On May 12, Amazon Prime Video released Sonakshi Sinha, Gulshan Devaiah, Vijay Verma and Waris Ahmed Zaidi starrer web series Dahaad. It is a crime, mystery thriller web series produced by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti the director. The story is based on a small village named Mandawa in Rajasthan. Anjali Bhaati, played by Sonakshi Sinha, is posted as Sub Inspector under SHO Devi Lal Singh, played by Gulshan Deviaiah.
Two stories ran parallel in the series. The first story is about an upper-caste Hindu girl Rajni who eloped with a Muslim boy named Altaf and the second story of a serial killer.
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers.
The subtle denial of love jihad
Rajni’s family, who influences the region, gets her back and files a complaint against Altaf, claiming he kidnapped Rajni. In the series, it has been shown as Rajni is in love with Altaf. Still, because of the inter-religion relationship in a region where even intercaste relationships would have been taboo, the family rejected their love.
Rajni was kept locked in a small room and brought to the police station for a statement. Later, she managed to run away with Altaf. Though the police know Altaf and Rajni are in love, they have to file a complaint against him under pressure from the Hindu organisation, Rajputs and senior police officers. SHO and SI helped Altaf escape using a stolen car.
This is the summary of the first episode of the series. If you leave the series in the first episode, it will hardly look like a thriller revolving around a serial killer. The way Rajputs are shown as gundas, Hindu organisations (hinting towards Bajrang Dal and likes) are shown in a bad light, and love jihad is conveniently whitewashed; the series producer has done a fantastic job in running propaganda.
The issue of love jihad is fuming in the background of anti-conversion laws in several states, and the controversy around The Kerala Story made the perfect time to release such a series. If the police in the series is to believe, a Hindu girl running away with a Muslim boy is not a matter of concern as they both are adults. Maybe tell that to Shraddha Walker.
The upper caste Hindu serial killer posing as a teacher
There cannot be anything better for the left-liberal to find a serial killer who belongs to the upper caste and teaches Hindi. All the controversies that make headlines in the country, like caste discrimination, so-called Hindi imposition and others, were rolled in a ball and served hot in the series.
Anand Swarnakar is an upper-caste Hindu man who is married and has a child. He has temper issues but keeps them under control most of the time. According to his family members, he goes to remote areas every weekend to teach underprivileged children. In reality, he is a serial killer who lures women of lower caste and other religions above the age of 25 years. He promises them marriage, asks them to run away with him, makes physical relations and click objectionable photographs and then kills them.
Anand’s father is also a murderer but a devoted Hindu. He had killed his wife years ago, and Anand knew about it. The only sane person in the family is the younger brother, who Anand tried to frame in murder charges.
Anand’s murder spree came to the fore when a man from a scheduled caste claimed his 28-year-old sister Krishna ran away with a Muslim boy, and a Hindu organisation protesting against Altaf came forward to help him. He only said so as the police were not taking an interest in the case as they thought his sister was an adult and ran away with a Hindu boy named Vijay. His sister’s dead body was found in another city, and it became case zero of the investigation into a notorious serial killer.
During the investigation, when it was revealed he was lying, Anjali found a connection between the two cases. Soon, they found multiple similar cases spread in different districts across the state. While police tried to capture Anand, he continued to kill girls.
Later, when Anand realised the police could catch him anytime, he ran away with a Christian girl he had been talking to for three years. He changed his name and settled in Goa after marrying that girl. Within weeks, he started finding his next target and got caught.
Police do not act on cases involving lower-caste women
The series depicts it as if the police do not take those cases seriously where an unmarried woman from a lower caste or non-Hindu religion runs away with her lover. They only take the case if a woman from an upper-caste Hindu family is involved.
Caste discrimination
The series depicts that caste discrimination is a major issue in remote areas and small villages. The girl’s brother, who had been trying to get some information for over 50 days, made the police act only after claiming it was a Hindu-Muslim matter. In the case of Rajni and Altaf, the father of Rajni did not allow Anjali to enter his house as she belonged to a lower caste. The constable in the police station where Anjali was the poster used ‘agarbatti’ to “purify” the hall after Anjali crossed it. Furthermore, the families of these women believe it was a good thing that they ran away as they did not have money to pay “dowry”.
The series’ first season ends with a note that Anjali filed an application to change her surname back to Meghwal, which clearly depicts her caste. The whole angle of caste discrimination showed upper-caste Hindus, particularly Rajputs, in a bad light.
There is a lot of scope in the Indian OTT scene for propaganda. Earlier, many series were released, such as Tandav, Patal Lok, Leila and others, that openly showed Hindus in a bad light and faced much criticism. It appears that the makers are now choosing strong watch-worthy scripts to run the propaganda subtly. While Dahaad is gaining popularity on social media, the subtle whitewashing of love jihad and the hate for Hindus and Hindi have passed with flying colours!
