Kull review: Nimrat Kaur and Amol Parashar try their best to anchor twisted family drama

Hindustan Times

02-05-2025

Each one of the members of the fictional royal family in Bilkaner in the new JioHotstar show Kull seems to have taken the word 'dysfunctional' a little too seriously. Not a moment goes by in the eight-episode run of the new show Kull The Legacy of the Raisingghs where someone isn't stressed out about a potential fallout ready to take place. This is a show high on drama, filled with shockers and revelations and breakdowns, anchored by a cast of actors trying their best to lend it some emotional gravitas. (Also read: Amol Parashar opens up on playing a spoilt brat in Kull: 'I have been denied roles for the good boy image' | Interview)
Created by Ektaa Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor and directed by Shahir Raza, Kull begins ahead of the 60th birthday celebrations of Chandra Pratap Raisinggh (Rahul Vohra) at the Raisinggh palace where all his children are coming. It includes eldest daughter Indrani (Nimrat Kaur), along with daughter Kavya (Ridhi Dogra), and his sole son Abhimanyu (Amol Parashar). There's also his favourite amongst them all, Brij (Gaurav Arora), but he is the illegitimate son so the rest, especially Abhi, cannot stand his presence near the palace. How will he stand a documentary crew recording his father's disappointments with them all? Not well.
The first few episodes charts the dynamic between these people with full control. Indrani is battling her own grief of not bearing a child, bluntly stigmatized by her father. Married to the chief minister's son Vikram (Suhaas Ahuja), she is consumed and trapped in her own guilt and responsibility towards the family. Amol Parashar's Abhi is the spoilt brat, a nuisance wherever he goes. Then there is Kavya who is planning to lease the palace to an international hotel chain.
The murder of Chandra Pratap unlocks a web of secrets and lies as his children vouch for power within the family chain. Abhimanyu is automatically the new King, but the power in his hands makes him more hot-headed and free. Amol Parashar, cast against type here, finds a bruised sense of dignity in his portrayal of the most unlikeable character in Kull. He is more than able to hold the screen when the frame demands, and gives a layered performance- the most memorable in the show.
The choices that Kull makes as the episodes stretch out, can range from shocking to incredulous, and the show has this sort of self-congratulatory pat on the back each time a new twist arrives. There's a certain rush in the proceedings, the manner in which the writing overpowers in turning the page to a new scheme, a new plot point in Kull.
So much happens in the span of these eight episodes but very little sticks in terms of charting the emotional wavelength of these characters. There's no interiority, and a glaring lack of privacy granted to these characters who can have a moment by themselves amid the chaos. We never get to stay close enough with Indrani to see how her insecurities have shaped over the years, or how Abhimanyu so hopelessly craves parental validation. The dependable Nimrat Kaur, styled superbly here, is in fine form. Especially in the latter episodes, the actor gets to finally see through the crises, and infuse a much-needed degree of compassion for Indrani.
That Kull does not take itself too seriously is both good news and bad. It's sickly entertaining and satisfying to watch the rich crying over themselves through the years. There's a lot of underlying humour in seeing these slightly exaggerated rich people ruin their lives instead of seeking therapy. The perverse joke is that Kull is not aiming for any eat-the-rich trope here, as the depiction of wealth and morally bankrupt characters never leads towards any anticapitalist sentiment. The rich here are too ignorant and obnoxious to even notice anything else than power and that's exactly what we get. Kull wants to revel in the rich man's delusion, while stating that the search for accountability here is nothing but a futile cause.