ZEE5 MAFIA review
THE STORY The newest, eight-episode Hindi web-series streaming on ZEE 5 MAFIA is about six college friends having a reunion in a farmhouse of the web series begins with a grand bachelor party being thrown by Tanya (played by Madhurima Roy) who is tying the knot with her boyfriend Kunal (Sayan Banerjee). It is all about best friends, sworn enemies and much more….
The location for the party is an vintage guest house in the jungles of Madhupur in Jharkhand, a place that used to be their ‘adda’ in the college days. Neha sees Tanya’s engagement as an opportunity to bring estranged friends closer and comes up with the idea of planning a reunion.
As the group head for the much-awaited party, bright and dark memories come to their mind. This is when you get a brief introduction of each character – Rishi is that classic rich boy whose father owns the farmhouse in Madhupur, his faithful friend Sam (Aditya Bakshi) is passionate about photography, Ritwik and Tanya once dated each other. Ananya is a quiet girl with an unhappy past while Neha is the one who holds this entire group together. Interestingly, the friends had taken a trip to the Madhupur bungalow six years ago and certain events from the trip had permanently scarred their friendship. They all have their own reasons for not wanting to return to Madhupur.
After the initial unpleasant, disagreements and fights, they settle down to play their old favourite game, Mafia to rekindle their friendship. And this is when secrets from the past return to haunt them. Shuttling between the past and the present, Mafia unfolds the possibilities of what may have happened six years back, and how the past will impact their present lives.
An interesting twist to the plot of this cat-and-mouse psycho thriller is the entry of Nitin (Namit Das) who lands up at the bungalow as a stranger stating to have lost his way.
The characters are inter woven well, and they blend with the story impressively. Namit Das, as Nitin, gives another convincing performance as a suspicious guest while Anindita Bose perfectly essays the role of girl next door. Performances by Madhurima, Tanmay and Ishaa are also praiseworthy. The diverse layers to each character display the complexity and vulnerability of humans. The background score does well to create an ambiance of panic, fear and intrigue.
The show attempts to highlight several relevant issues such as the poor treatment of tribal women in village areas, caste system, as well as issues related to mental health and drug abuse. In a scene, Tanya is seen accusing the house-help Bidhua of breaking a camera. In fact, she slaps her, without a shred of evidence. While men in the show come from an urban background, they are routinely shown pulling down the women in various ways like making fun of their ambitious nature. Despite its empathetic stance towards women, the narrative is overpowered by its macho presence.
Mafia has a gripping plot and does keeps the viewer curious at all times, the series does have its good moments, while you may not clap for its execution which you may find it a bit away from being a pro work.
Watch the trailer of ZEE5 MAFIA
Created by Rohan Ghose and Aritra Sen and directed by Birsa Dasgupta, the web series features Ritwik (Saurabh Saraswat), Rishi (Tanmay Dhanania), Sam (Aditya Bakshi), Tanya (Madhurima Roy), Neha (Anindita Bose) and Ananya (Ishaa M Saha) who were once thick college friends, but have now drifted apart.
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