Adding to the longlist of Netflix’s India Originals is Jamtara: Sabka Number Ayega and we should tell right away it’s an easy miss. The trailer gives an impression that the show deals with how cyber crimes take place but all we found after an evening of marathon watching was a feud between two rural parties trying to make money through phishing phone calls. The young lads of Jamtara in Jharkhand are cyber criminals and run scams through phone calls.
They are the brilliant minds behind the dreaded urban nightmares of SMS scams and phone calls that lead to money disappearing from bank accounts. Led by Sunny Mondal (Sparsh Shrivastava), a boy of 17, the group of fraudsters have figured out how to take advantage of gullible Indians. From magistrates to TV anchors, who are assured by the sincere feminine voices on the other end, the victims are fooled and robbed in broad daylight through phone calls. There is a hint of spilled milk and crying in vain as the story sets in. We all know how it works.
It’s happened to a friend of a friend or a relative or a neighbour but what happens when the money disappears? How do the victims deal with it? How do the police respond? And how exactly is the technology of cyber crime functions is missing from the series. That’s not to say the premise isn’t interesting. The acting, the local dialect and the characters are well-rounded. What lacks is a well thought-out script. There are no familiar or popular faces except for Amit Sial but the cast still delivers an authentic feel. The series lets the viewers embark on a trip to Jamtara—its tall grasses, the dry lands and the fishy people through 10 episodes of 25-40 minutes each. But soon delves into the clashes between the corrupt politicians and the state police.
The usual story of small town land owners with political leverage and an honest cop trying to solve a crime takes over. That’s where the show writers lost us. Perhaps a little more research on the actual subject of phishing would have made Jamtara stand out among the longline of Netflix India disappointments instead becoming another hit and miss. Among spectacular performances by all actors, one that truly grips you is Monika Panwar’s. It’s hard not to like her character, Gudiya. But it’s hard to like the series overall. The ending is abrupt giving us the clichéd cue of a second season in the works. A more logical conclusion would be appreciated instead of leaving viewers in the lurch and making them assume that perhaps the showmakers ran out of budget.
