A mysterious corpse, a missing journalist and a chamber of secrets propel the rivetting trailer of the Hoichoi web series Taqdeer, which dropped recently to critical acclaim. Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury stars in the gritty thriller, playing a man who gets entangled in a murder scandal when he discovers a dead body in a freezer trunk. The show was created in Bangladesh. “I loved playing the titular role of Taqdeer, a man who is intense, fearless and has fought through many odds to stay and live on. The entire team, and especially my director Syed Ahmed Shawki, have been very supportive and we have had some amazing time while shooting for this series. This story is brilliantly crafted and executed by Shawki,” says Chanchal.
The star cast of Taqdeer unveiled the official trailer of the series through a live-stream virtual event. The cast members introduced their characters one by one along with a clip for each of them.
At the virtual trailer launch, Chanchal said, “Taqdeer drives a freezer van (in Dhaka). He carries dead bodies to their final destination. His life has a dark story with glimpses of surprise. The van that he drives is full of such surprises.”
Moments from Taqdeer Sourced by the correspondent
Taqdeer’s job takes him to various places “all over the country, dead bodies fully preserved in his van, for burial. For petty cash, he sometimes smuggles perishable goods like fish and sells them in Dhaka”. Montu, a close aide, helps Taqdeer. During one of these trips, he opens his van to find a bullet-ridden dead woman’s body inside. He now has to get rid of the body quickly.
An exasperated Taqdeer in the show says, “We have reached the bottom of the pit now. There is no way out of this.” Through the show and the occupation of the protagonist, Taqdeer is also making a larger comment on society and a moral code. In the show, he says, “I left that world to come to a better one, and in this great world of yours, both body and soul are up for sale.”
Who are the people around Taqdeer? Sanjida Preeti plays Afsana, an idealistic journalist. “Her main purpose is to search for and unearth the truth. She fears nothing. Single mother Afsana leads her life on her own terms,” Sanjida says. As Afsana goes outside Dhaka to gather information, she goes missing.
Moments from Taqdeer Sourced by the correspondent
Manoj Pramanik plays Rana, a photo journalist, who has shortcomings. “His indecisiveness and the decision he takes add many complications to the story,” says Manoj at the launch.
In the news, Rana sees that they have been reported missing. “None of us have committed any crime but the police are after us. There are many people after this corpse,” cries out Rana.
Excited about his debut web series on Hoichoi, Chanchal said, “Hoichoi as a platform reaches out to a wide audience base. This gives all its content a fair chance for people from various parts of the world, for the Bangalis who reside outside Bangladesh, to watch content.”
Taqdeer will be streaming from December 18 on Hoichoi.
