Red Chillies Entertainment’s first offering for Netflix, Bard of Blood, was a plodding, mediocre affair that failed to impress. Its second show, Betaal, takes on a different genre, mixing in political commentary with a puppy zombie threat. Created by Patrick Graham, who created 2018’s Ghoul, this show also tackles a militaristic squad dealing with the supernatural. Betaal, however, treads water, opting for a formulaic narrative where characters often fall in trouble due to their own stupidity.
A corrupt contractor (Jitendra Joshi) has called upon the CIPD, an elite police force, to deal with local opposition to a construction project in the name of dealing with insurgents. They end up unearthing an ancient curse in a tunnel, where a horde of undead British zombies from the 1857 mutiny lay in wait, commanded by a power hungry officer Lt Col John Lynedoch. As they fall back to a nearby old barracks to regroup, the squad’s second in command, Sirohi (Vineet Kumar Singh) tries to make sense in the chaos and keep his team (and a family of civilians) alive through the night.
One of the good things about the show is how differently it portrays its zombies. They are smart and fast, and can also use muskets. Their leader, Lynedoch, can even possess humans and force them to do his bidding. The production value is also pretty good, and the zombies look appropriately decrepit and monstrous.
Other than that, however, Betaal is a B movie in disguise that fails to embrace its own pulpiness. There are moments where characters refer to British colonization with ridiculous phrases like ‘hard Brexit’, but the show never rises to the occasion to dazzle in terms of either action or narrative.
To its credit, the show does try to explore some subplots, such as Sirohi’s guilt at killing a young village girl and another officer trying to look out for his cousin, even after the latter gets infected by a zombie. Like in Ghoul, the show touches upon themes of corruption, greed and duty. The actors do an adequate job with what they are given, including Aahana Kumra, whose backstory behind her scar is never revealed.
Overall, Betaal makes for an okay one-time viewing. The premise is intriguing, and makes for a good juxtaposition of conflicted soldiers dealing with the country’s subjugated past. The ending leaves the door open for a sequel that takes place on a much larger scale, though that seems unlikely since the story mostly takes place in a confined place.
If you haven’t seen Betaal, you aren’t missing out on much, especially if you are sick of The Walking Dead by now. If you are on the lookout for gripping Indian shows, check out Amazon Prime’s catalogue. As a horror story, Betaal is mostly middle of the road, but perhaps, it’s a step in Red Chillies Entertainment’s path to finally making a compelling TV series. Let’s see if that holds true.
