'Jamtara' review: This Netflix original fails to deliver the goods

Rating: 2/5

Netflix's latest offering Jamtara, which began streaming on the popular platform a few days ago, is a sincere attempt at storytelling which sadly fails to live up to expectations. Just like the much-loved Sacred Games and Mirzapur, the series relies on 'shock value' to create an impact, however, the execution is far from ideal.
Jamtara revolves around an ambitious youngster from the eponymous district in Jharkhand who makes big money by indulging in phishing and eventually ends up in a difficult situation. The first three episodes are quite slow and tend to test the viewer's patience. Things luckily pick up in the fourth episode with the interrogation sequences making an impact. Similarly, a few scenes involving the cops too have come out well.

Jamtara, however, soon moves into Mirzapur territory, which proves to be its undoing as it lacks the organic intensity that helped the Pankaj Tripathi starrer edge out the competition. Moreover, the scenes involving Brajesh Bhaan (Amit Sial) and Dolly Sahu (Aksha Pardasany) are quite predictable and have a 70s hangover.
The closing moments of the series are reasonably good but needed a better build-up to leave an impression.

Coming to performances, Amit Sial is pretty good and proves his mettle. His 'desi swag' adds a new dimension to the character, elevating its recall value.
Dibyendu Bhattacharya, who plays Biswa Paathak, delivers a top-notch performance, especially in the lockup sequences. His intense eyes do the talking, making him the highlight of the show.

Aksha Pardasany, Sparsh Shrivastav, and Monika Panwar deliver decent performances but are let down by the weak screenplay.

On the technical front, the background score seems inspired by the iconic Gabbar Singh theme from Sholay but fails to elevate the action. The silences don't speak, which robs the confrontation scenes of their intensity. The cinematography is fair and tries to capture the dark mood of Jamtara. The editing is above-average.

All in all, Jamtara had the potential to be the 'next big thing' but ends up being nothing more than a one time watch.