The Bengal Scam: Bima Kando is the latest thriller in Hoichoi’s bouquet. Directed by Abhirup Ghosh of Rahasya Romancha Series and Byadh fame, the show is a chilling ride into the murky world of insurance scams, with a cast frontlined by Rajatava Dutta, Kinjal Nanda, Sonamoni Saha, Debraj Mukherjee and John Bhattacharya. Here’s what makes The Bengal Scam a thorough entertainer.

An insurance case worthy of investigation

Samudra (Kinjal Nanda) works as an insurance agent at Bengal Bima Company (BBC) but is a laggard. As a punishment posting, he is assigned the job of verifying insurance claims. Samudra has to travel to Chilapota with his colleague Mohona (Sonamoni Saha) on one such assignment. Ramkrishna Murmu, the autodriver whose insurance they are investigating, reportedly died in a road accident. As Samudra and Mohona sniff around, the duo sense something amiss. When they try to dig further, they get dragged into a racket that puts their lives in danger.

A larger-than-life villain

Abhirup Ghosh has a flair for creating characters that are larger than life. Mora (Saurav Das) or Jhontu (Rudranil Ghosh) from Rahasya Romancho Series are fitting examples. In The Bengal Scam, Rajatava Dutta takes on that mantle as the harmonica-playing baddie, Bidyut, who loves to hand out astrology advice before knocking people off.

Behind the facade of humour lurks a sinister scamster, and Dutta plays it to the hilt, along with a quirky dialogue delivery. Ankit Majumder, who was seen as a younger version of Dev in the 2021 film Golondaaj, is a scene-stealer as the young Bidyut.

A hero on the path of self-discovery

Kinjal Nanda, who played Benoy Basu in Arun Roy’s period film 8/12, sheds his boy-next-door image to be an action hero in this potboiler. He is introduced as a happy-go-lucky guy who plays cricket during office hours and tells his nephew that failing in a school test is no big deal. He is a hero without a purpose, who meanders on the path of self-discovery as the show progresses.

A peek into the dark side of society

Abhirup’s previous ventures have dealt with the dark underbelly of society, from crimes to the supernatural. The Bengal Scam takes a similar path. The show sheds light on how lack of education, coupled with poverty, makes people vulnerable to exploitation. There are several nods to iconic moments from mainstream Indian movies; the most relish-worthy of them is the hat-tip to Shah Rukh Khan in Don.

A few niggles with the film’s making

Spread over eight episodes, The Bengal Scam seems a bit stretched. While Abhirup’s previous works have been crisp and racy, the build-up in this show is slow. Kinjal and Sonamoni have an in-your-face chemistry, which kind of gets in the way of the flow. The action sequences have been choreographed well but follow the usual tropes of commercial movies.