Cat

I binged watched this over the weekend and I enjoyed it.

It's not a bad drama but unlike some of the reviewers here some gave it 10/10 some gave it 1/10 I would say its above average about 6 or 7/10.

Considering the main character was a informer for the police you would expect when he would meet his police handler it would be in a secret place rather than an open area having tea together where anyone could see them. Also there would only be one police handler which would be secretive but in this case there was several.. It's small details like this which I felt let the drama down, but overall I would recommend it and I'm looking forward to series 2.

Another good one by Netflix. It initially starts slow but story picks up midway. The back and forth moving screenplay perfectly unfolds the story and establishes characters, their morality and motives. I watched entire series in Punjabi and it is best seen that way rather than dubbed Hindi version. After a very long time watched a very well written webseries. All performances are top notch and Randeep Hooda my god! What a powerful performer. He portrays immense emotions through even simple actions like cleaning floor and tying turban. He is a gem of an actor and Netflix has capitalized very well on it. Can't wait for next season.

Ironically, CAT the term refreshes the dark & haunting yet gritty memories right off the days of insurgency hit Punjab, which in itself is a far intriguing & sensitising subject to narrate on screen. As far as this series is concerned, whils the title seemed to make sense in the first episode, the plot afterwards is apparently based on the present context of narcotic drugs problem in the state. Ranbir hooda has put in all & done a super awesome job playing the role of a common punjabi/sikh gentleman with utmost perfection. Although a few characters like Madam Aulukh or Pradhan Gaggi sounded a bit off the track, this won't make much difference to non-punjabi audience. Overall its a well directed & gripping drama which'd certainly keep the viewers engaged & at times, at the edges. I'll certainly be looking forward to watch another couple of seasons if the makers have more meat to show on screen.

After a long time, Netflix has come with a series which is close to the level of Sacred Games. Barring last two episodes which I couldn't fully digest (which failed to bring everything well together).. the series is brilliantly made.

What's good?

The screenplay is quite tightly written and keeps you hooked throughout. Acting overall is superb. Randeep Hooda especially does an amazing job and gives a fantastic performance. Casting has been great and the supporting actors also play their roles quite effectively. I really enjoyed some plot twists and they have me goosebumps.

Some scenes are so gruesome and shot very well. Amazed with the cinematography.

What could have been better?

Ending was okay but I couldn't digest it properly. They over did certain things. Could have kept it simple as there was no need for shock value towards the end.

CAT is about a spy named Gurnam Singh aka Gary who has been assisting the police since his teenage days in spying terrorist gangs and getting them caught. Years later, the political situation gets ths same police to once again rope in Gurnam to fulfill an objective .

What starts off as a mere mission for Gurnam and the policeman Sehtab soon transitions into what would eventually Gurnam would discover as "extremely dirty ". Meaning, things get really dirty as the series progresses with many shocking revelations about Gurnam's troubled past are made towards the end that pave the way for S2.

The screenplay is fast and engaging. I would say ..just like the recent Netflix series Khakee, CAT too is not very detailed about the problems existing in Punjab in year 2006 but still it's the engaging screenplay and terrific performances that hold your attention right till the end. It highlights the male chauvinism that exists in Punjab where a powerful man would literally get hurt on his ego if a woman would dare slap him and would then punish the woman in a very bad way. The pace of this series never slackens as it moves back and forth between Gurnam's past and present.

Viewers are kept in suspense as to who exactly killed Gurnam 's parents in the past.

While one twist regd Sehtab is predictable, the other one, regarding the gangster Baljit is quite unpredictable.

Randeep Hooda as Gurnam is terrific! He was born to play this role and in scenes where he is desperate about his brother Sunny, he shines. You can see the helplessness in his eyes as well in those scenes. Others like Sehtab , Chandan Kumar (his character was a bit funny), Madam Aulukh , Babita were all good.

Some really unnecessary characters are there like one singer Rocky who has the most unnecessary forced twist. After the twist his character literally disappears. That's bad right! Even Madam Aulukh's daughter is given some unnecessary screen space who has absolutely nothing to do in this series. Even that prostitute girl has no importance in this series and is unnecessarily there to eat up time.

Baljit's character too is a bit weirdly written. At the beginning he's shown as a confident man but in present he's shown as timid as a goat. Is there a twist here as well? How did his character trait change ?

All these things are going into S2 which is imminent. I am super excited to see what happens next as ..maybe the series will shift to Canada. The last scene of this series will excite you even further. Overall, a good binge watch worthy series.