analysis:
‘Khaki: The Bengal Chapter’ continues Neeraj Pandey’s signature crime thriller style, but it is somewhat disappointing compared to ‘Bihar Chapter’. The series begins with a gripping kidnapping scene and expands the narrative by exposing Kolkata’s crime-politics nexus. The attempt to highlight the “pada” culture (the local club system that acts as a shadow for political parties) in Bengal is interesting, but the topic is not explored in depth. Although the first episode feels a bit dense, the pacing improves in the later episodes. The Jai-Veer-like friendship between Sagar and Ranjit, and their subsequent conflict, add strength to the story. However, the story is predictable at many places, lacking the thrill and depth that a complex crime drama needs. The flashbacks create some confusion, and the climax feels overly predictable and dramatic. The Bengali culture and atmosphere of 2000s Kolkata are not portrayed as strongly as expected in the series, which makes it lose its local flavor.
Acting:
Jeeth Arjun gives a solid performance as Maitra. His intensity in the scenes dealing with criminals is good, but his poker face in personal scenes creates some detachment. Prosenjit Chatterjee uses his experience in the role of Barun Roy, and plays a corrupt politician brilliantly. Saswata Chatterjee is impressive as Bagha, but his role is not as deep as expected. Ritwik Bhowmick and Adil Zafar Khan are impressive in their roles as Sagar and Ranjith, especially Ritwik's transformation from a romantic image to a rootless gangster is delightful. Chitrangada Singh does a good job as Neebedita, but her role has a limited scope. Parambrata Chatterjee has a small guest appearance as Saptarshi, but his role would have been stronger if he had a broader scope. Supporting actors like Akanksha Singh, Mimo Chakraborty and Shruti Das do justice to their roles.
Technical aspects:
Jeet Ganguly's music is not a big strength of the series, and the background score feels average at many places. The cinematography team of four (Tushar Kanti Ray, Arvind Singh, Tarashri Sahu, Sauvik Basu) captures the alleyways and grungy streets of Kolkata in an appealing manner, while successfully avoiding a touristy version. The sepia-toned visuals reflect Neeraj Pandey's signature style. However, the editing feels choppy at times, and the six-hour runtime feels a bit stretched. While the dialogues are impressive in Bengali-mixed Hindi, they are mostly mixed with Hindi and English, which somewhat diminishes the local flavor.
Director:
Directed by Debatma Mandal, Tushar Kanti Ray, the series starts as a tight crime thriller and continues with engaging chase sequences and twists. Although Neeraj Pandey's writing, along with Samrat Chakraborty, paced the story, unnecessary scenes and predictable twists kept the series at an average level. The directors failed to delve deeply into Bengali culture and explore the political-crime nexus more.
Plus points:
Ritvik Bhowmik, Adil Zafar Khan, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jeet's acting
Cinematography depicting the streets of Kolkata
Sagar-Ranjit friendship, conflict
Neeraj Pandey's signature thriller style, fast pacing
Strong ensemble of Bengali actors
Minus points:
Predictable story, predictable twists
Lack of Bengali culture, 2000s Kolkata flavor
Average background music, choppy editing
Unnecessary scenes, extended runtime
Underutilization of actors like Parambrata, Saswata
Overall:
'Khaki: The Bengal Chapter' starts as an engaging crime thriller, impresses with strong acting, fast-paced story, but predictable twists, The lack of Bengali culture and unnecessary scenes disappoint. Ritwik Bhowmik, Adil Zafar Khan, Prosenjit Chatterjee's acting, Kolkata visuals are the series' strengths, but the lack of 'Bihar Chapter' level of thrill and depth is a shortcoming. For those who like crime thrillers and Neeraj Pandey's style, this series can be a binge-watch, but it may be a bit of a disappointment for those who expect a great regional flavor and suspense.
Verdict: 'Khaki: The Bengal Chapter' is a decent crime thriller, in which Ritwik, Adil, Prosenjit's acting, Kolkata visuals are impressive, but the predictable story, lack of Bengali flavor keep the series at an average level.
Recommendation: Neeraj Pandey fans and those who like crime thrillers can watch this series once, but those expecting a ‘Bihar Chapter’ level of thrills should lower their expectations.
Rating: 3/5