By Ayesha Khan 
New Delhi, October 2: On Gandhi Jayanti, while most of the country was caught between holiday quiet and political headlines, a trailer quietly dropped that has since been unsettling viewers online. Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas, starring Arshad Warsi and Jitendra Kumar, doesn’t arrive until later this month, but the two-minute preview already signals something grim, violent, and far removed from the candy-coloured dramas audiences are usually fed during the festive season.
A Town Where Murders Don’t Stay Silent
The film is set in Robertsganj, a small town in eastern Uttar Pradesh that rarely makes it to cinema screens. It’s here that Inspector Vishwas Bhagwat, Warsi’s character, is tasked with solving a trail of gruesome killings. The trailer wastes no time in laying out its atmosphere: flickering bulbs, screams in the distance, and a cop whose eyes look just as haunted as the alleys he patrols.
Warsi himself admits the part left him “exhausted.” You can see why. Bhagwat isn’t the righteous, tough-talking inspector Hindi cinema often romanticises. He looks worn, short-tempered, and half the time seems like he’s barely holding his own life together. That rawness, if the makers hold steady, could be the film’s strength.
Jitendra Kumar Like You’ve Never Seen Him
Then there’s Jitendra Kumar. For most Indians, he’s the everyman, the helpful secretary in Panchayat or the struggling student in Kota Factory. This time, though, he plays Sameer, an unassuming man who slowly reveals layers that are anything but innocent. Kumar has described the role as “multi-faceted,” which sounds like standard promotional talk, but in the trailer, his stillness is unsettling. You sense something simmering underneath, something deliberately withheld. It’s a striking departure from the vulnerable simplicity audiences usually associate with him.
OTT Over Theatres: A Calculated Move
The film doesn’t touch theatres at all. ZEE5 will stream it directly from October 17, which tells you plenty about where the industry’s head is right now. Theatrical thrillers often get drowned out by big-budget spectacles, while streaming platforms are hungry for dark, prestige-driven stories. For ZEE5, which is still chasing a breakout on the scale of Paatal Lok or Sacred Games, Bhagwat looks like a calculated gamble. If it works, it strengthens their library; if it doesn’t, it will be another name on the long list of half-baked Indian thrillers that begin well but lose steam.
The Shadow Of Real Crimes
The buzz around Bhagwat isn’t just because of its star cast. When the first teaser arrived last month, many compared it to Sector 36, the film loosely inspired by the Nithari case. Both stories begin with a missing girl here, it’s Poonam, and spiral into disappearances that shake a community. The resemblance is not accidental. Bollywood has long mined real crimes for fiction, but in recent years, the treatment has turned grittier, closer to the bone.
That choice carries weight. On one hand, it adds urgency for people to remember the headlines, the collective dread. On the other hand, it risks backlash if the balance tips towards sensationalism. Whether Bhagwat avoids that trap will be key to its reception.
Why It Feels Important
Beyond the plot, this project matters because of who is in it and what it represents. Arshad Warsi, typecast for too long as the comic sidekick or light-hearted hero, finally has a role that taps into his darker potential. Kumar, meanwhile, is proving he doesn’t have to stay boxed in as the “good boy of OTT.” Together, they carry the promise of something sharper than formula.
And at a broader level, Bhagwat signals a shift. Indian audiences are no longer satisfied with quick thrillers that offer shock but little substance. They want atmosphere, depth, characters that linger. Whether the makers can actually deliver on that appetite is a different story, but even at the trailer stage, it’s clear the attempt is being made.
The Wait Until October 17
So where does that leave us? With a trailer that crawls under the skin, a cop who looks as lost as the crimes he’s chasing, and an antagonist who refuses to reveal his cards. It could collapse under its own ambition, or it could land as one of the year’s standout thrillers. For now, audiences are left waiting two weeks, already arguing online about whether Warsi or Kumar will steal the show.
One thing is certain: when Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas arrives on ZEE5, it won’t pass quietly.
Stay updated with the latest in fashion, lifestyle, and celebrity stories—straight from the world of Debonair. Follow us on Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, Youtube, and Linkedin for daily style and culture drops.
Covers films, television, streaming, and celebrity culture with a focus on storytelling trends.
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ayesha/
