How do you raise the stakes after success? By biting into an even more sumptuous world. With Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, the standalone sequel to Neeraj Pandey’s Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, that is the attempt. The series explores the crime-infested landscape of early 2000s Bengal, with an IPS officer tearing through a web of political power and law enforcement roadblocks. This crime drama boasts an ensemble cast led by Jeet, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee, and Parambrata Chatterjee.
Jeet as IPS Arjun Maitra and director Debatma Mandal
While Pandey continues as the showrunner, directorial responsibilities are shared by Debatma Mandal and Tushar Kanti Ray. The series is set to stream in both Hindi and Bengali, making it Netflix’s first dual-language Indian crime show. Mandal tells us, “The basic idea was from Neeraj. The idea that we could tell a story representing Kolkata a little better was always the endeavour. There were things about Kolkata that had not been explored earlier, which was an exciting premise to take up. We know how crime, politics, and violence work here because we’ve all grown up here. I think violence in Kolkata has been the best-kept secret for the longest period of time.”
Neeraj Pandey
When the Bihar chapter came out, Pandey had envisioned the Khakee franchise as a multi-series, each instalment focusing on a new state. The showrunner added, “At that point in time, we were clear that the vision was to take it to different states. During the promotion of Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, somebody told me not to talk about the possibility of a season two right now. But we went ahead and said that this is supposed to be a multi-season show. If it doesn’t work out, no problem. But there’s nothing wrong with thinking of it, right? So we dreamt big from day zero. I’m happy that we’ve managed to tell a second season of this and am looking forward to many more.”
What’s the pada culture?
‘Pada’ means neighbourhood club/adda, a culture long practised in Kolkata. Initially, the members of the club were restricted to organising blood donation camps, hoisting the party’s flag, and conducting political rallies. They have now become the foot soldiers of the state government. Pandey, who spent a lot of time in Kolkata, explained, “We were just discussing the pada culture in Kolkata and how different it is from any other state. While the Bihar chapter was adapted, this is a fictional story, but we went back and referenced a lot of incidents we knew [beforehand].”