Dabba Cartel Packs a Punch as a Female-Centric Thriller

Netflix’s ‘Dabba Cartel’ is about a group of women who launch a tiffin business, which is a cover for their drug trade, creating an intriguing hook which immediately pulls viewers in.

The thriller series features Shabana Azmi, Jyothika, Nimisha Sajayan, Shalini Pandey, Sai Tamhankar, Anjali Anand, and Gajraj Rao in lead roles.

‘Dabba Cartel’ highlights the struggles of women from different walks of life. However, the series does not waste time focusing on the women’s laments, it jumps straight into how they work towards fixing their problems by trading drugs through a tiffin business. Parallel to this story runs the subplot of an investigation being carried out on VivaLife Pharma for an opioid scandal.

Writer Vishnu Menon and Bhavna Kher have created a complex and nuanced plot despite the story's fast pace. The writers perfectly balance the intricacies of the drug trade and the investigation with the characters' personal struggles.

Most importantly, the story is female-centric, highlighting how a group of five women navigate the high-stakes, male-dominated drug trade. The series does not show the women constantly confronting patriarchal men or delivering endless monologues about their struggles. Instead, it shows how these five women turn this dangerous drug trade into a profitable business for themselves.

Director Hitesh Bhatia maintains the balance between the two main plotlines perfectly, giving each their deserved screen time and creating a holistic narrative. A lot is happening in the story, but Bhatia tightly weaves everything together to allow the coherent development of the plot.

The series’ impact is also enhanced by the strong and nuanced performances of its ensemble cast. Shabana Azmi packs a punch as the leader of the group; initially, she comes off as a passive mother-in-law, but she soon reveals her firm and cunning nature as a drug trader.

Shalini Pandey and Nimisha Sanjayan play Raji and Mala perfectly. They consistently maintain the contrasting natures of their characters, but they do not overplay these traits, allowing their characters to complement each other and be in sync. Anjali Anand as Shahida and Sai Tamhankar as the female officer also maintain the distinctiveness of their characters, serving their quirks easily.

The series would be nothing without its visuals, which are not as dark as one would expect them to be. Editors Manas Mittal and Parikshhit Jha have highlighted the warm glow of the domestic spaces, evening streetlights, and Varuna’s boutique, making them contrast with the dominantly blue-tinted scenes of the VivaLife office and the rainy streets of Thane. This contrast captures the atmosphere and feeling of these spaces.

The editors have kept a certain dullness to the visuals, which allows the five female leads to visually stand out, thanks to the work of costume designer Rohit Chaturvedi. The characters do not wear loud and vibrant colors, but the colors of their clothes make them stand out in every mis-en-scene, centering the viewers focus on them.

With its female-centric thriller, distinctive performances, and beautiful visuals, Netflix’s ‘Dabba Cartel’ packs a punch.