Tabbar review: This Supriya Pathak-Pavan Malhotra starrer leaves a strong but not an indelible impression

3/5

Story:

A family gets caught up in a stir of murders after one major incident. Even though they defend themselves and claim to be innocent at first, they get trapped in some nasty situations and end up becoming sinners. How long can they go that way, is what the show explores.

Review:

Ever heard that no man is born a monster? Tabbar is something that shows the evolution of not one man but his whole family evolving into monsters. It sets a monotonous tone - kill or get killed. Thus, what starts in the name of defence, ends up as a habit.

The series begins with Baba Farid's quote, followed by the mysterious scene of a car toppling over in the middle of the road. The camera angle, covering the fields following the car's headlights, along with the music, builds towards the mystery.

Soon, we meet Pavan Malhotra and Supriya Pathak in one of their finest moments as actors. The mystery simply keeps building up and takes an unexpected turn. Unfortunately, their romance doesn't appear to be as organic as it should be, despite all their sweet attempts. It follows with a scene witnessing political tension, hinting that the unfortunate incident could be because of that reason.

Gagan Arora makes a good first impression. He too vibes well with Pavan. The series gets intense soon enough and stays that way. Sometime later, it also gets dramatic. The first episode goes on and on because of that. Gagan, however, ends up as a surprise package. He brings life to the intense and monotonous plot.

Paramvir Cheema makes a scary first impression. He, however, becomes pivotal to the story. Ranvir Shorey, on the other hand, keeps making cameo appearances in every episode but doesn't leave you longing to know more about his character, at least not more than what Gagan has seen in life. Ranvir's character, however, becomes more interesting in the later half of the series.

The second episode shows a gruesome scene in the midst of an intense moment. That scene is sure to get your heart beating faster. The series takes a scary turn as it gets entangled in complicated situations.

The house set up in Tabbar is to be especially complimented for special care has been taken to make it look like a traditional Punjabi house. Supriya, through her character, makes it home. The series beautifully captures and highlights the Punjabi culture and rituals.

Kanwaljit Singh makes an entry later in the show but his presence is enough to make you believe that he is hiding something. The series continues in the same tone but rarely gets boring.

The makers have played with the colour effects in a crucial scene. While it should ideally create an impact, the colour effects do the exact opposite. It just appears to be disco lights switching between blue and red colours.

The names of the characters, though, are especially stereotypical. We have Happy and Lucky play pivotal roles and grab as much screen presence as Supriya and Pavan, if not more.

After a point though, the series stops surprising you. You can predict where the show is heading.

The story goes on in flashback, sometimes in absolute darkness. Although there is a tone of mystery, we witness nothing mysterious that would keep you at the edge of your seat.

Pavan breaking into a dance in the middle of a restaurant is something else. Even though quite bizarre, it shows his mindset clearly.

The scenes do not follow in a flow, which is very disturbing for the viewer. While the music keeps building the suspense, there isn't really any, at least for the most bits.

The real deal begins when Gagan's character meets Ranvir's and their lives get entangled. However, that moment lasts for a very brief period.

As mentioned previously, Gagan and Paramvir steal the show. While Pavan and Supriya are good in most scenes, these two actors are the real showrunners in Tabbar. Supriya and Pavan steal the show in their second last scene together.

The series turns into a psychological thriller towards the end. That is when the show will pique your interest for a bit. Pavan's last scene comes as a surprise but again, not so much, considering he is a very practical person who has turned close to a monster who only intends to kill people in his way.

Verdict:

The buildup of this show takes a lot of time. Every actor performs brilliantly and the music paired up with the cinematography enhances the beauty of this series. However, unfortunately, Tabbar is not an unpredictable or edge-of-the-seat series and thus, it can be easily forgotten, except for a few powerful scenes like the climax.