What Is the Story About?
Just when the era of elephant ivory poaching was over for good in Kerala, miscreants find alternative avenues to pursue their trade decades later. When the situation goes out of hand, forest officer Mala, her superior Neel and Alan battle against time to nab Raaz, the alleged mastermind behind the racket. Only when they get to work, do they realise the monstrosity of the challenge ahead.
Performances?
Nimisha Sajayan is the lifeline of the show, gets the most well-rounded character in the show and is fabulous in probably her career-best performance. As a resilient cop and a nature lover who struggles to find answers to her past and is occasionally tired of putting on a brace face at work, she showcases the various layers in the character with great ease and gravitas.
Roshan Mathews’ asset as a performer is the lightness of his screen presence, he’s great at making a character feel relatable and accessible to the viewer without diluting the seriousness of the premise. Dibyendu Bhattacharya, playing an officer whose health has taken a turn for the worse, responds superbly to the challenge of adding drama, and complexity to a squeaky-clean character.
Several supporting characters get adequate scope to shine, from Ankith Madhav (as Vijay Babu), Sanoop Dinesh (as Adil Sheikh) to Kani Kusurti (Dina), Ranjitha Menon (Achala), Sooraj Pops, Noorudheen Ali Ahmed and the ever-reliable Maala Parvathi and others.
Analysis
Poacher, created by Richie Mehta (the brain behind Netflix’s Delhi Crime) is a (another) worthy showcase of the storyteller’s commitment in exploring the country’s bureaucratic structure in all its complexity. The canvas is broader this time; the detailing is more rewarding with the man vs wild angle thrown in, dealing with messier characters of diverse backgrounds, geographical terrains.
As a one-liner, the premise is easily digestible – a team of forest officers based out of Kerala seeks to end the ivory-poaching menace whose origins go well beyond the state. Each of the team members is aware that this could be their career-defining case. How do they rise above their dark past, familial conflicts, red-tapism, and systemic corruption and guard the ecosystem?
It’s no exaggeration when we say Poacher is perhaps one of the finest Indian web shows made to date. Richie Mehta’s craftiness not only lies in the detailing of his material but also in providing a strong emotional context to root for his characters and their conflicts across six hours. The story is told through multiple perspectives – the guilty insider, the nature lover, the hunter and the hunted.
Mala relentlessly works on the case with the guilt of undoing her father’s past as a hunter. For her superior Neel, it’s possibly his last opportunity to sign off on a high, with his health taking a turn for the worse. Alan, the number-crunching man at an NGO, seeks to bring credibility to his career graph without compromising on his family time.
From portraying their exhaustion to their fragmented family lives and instinctive responses to tricky scenarios at work, Poacher keeps you absorbed consistently. Even with its break-neck pace, the creators give you enough space to understand what the larger battle is all about – it’s a fight for green cover, cleaner air, and a brighter future against human greed.
As a superb cinematic device, every key investigative sequence in the show unfolds in the presence of varied flora and fauna, as if they’re holding the hands of nature’s gatekeepers through their challenges. Linguistically too, Poacher is as real as it gets, alternating from Malayalam to Hindi to English and Bengali as per the needs of the story.
Navigating the dangers of the show turning into a wildlife documentary, Richie Mehta sustains the tension in the storytelling consistently, making it the journey of the characters as much as the case. Mala, besides dealing with a desolate mum, needs to rely on her ex Babu to find leads in the operation. Alan and Neel understand the need to clear tensions back home to focus on work.
Systemically, you comprehend the geographical restrictions and bureaucratic politics within which the team needs to function. The details and the inner workings of their jobs are not fed to you like a research thesis and are weaved into the story seamlessly. Poacher is all about those little superheroes who remain unnoticed and thanklessly do their bit to make the world a better place.
Music and Other Departments?
Andrew Lockington’s earthly score and the splendid sound design do well to complement the drama in the proceedings, knowing when to rise to the occasion and also underplay it when necessary. LA-based Johan Heurlin Aidt’s cinematography brings a refreshing, enriching outsider’s perspective to the story.
Highlights?
Splendid performances
Arresting narration
Terrific technical finesse
Drawbacks?
Occasional monotony in the narration
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, double thumbs up!
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, Unmissable
Poacher Series Review by Binged Bureau
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