ENTERTAINMENT
A group of naive women gets entangled in the terrifying drugs business of Mumbai. Will they survive the pressure?
Updated : Mar 01, 2025, 05:41 PM IST | Edited by : DNA Web Desk
 "Dabba Cartel")
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Dabba Cartel
Cast: Shabana Azmi, Jyothika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Anand, Sai Tamhankar, Gajraj Rao, Jisshu Sengupta and Sunil Grover
Director: Hitesh Bhatia
Rating: 3/5
The dark underbelly of Mumbai has shifted its business base to the illegal drugs trade in recent webseries themes. Netflix’s latest offering Dabba Cartel, directed by Hitesh Bhatia and presented by Excel Entertainment, mixes two popular tracks—drugs and dabbawallahs—in one, and the result is, frankly speaking, fantastic. With six episodes of nearly 45-minutes each, Dabba Cartel has everything you would need for a good timepass—nice tempo, well-paced and a great ensemble. Plots thickens with each episode and new characters are introduced to keep you hooked. And, at the end of everything, you’re left wanting for more!
Shabana Azmi, Jyothika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Anand, Sai Tamhankar, Gajraj Rao, Jisshu Sengupta and Sunil Grover form the primary cast which drives this saga of guts and greed. The makers have avoided any judgmental tone and treat the drug business as any other survival business. More than well written, the characters are well-placed in the story that revolves from chawls to housing societies to farmhouses.
As expected, there is a mafia which wants its money back. The ingredients remain the same but their dosage makes all the difference, right? So, our all-women team fetches the spotlight and finds them neck deep in trouble. Will they be able to fight their back to the surface forms the crux!
Dabba Cartel is entertaining with substantially good acting by most of the leads. The casting director deserves applause for finding right actors for correct arcs. The thrill quotient is quite high and what else would you look for in such a show? It’s definitely not a commentary on feminism despite being sugar-coated. Not everything needs to have message all the time, especially when it was promoted as a gangsters versus wannabe gangsters story.
Dabba Cartel explores the city landscape and gives us a surround image of the milieu it operates in. We feel connected even if we haven’t seen or imagines any such extreme conditions in real life. That’s the big win Dabba Cartel has over the audiences. You won’t find any glaring glitches for no reason. You may forget it later, but now is the time to enjoy this nice weekend binge.
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