Performances by Nimrat Kaur and Amol Parashar make the rather unimaginative show watchable, observes Deepa Gahlot.
From the era of Dynasty down to the recent Succession, it is, kind of, inevitable that a wealthy family will be greedy, ruthless and degenerate.
It is not surprising that the creators of Kull: The Legacy Of The Raisingghs are Ekta and Shobha Kapoor, of the once all-dominating Balaji telefilms (the ‘K’ is a giveaway).
Their expertise lies in family dramas, and since OTT does not necessarily demand Indian family values, setting the eight-part series in a Rajasthani royal clan means evil can permeate the walls of the Palace of Bilkaner without hindrance.
The fortunes of the erstwhile royal Chandra Pratap Raisinggh (Rahul Vohra) have depleted alarmingly.
His middle daughter, Kavya (Ridhi Dogra) is in the process of setting up a deal with a foreign hotel chain, the son, Abhimanyu (Amol Parashar) is a cokehead and gambler (like the Kieran Culkin character in Succession) and the oldest daughter Indrani (Nimrat Kaur) is married to Vikram (Suhaas Ahuja), Chief Minister Jograj Chapawat (Rohhit Tiwari)’s son. From all indications, she’s the dutiful one, enduring taunts about being childless.
She treats the grown Abhimanyu like a child — he calls her Ma — and has unofficially adopted a palace employee’s son.
With the knowledge of her husband, she carries on an affair with a former lover, but in keeping with family tradition, will not consider walking out of the unhappy marriage.
Then there’s the firstborn but illegitimate Brij (Gaurav Arora), who is devoted to his father, but is not considered a part of the family by the others.
A television crew led by Kavya’s boyfriend Kabir (Arsalan Goni) is around the palace filming, and waiting for Chandra Pratap’s 60th birthday celebrations.
He is suffering from dementia, believes his children are trying to kill him, and threatening to reveal a secret from his own past, as atonement for a crime only his friend Jograj is aware of.
The characters and their conflicts are quickly established, and it is time for the Agatha Christie-ish murder, with all the suspects around the palace and a few with obvious reasons for killing Chandra Pratap, whose body is found floating in the pool.
The obnoxious Abhimanyu names himself ‘Rajaji’ and tries to block the investigation.
Local cops are still subservient to the royal family, as are other residents of the city and susceptible to influence.
CBI officer Bhagwan Ramteke (Ankit Siwach) arrives, and not so politely reminds the so-called royals that India is a democracy now and is not run by royal diktat but by the Constitution. He interrogates all of them, and is not in the least deferential towards their status.
The murderer is revealed, not by any great skill of deduction by Ramteke, but by recording of the killing caught on camera. And the series, directed by Sahir Raza (written by Althea Kaushal and Tarana Raja) that was chugging along nicely, derails and goes into full melodrama mode.
Indrani, who had till then been a wallflower, turns into a scheming politician.
The always angry Kavya has more reason to be disgruntled and the even more depraved Abhimanyu brings the family to the brink of ruin.
Their antics are not interesting, and the plot makes sure that none of them are likeable or sympathetic.
Still, Indrani and Abhimanyu, despicable in their own way, are properly developed characters. Their behaviour and motivation are at least given a background.
Kavya remains one note.
Brij is shadowy and sacrificing, then does a volte face, possibly with an eye on a new season.
In spite of the Rajasthan setting, Kull does not even have visual sparkle.
Performances by Nimrat Kaur and Amol Parashar make the rather unimaginative show watchable.
There are enough real-like palace intrigues and sibling rivalries around India to pick from and turn into an entertaining and classy show.
Kull missed the mark.
Kull: The Legacy Of The Raisingghs streams on JioHostar.
Kull: The Legacy Of The Raisingghs Review Rediff Rating:
