Kaantaye Kaantaye, the ZEE5 series directed by Joydeep Mukherjee, opts for a measured approach rather than the high-octane action and flashy twists that have become a staple of thrillers. Based on Narayan Sanyal’s novel Sonar Kaanta, which in itself is inspired by Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, Kaantaye Kaantaye unfolds slowly, wrapping its audience in a web of suspense that thickens with each episode.
The plot revolves around advocate P.K. Basu (Saswata Chatterjee) and his wife Rani (Ananya Chatterjee) who are reeling from the death of their daughter in a car accident. They make a trip to Darjeeling to deal with their grief but that attempt is derailed when their friend, a police inspector investigating a string of murders, is found dead.
Basu and Rani are stranded at Hotel Repose in Darjeeling along with several other guests where a violent storm has severed all contact with the outside world. In this situation, guests are turning up dead one after another, and everyone begins to suspect the other of being the killer. This gets Basu to try and find the killer before another life is claimed.
At 10 episodes, Kaantaye Kaantaye may feel more like a slow-cooked meal than a quick snack. It might feel drawn out to some; to others who are willing to invest time, it might come across as a languorous watch. The motive behind the murders is revealed relatively early on, which could have been a death knell for the suspense, but Mukherjee and screenwriter Padmanava Dasgupta manage to keep the tempo up by focusing on the complex dynamics between the characters.
The ensemble cast — Subrat Dutta, Somraj Maity, Mir Afsar Ali, Ayoshi Talukdar and Prantik Banerjee — does a commendable job of keeping one hooked. Kinjal Nanda stands out as a character whose creepiness is palpable from the moment he appears on screen. Payel Sarkar has a brief but significant role that adds another layer of mystery. The casting of Soham Chakraborty as a somewhat enigmatic figure pays off.
But it is the lead pair that truly anchors the series. Saswata Chatterjee brings a mix of smooth confidence and deep-seated sorrow to P.K. Basu, a man torn between his professional duties and personal anguish. Ananya Chatterjee is powerful as a grieving mother with a quiet strength that makes her an integral part of her husband’s investigation.
The world building in Kaantaye Kaantaye is in sync with the mood. A green and grey colour palette, coupled with low-light camerawork, creates an eerie visual landscape. The mountainous backdrop of Darjeeling, with its mist-laden valleys and dense forests, adds to the atmosphere of unease. Indraadip Dasgupta’s music, along with the Rabindrasangeet Je Raate Mor Duaarguli, helps to heighten the suspense.
