MUMBAI: MX Player is back with another mafia tale after Bhaukaal, and this time, it is based on true events that occurred between 1984 and 1986 in Purvanchal (Uttar Pradesh), also called Raktanchal (the bad blood) because of the war in that era.

The series is directed and created by Ritam Srivastav and comprises 9 episodes of around 30 minutes each. It features Nikitin Dheer, Kranti Prakash Jha, Soundarya Sharma, Ronjini Chakraborty, and Vikram Kochhar.

The story begins with a tender war between Waseem Khan, played by Nikitin, and Vijay Singh, played by Kranti Prakash Jha. Each wants to become the tender king and take over the business. Vijay is seeking revenge from Waseem Khan for something he has done in past. Vijay is unstoppable and wants to destroy Waseem, take over his desi wine, coal, and a few more businesses. Taking political support, the leads play a cat-and-mouse game to prove themselves.

The story is very predictable. The screenplay is gripping, but at a few instances, the writing is weak. Thus, the audience may get a little bored.

The direction and the storytelling are the highlights of the series. How the story goes from past to present and from present to past is well presented.

The background music plays a very important role in crime thrillers like this, and here too, it supports the scenes and helps build the necessary tension.

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The positives of the series are the strong performances of the characters and the unique storytelling. Kranti Prakash Jha shines in this series and his performance is worth a watch.

There are a few negatives. The character of Waseem Khan was lacking and should have had more of a presence in the series. The use of abusive language is unnecessary. Overall, the story is new but the plot of the revenge saga is very predictable.

Talking about the performances, Nikitin Dheer as Waseem Khan had something missing. He was overshadowed by Kranti Prakash Jha, who impressed us with his fabulous performance. Soundarya Sharma, and Ronjini Chakraborty have done a decent job in the series but had nothing great to offer here. Vikram Kochhar as Sanaki has done an amazing job and he is quite the badass in this series.

Overall, the series is a decent watch. It is on the lines of Mirzapur and Bhaukaal but the weakest of them.

Team TellyChakkar goes with 2.5 stars for MX Player’s Raktanchal.

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