It's no secret that OTT (over-the-top) has changed the entertainment consumption patterns dramatically over the last couple of years and its market too, is fast evolving, what with several content streaming platforms vying for viewer's attention. But one particular platform, ZEE5, in spite of being a relatively new entrant, has impressed viewers the most. In fact, in less than one year of being launched, ZEE5 has already made a mark in India’s rapidly expanding OTT space, providing non-conventional and quality content that spans across different genres. No wonder, ZEE5 has become a favourite among the digital consumers within no time and continues to break new ground with its offerings of originals and web series backed by compelling stories.
Now with 'Abhay', it has come up with a police procedural crime thriller - a genre that hasn't been tried before in the OTT landscape. The show premiered on February 7 and going by its engrossing first episode, the eight-episode web series looks set to leave a lasting impression on the viewers. Well, coming from the house of Fiction Factory Productions helmed by B.P. Singh (famous for giving us CID, the longest running investigative series on Indian television), one would not expect anything less! You too can
watch Abhay on ZEE5.
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Abhay on ZEE5 |
What is it about:
Abhay is a crime investigative series that follows the
police procedural format of storytelling, wherein the protagonist, SP Abhay Pratap Singh (Kunal Khemu) tries to solve cases of spine-chilling murders, abductions, sexual assaults and other such brutal crimes while simultaneously battling his own inner demons. Inspired by true incidents, the investigative series would be taking up a different case in every episode.
The first episode titled 'Bagged and Tagged', trails the story of young children gone missing in the village of Chinthari near Lucknow, the latest ones being two schoolkids - the sister-brother duo of Pooja and Raghu, while they were returning back from school. Although 16 children, one after another, had gone missing over the last two years, yet the local police had been unable to catch the culprits or make any breakthrough. So finally when the case is handed over to the Special Task Force, Abhay (Kunal Khemu) takes charge and sets out to solve it. Following the leads and joining the dots, he finally manages to get hold of the culprits.
This terrifying story of abduction, rape, murder and cannibalism, in all likelihood, is based on the
gruesome killings in Nithari village in 2006.
Who’s in it:
Kunal Khemu makes his digital debut with 'Abhay', playing the lead character of SP Abhay Pratap Singh and thus becomes the latest one from Bollywood to venture into web space. We have mostly seen Kunal Khemu in comic roles at which he is very good, like in 'Dhol', 'Go Goa Gone' or the 'Golmaal' series. In Abhay, however, he plays an intense role - that of the investigative officer-in-charge of the STF (Special Task Force) SP Abhay Pratap Singh. So it's quite refreshing to see him in this different avatar. His character has two sides to it - that of a tough cop who is willing to go to any length to solve the case on hand and the other side is that of a soft and caring father to his only son - and he plays both the parts admirably well.
The supporting cast too is impressive, comprising of Rituraj Singh as Abhay's boss, Sandeepa Dhar as Komal (Abhay's partner in the STF team), Maninee Mishra as Radhika (nanny of Abhay's son), Elnaaz Norouzi as Natasha, Deepak Tijori as Chander Singh (the house owner) and Gopal K Singh as his domestic help. Gopal Singh's character in the first episode is sure to send chills down your spine.
Why you should watch:
The web series 'Abhay' looks very promising and has a compelling storyline. Although not much has been disclosed so far regarding Abhay's personal life, or why he gets those nightmares and hallucinations fearing for his son's life but I am sure, going forward as his story unfolds, the various layers of his past too would gradually be peeled away. Nonetheless, the first episode was thrilling and totally worth my time -- it was intense, fast-paced and terrifying all at once. There were several nail-biting moments that left me intrigued about what would happen next. For those viewers who love watching crime based shows, 'Abhay' is a must watch.
What makes this crime series unique is that unlike other crime-based shows, in 'Abhay', the viewers would get to know right from the start who the culprit is but the episode would rather focus on how Abhay traces and reaches him. 'Abhay' has great potential going forward, the first episode having already set a high benchmark. I am sure, this crime series will go on to become one of the most talked about crime shows among the digital content consumers in the days to come. I’m eagerly looking forward to the upcoming episodes.