Kaalkoot is a Hindi crime drama series. Its story is set in a small town in Uttar Pradesh (India). Here vile and shameful crimes against females are rampant, with no end in sight.
However, the crime against females (including – infants, babies, kids, teenagers, youngsters and women) is not confined to this small town. It is happening across the nation, especially in the Northern states like Uttar Pradesh. Maybe, it has something to do with the well-entrenched idea of Patriarchy in most parts of India.
Synopsis (summary) of this 2023 Hindi crime drama series
A police officer – Ravi Shankar Tripathi (Vijay Varma) must deal with society’s and his mother’s pressure to marry, as well as frequent bullying and pressure from his superiors. It is a suspenseful crime drama.
Spoilers Free review of the Kaalkoot (IND/2023) Series
Explaining the Kaalkoot title
According to the Hindu religious texts, Kaalkoot (कालकूट) is the poison that came out when the churning of the ocean in the Kṣīrasāgara (क्षीरसागर). The Kṣīrasāgara is the abode of the Hindu – God Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi.
Perhaps, the Kaalkoot (कालकूट) refers to the poisonous spread of dangerous (ancient and medieval) idea (s) in India. So, these outdated thoughts continue to treat females as objects as well as subjects. They are to be controlled by the male members of society. Furthermore, it is about the unequal status of girls and women in society.
About the status of women in India
No doubt, its story tackles the harsh realities of society in the said Northern state. Specifically the sorry status of girl children and women in the nation.
Thus, it highlights the various gender issues in contemporary India. In addition, it incorporates other grave themes like – widespread corruption, other heinous crimes, unresponsive bureaucratic setup, dangerous political interferences, etc. Not to forget, it uses a bunch of insightful Hindi poems to further highlight the issues. Equally important, these Hindi poems are pertinent and insightful.
About its talented cast & the conclusion
The ensemble cast of this series is led by brilliant Seema Biswas (Mother of Ravi Shankar Tripathi), sparkling Yashpal Sharma (Yadav Ji), flashy Gopal Dutt (Jagdish Sahay), intense Shweta Tripathi (Parul) and talented Vijay Varma (Ravi Shankar Tripathi. All of them do a good job in it. With their acting, they have successfully handled these complex and controversial subjects mentioned above.
Although I liked the intelligent content of its story packaged inside the crime drama, sometimes I felt that it was slackening the pace of the story. Its story goes in many different directions and lacks focus. Maybe its writer wanted to touch upon many serious issues concerning females. And he used this series to convey the same.
All in all, it is a praiseworthy effort by its writer. However, we could guess the main criminals in this show, still, we liked its layered and suspenseful story. Besides, we really liked what we saw in its effort, This show tackles important contemporary issues. It does so by not taking the easy way out and brushing them under the carpet.
Kudos to its team for this brave contemporary tale set in India.
Spoilers Alert – it tackles various gender issues in the show
Female issues in Indian society
Focus on the key issues involving females in this series
The crux of this crime drama is about the vicious acid attack on Parul (Shweta Tripathi), a vivacious and independent-minded young woman. The acid burns her beautiful face and completely disfigures her. The despicable acid-throwers criminals wanted to destroy her life completely.
Other issues of Indian women-folks
Then its story also touches upon other key issues like – eve-teasings, female infanticides, forcible marriages, pregnancy cases among teenage and/or unmarried girls, illegal abortions, domestic violence, fake online profiles of girls, online hacking and shaming of girls, the unequal status of women in society, et al.
Focus on the criminal elements behind the acid attack in this series
Although Manu carried out the acid attack on Parul (Shweta Tripathi), the real culprit and the mastermind was her so-called close friend, Manav. As Parul has rejected the advances of Manav, he decides to take revenge. However, at the last moment, Manav could not bring himself up to throw acid on Parul’s face, so his close friend Manu took it upon himself to carry out the acid attack on her.
The mindset behind the acid attack
An acid attack like this incident highlights the false sense of masculinity that mcp like Manu and Manav indulge in India. Maybe, their criminal behaviour can be attributed to the ever-growing toxicity and intolerance in Indian society. Besides, the traditional thought process and/or mindset can also be blamed as these create gender inequality and female infanticide in Indian society.
Focus on the shameful acid attack cases on females in India
Well, according to the National Commission of India, “An acid attack is any act of throwing acid or using acid in any form on the victim with the intention of or with the knowledge that such person is likely to cause to the other person permanent or partial damage or deformity or disfiguration to any part of the body of such person.”
Acid attacks & Indian laws
Also, as per Legal Services India, “An acid attack involves the premeditated throwing of acid on a victim, usually on her face. It is a gender-based heinous crime against women. In addition to causing psychological trauma, acid attacks result in severe pain, permanent disfigurement, subsequent infections, and often blindness in one or both eyes.” Acid attacks on women are increasing day by day girls between the ages of 11 and 30 years are targeted. Furthermore, the most common types of acid utilized in these assaults include sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acid.
Key details of this 2023 Hindi crime drama series
| Genre | Crime, Drama |
| Original language | Hindi (कालकूट) |
| Released | July – August 2023 |
| Season | One (1) |
| Episodes | Eight (8) |
| Creators | Arunabh Kumar, Sumit Saxena |
| Cast | Vijay Varma, Seema Biswas, Yashpal Sharma, Gopal Dutt, Shweta Tripathi, Suzanna Mukherjee, etc. |
| Network | JioCinema |
Poster of this 2023 Hindi crime drama series
Rating of this 2023 Hindi crime drama series
| FM’s rating | 3.95/5 |
| FM’s short comment | We wish that its writers could have further tightened its script, as sometimes, it dragged its feet. Still, it is a good show to watch. |
Trailer of this 2023 Hindi crime drama series
If you like police procedural crime dramas from India, then check out the Dahaad, Delhi Crime, Pataal Lok, and Kohrra series.
Featured & Other Images: Kaalkoot | JioCinema.