Psychopath - when we hear this word, invariably the very picture that comes to mind is that of "evil", characterized by a bloodthirsty predator who can readily and ruthlessly commit the most gruesome of crimes without any feeling of remorse; someone supremely guileful and deceptive who can easily blend into society, hiding behind a well-maintained mask of normalcy for years without being detected. These individuals with a skewed moral sense are said to have no empathy at all and are not bothered about inflicting untimely death onto others. The mere thought of it makes my body quiver, evoking feelings of dread and anxiety. I wonder what drives them to do what they do.
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| Abhay Episode 7: The Butcher |
Abhay's episode 7 and 8 - the latest in the crime-based web series - are centred around one such psychopath. It seemed a fairly ordinary evening. A poor migrant labourer, who is new to the place, visits a doctor's clinic to get his injured leg treated but instead gets waylaid by the compounder who persuades him to accompany him to his house for treatment. The unsuspecting labourer agrees but instead gets murdered there -- just like that! There didn't seem any explicit motive behind the murder. It was clearly the work of a psychopath. To know more,
watch the series finale of Abhay now.
For the uninformed crime-story lovers, 'Abhay' is a crime investigative web series streaming on ZEE5 that revisits some of India's most grisly true crime cases -- covering murder, rape, cannibalism, necrophilia, sadism, manslaughter and a whole lot more -- and presents to us the underlying complexities that were involved in solving those cases. It primarily revolves around SP Abhay Pratap Singh (the role admirably played by Kunal Khemmu) of the STF (Special Task Force) and how he solves these mystifying criminal cases.
Right from the time it debuted in the crime thriller genre, 'Abhay' has been making waves in the Indian OTT landscape and the latest episodes (Episode 7 and 8) too keep the viewers on the edge of their seats. Each of the previous six episodes featured a true crime incident that occurred in India. The opening episode was inspired by the infamous Nithari killings case of 2006 in which Moninder Singh Pandher and his domestic help Surinder Koli were convicted for abducting, raping, murdering (and even indulging in necrophilia and cannibalism) 16 persons (mostly children). The second episode was based on the 2017's gruesome triple murder case of Bhopal in which the convict after killing his parents and live-in partner, inhumed their bodies in his own house pouring cement mixture over them so as to conceal his crime. The third episode was connected with the Jaipur Tinder murder case of 2018 in which the convicted woman Priya Seth would first honey-trap moneyed persons through a dating app and seduce them to her place, but then would extort money through threats of false rape allegations before eventually murdering them. Similarly, the fourth episode was based on India's first female serial killer - Cyanide Mallika a.k.a K. D. Kempamma who killed 6 female temple devotees through poisoning by mixing cyanide in their prasad. The fifth and the sixth episodes of Abhay revolved around Sajal Barui's case who, to begin with, had gruesomely murdered his father, stepmother, and stepbrother in Kolkata with the help of his friends when he was barely sixteen and then went on become a serial killer.
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| Abhay Episode 7: The Butcher |
Similarly, Abhay's episode 7 and 8, titled "The Butcher" and “48 hours” respectively, seem to be based on the horrifying
case of Chandrakant Jha - one of India's most notorious psychopathic killers whose serial murders had shaken up the entire country. A native of Bihar who had migrated to Delhi in the mid-80s, he was first arrested in 1998 on a murder charge, remaining imprisoned until 2002. But the jail term didn't reform him a wee bit, instead he went on a senseless serial killing spree upon being released. He would first lure his victims to his home on some of the other pretext after befriending them but on the slightest provocation, he would murder them - first by strangulation and then by chopping their body parts which he would scatter at different locations around the city, so as to confuse the investigating officers. On one instance he even dared to throw the mutilated body parts outside the Tihar Jail, as if to mock and challenge the police to nab him! He was eventually caught and convicted for six counts of murder in 2007 and was sentenced to death in 2013. His death sentence was however
commuted to life imprisonment in 2016.
The Major Plus Points
There is something really intriguing about true crime stories that so many viewers love watching such crime-based shows, notwithstanding the evil involved in the crimes. Maybe because they give us an insight into a killer's psychology, by which we can learn how to protect ourselves and our loved ones. In that regard, ‘Abhay’ has done a great job. No wonder the web series has been happily lapped up by the digital consumers.
Several factors have contributed to the success of ‘Abhay’, the major plus points being
(a) Powerful Performances:
To begin with, Kunal Khemmu who is seen in a non-comedy role after so many years, puts up a brilliant act as a "tough, no-nonsense cop", effortlessly enacting the role to perfection. With 'Abhay', he has certainly proved his mettle as an actor. In fact, his performance makes you wonder why he doesn't get more of such roles that are worthy of his talent. Besides his investigation methods, the way he decodes cryptic messages by picking up the small clues and cracks the case surely keeps the viewers engaged. He is equally convincing as a devoted father.
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| Abhay Episode 7: The Butcher |
His co-actors like Elnaaz Norouzi, Sandeepa Dhar, Namit Das, Rituraj Singh, Maninee Mishra and Pratyaksh Panwar as Saahil (Abhay's son) among others, put up equally commendable performances but the icing on the cake in Abhay's episode 7 and 8 is Prashant Narayanan's menacing act as Jaykrishan, the psychotic serial killer. The actor has always excelled in villainous roles, notably in movies like Murder 2 (2011), Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II (2003), Summer 2007 and Bhindi Baazaar Inc (2011) among others. In Abhay's episode 7 and 8, he is back in one of his most fearsome roles.
(b) An Equally Engaging Sub-plot:
Besides featuring a true crime case in each episode, what has been impressive about the web series is an equally engaging sub-plot that revolves around Abhay's past. What makes it even more interesting is that a new facet is revealed in each episode. For instance, in the previous episode, we saw Abhay's wife (played by Priyal Gor) getting killed but the unexpected twist revealing the identity of the actual killer in the final episode catches everyone by surprise!
(c) The Overall Package:
The entire team of ‘Abhay’ namely the ZEE5 Team, producers B.P. Singh and son Akshay Singh of Fiction Factory productions, the director Ken Ghosh, the story writers B.P. Singh, Vaspar Dandiwala and Pushaan Mukherjee, have done a truly commendable job. With its true crime stories, crisp screenplay and taut direction, the crime web series keeps you hooked till the end. That apart, the mysterious and eerie opening title music by Ajay Singha, beautifully complements the theme of the crime procedural. Thus, they have all contributed to making Abhay an exciting watch.
If the proceedings in Abhay's episode 7 keep the viewers on the edge of their seats, the final episode, titled "48 Hours', too pulls off a great and an unexpected twist, thereby bringing a fitting close to Abhay's personal story track. In fact, the entire eight-episodic web series has been thoroughly engrossing and has definitely left a lasting impression on the viewers. How I wish ‘Abhay’ was more than 8 episodes long!
