Summary : In order to spare the life of his drug-dealing brother, cop Sehtab Singh (Suvinder Vicky) forces Gurnam Singh (Randeep Hooda), a former CAT aka police informant, to infiltrate a significant drug empire in Punjab. Gurnam is forced to confront his troubled background by the task.
Cast : Randeep Hooda, Suvinder Vicky, Hasleen Kaur, Geeta Aggarwal, Dakssh Ajit Singh, Kavya Thapar, Danish Sood, Jaipreet Singh, Sukhwinder Chahal, KP Singh.
Director(s): Balwinder Singh Janjua, Rupinder Chahal, Jimmy Singh
Ratings : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Review :
While Bollywood cinema was dealing with two issues at the same time: militancy and drugs, we were also led to believe that Punjab is synonymous with “Sarson ke khet” and joint families residing in enormous antiquity bunglows. Only recently have movies like ‘Udta Punjab’ brought some of the realities of Punjab to the attention of audiences outside of Punjab.
The family of young Gary (Abhishant Rana) are brutally murdered by a terrorist in the eight-part Netflix series set in a border village, and in a fit of wrath, he kills one of the murderers. Cop Sehtab Singh (Suvinder Vicky) proposes him a deal to go undercover as a “cat” and inform on a terrorist organisation. He is granted a new identification, Gurnam Singh, after the mission, and a new house where he meets the needs of his younger siblings while serving as a mechanic.
Years down the line, when Sunny (Danish Sood), Gurnam’s (Randeep Hooda) teenage brother, is detained for drug sales, Gurnam’s (Randeep Hooda) tranquil life is upended once more. When he asks Sehtab Singh for assistance, the powerful figure (Politician) Madam Aulakh (Geeta Agarwal) and her assistant Laadi ask him to once more play the role of a “cat” in exchange for the favour (Dakksh Ajit Singh). Gaining Laadi’s trust is not difficult at all, and Gurnam learns how the drugs are distributed after they cross the border.
The thing he is unaware of is that Madam Aulakh and the challenger Jaggi Pradhan (K P Singh) are engaged in a political game to dominate the area and the drug trade, and that there are moles operating at the highest levels of the police force. Other supporting players are introduced as Gurnam’s story unfolds, including Sehtab’s clownish assistant Chandan (Pramod Pathak), an upright female cop named Babita (Hasleen Kaur), a dishonest laboratory technician named Seher (Elisha Mayor), and the drug mules who handle the drugs’ delivery and distribution. Like it’s the promised land, almost all of the youngsters desire to immigrate to Canada.
The series is interesting as long as it keeps on the path of dismantling the criminal organisation, but it makes way too many plot-less detours. The supposedly comic but actually crude track of one of the drug dealers’ (Sukhwinder Chahal) affair with a hooker (Coral Bhamra), who wants to make a video with Rocky, is similar to Madam Aulakh’s daughter Kimi’s (Kavya Thapar) desire for Punjabi pop singer Rocky Ranjha (Eklavey Kashyap). Rocky wants to make a musical.
It includes flashbacks to Laadi’s marital issues, Madam Aulakh’s background and ascent to political prominence. Babita’s low status and conversion to Christianity are an intriguing plotline that are briefly mentioned before being disregarded. Madam Aulakh is an anomaly in the macho world of power-broking, corruption, and crime, yet she is shrewd and cunning enough to follow the rules set by males. But even she cannot stand up to Sehtab Singh’s cunning. Too much violence, much of it unnecessary or gory (a man tossed into a stone crusher).
Even while it adds flavour to the proceedings, the music is kept to an extent, especially in light of the ongoing controversy over the sexist and violent lyrics of Punjabi songs in the wake of the murder of Sidhu Moosewala. The language, settings, art direction, and costumes give CAT a realism that is admirable.
You realize you wish to see a lot more of Randeep every time he tries something novel. He never fails to deliver as an actor who just focuses on producing quality work. He is skilled at maintaining delicacy.
Suvinder Vicky, a Punjabi actor, portrays Gurnaam’s handler, a cunning cop who just has his own concerns in mind. His challenging character offers the performer room to work, and he turns in a delectable portrayal that effortlessly conveys ambition, resentment, and thirst for power. Hasleen Kaur, a former Miss India, underwent a metamorphosis to become a de-glam lower middle-class police officer. It takes talent to pull off a part like this, and it takes courage for an actor of her background to choose it.
Another tremendous actors – Kavya Thapar, Dakssh Ajit Singh, Geeta Aggarwal, Danish Sood, Jaipreet Singh, Sukhwinder Chahal, KP Singh have also given their best and have tried to make it as real as it can get! All of them have done a really good job and together made it unmissable!
Punjab, a region abundant in the kinds of stories the web medium needs, is finally catching the attention of India’s OTT sector. Well, the uniqueness of CAT is found in its appreciation of its milieu, the rustic charm of Punjab, and the language, of course. Despite the show’s flaws, its uniqueness and outstanding ensemble more than make up for them. So you can give this one a try if gripping dramas with intriguing story twists catch your attention.