MUMBAI: Bhaukaal is based on real incidents in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. The town is referred to as the crime capital of India. How an SSP Naveen Sikhera (Mohit Raina) takes on the criminals of the town head-on forms the crux of the story.

Mohit Raina plays the lead role of a cop name Naveen Sikhera. He is strong, brave, and all set to fight all odds coming his way, which make him stand apart from the other officers. He is fearless and and straight-forward.

Director Jatin Wagle has a simple yet difficult job at hand with the content of Bhaukaal. The story here is predictable, and we have seen it many times before. The real incidents have already been used for many flicks. Jatin’s job is to provide a gripping narration through a succinct screenplay. That, unfortunately, doesn’t happen.

The series starts on a very predictable note. We see one cliché coming after the other. The wait for some intense momentum continues. It arrives when the lead comes face-to-face with the antagonist.

The momentum dips once again, and it picks up only after the undercover angle is introduced into the narrative. It is only then that we actually feel that it is a period setting. We are given an introduction at the start regarding the time frame, but the proceedings are so generic that it never occurs.

Once Sikhera establishes an encounter team and the vigilance activities simultaneously take place, Bhaukaal comes alive. It is, however, not sustained, and is felt only in parts. The chemistry between the encounter gang, the infiltration, are appealing aspects. The feeling of datedness throughout also doesn’t help the cause.

Still, Bhaukaal is not all bad, as the final few episodes have more parts that engage than not. The climax especially gives us a glimpse of how extraordinary viewing Bhaukaal could have been and what it has turned out eventually. In the end, if one loves cop sagas, no matter how predictable, Bhaukaal is a decent watch with a few engaging moments. Others can view it on fast-forward option barring those few engaging parts.

Abhimanyu Singh is given what could have been another memorable part after Rakta Charitra. Sadly, he looks jaded and just going through the motions for the most parts. There are only a few sequences where we get a glimpse of how good an artist he is and how little of it has been explored in Bhaukaal.

The entire team of encounter gang are good. They share palpable chemistry. They help us stay the course and make the whole series less boring. Sunny Hinduja and Ravi Pandey are the standouts among them. The rest are alright with sketchy characters given to them.

Overall, TellyChakkar goes with 3 stars for Bhaukaal.