Shikarpur review: Ankush’s debut on OTT is a quirky and intriguing tale of a small town

3.5/5

Story: Shikarpur is a small town in Cooch Behar. A series of murders and attacks by a ghost, Pichla Bhoot, infested the town. The local police suspect that these two events are related. A private detective of the town, Keshto (Ankush), gets into work to find the culprit and more murders take place. 

Review: First thing first, Shikarpur is brave. It will be absolutely wrong to treat it as a detective/ whodunit series. Yes, it is a story of a detective. However, more than that Nirjhar Mitra's Shikarpur also represents the aspirations, heartbreaks, secrets, and gossip of a small town. Along with the detection, the maker Nirjhar Mitra has also constantly told us many other stories and his effort makes the series multidimensional. 

Second, this is one of the very few Bengali web series that has quark to it. We get to watch a lot of quirky global shows. In fact, even a lot of Indian content resorts to quirk elements these days. Shikarpur puts an effort to use such quarks. The character of the magician, played by Sayan Ghosh, is one such memorable effort. Then there is the character of Baltu Barman who is unputdownable, not only for the character but also the performance. The scene in which Ramkishore gorges on is used to bring that quirk and all these together make Shikarpur an enjoyable and intriguing watch. 

Third, there is consistency and credibility in the way the characters of a small town are portrayed. Interestingly, the names of the protagonist and his girlfriend are Keshto and Chumki – names that are practically obsolete in today’s urban Bengal. At the same time, the series never goes overboard with this portrayal of marginality. All the characters come very spontaneously in front of the audience with their background. No extra effort is seen to establish the small-town flavour of the show. Usually, the trend of Bengali films or shows is to overuse images of mountain ranges, valleys, canyons, etc, when it is shot in North Bengal. Here, the focus has always been on the characters and flavours of a small town that is incidentally situated in North Bengal. 

In the acting department, Kaushik Ganguly steals the show as usual. Debasish Mondal as Biman Majhi is also fantastic. Shikarpur is the debut of Ankush on OTT platform. There were glitches in his flow. His walk and gestures are slightly over-the-top. But evidently, he has put up a valiant effort to break his usual mold. Sandipta Sen starts on a loud note as Chumki but syncs to the character eventually very well. Sayan Ghosh’s character is unbeatable and he executes it very well. Krishnendu Dewanji has once again proved to be one of the sharpest character actors who has an effortlessness in his style. Meanwhile, Bha

The main problem of the series is the lack of a credible storyline. The motive for murders is not crystal clear. Even after the mention of Sanatan Ghosh as the first victim, the event goes into oblivion. Second, the myth of Debi Chaowdhurany is weak and the depiction of that on screen is amateurish. The characters of 1789 look like people from 2023. 

Verdict: However, such weak points can be ignored partially for the show’s otherwise strength. Shikarpur is a quirky drama that has comedy, detection, horror, and whatnot! Yes, the story is its weak point but overall, the maker deserves a round of applause for the overall effort.