A still from Dabba Cartel teaser. (courtesy: netflix_in)
Move over Narcos, we have our very own drug cartel in [OTT] town. We are talking about Dabba Cartel, the new series set to stream on Netflix. On Thursday, the OTT giant released the first look video of the upcoming thriller web series and it is “high” – pun-intended – on intrigue, drama and secrets. The series features a stellar cast including Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Nimisha Sajayan, Sai Tamhankar, Shalini Pandey, Gajraj Rao, Lilette Dubey, Jisshu Sengupta and Anjali Anand. As the logline shares, the series follows “five ordinary women who begin dealing drugs through a ‘dabba' delivery business. As their secret cartel expands, they must navigate treacherous alliances, the law, and their own inner conflicts — risking everything they hold dear”. In the video, one character even declares matter-of-factly, "Hum dabbo mein sirf khana nahin bechte (We don't just sell food in our lunchboxes)."
In addition to an ensemble cast of actors from different film industries – Shabana Azmi, Gajraj Rao, Lilette Dubey, Anjali Anand from Hindi, Sai Tamhankar from Marathi, Shalini Pandey from Telugu, Jisshu Sengupta from Bengali, Jyotika from Tamil and Nimisha Sajayan from Malayalam – the promo also features a Malayalam rap song, Kali Mari by Nomadic Voice, Melvin, in the background.
You can watch the first look promo here:
About the series, the team said in a statement: "As our first collaboration with Netflix, we're excited to unveil Dabba Cartel, a riveting tale that propels five ordinary women from their routine existence in a quiet colony of Thane, into the murky, unpredictable life of the underworld. As the creators, our excitement is two-fold bringing this series to a global platform like Netflix. We are certain that Dabba Cartel will captivate, surprise and keep you hooked throughout. So, join us on this journey of suspense secrets and unexpected alliances.”
Directed by Hitesh Batia, Dabba Cartel has been produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidwani's Excel Entertainment. The crime drama has been created by Shibani Akhtar, Gaurav Kapur, Akanksha Seda and Vishnu Menon.