Kaala Paani: The survival of the fittest

Kaala Paani on Netflix is a dystopian drama which brings back the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plot revolves around a bacteria, LHF-27, outbreak in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the year 2027 that triggers panic and chaos among the islanders. While the outbreak is at the centre, the show touches upon several issues and gets a bit philosophical at times.

Directed by Sameer Saxena and Amit Golani, the seven-part series evokes feelings of despair and reminds us that it is the survival of the fittest. It begins with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the islands, Dr Soudamini Singh (Mona Singh), desperately trying to alert the authorities about the outbreak and losing her life in the process. Her efforts, however, don’t go in vain as the outbreak comes to light, leaving everyone anxious.

Following this, the race to find the cure to the disease begins with the death toll rising steadily. As the show progresses, it turns out that Orakas, a fictional tribal community, is immune to the disease as they had been consuming a plant for generations that is believed to have gone extinct now. Due to this, the Lieutenant Governor of the islands, Admiral Zibran Qadri (Ashutosh Gowariker), who is grateful to the Orakas for once saving his life, faces a dilemma. While the life-saving plant is nowhere to be found on the islands, the Oraka people still have the peptide which can be used to make the antidote. Extracting the peptide can endanger the life of the tribal people and not doing so will only lead to more deaths. Admiral Qadri, facing the classic trolley problem, then makes a decision and chooses to sacrifice the indigenous people to save thousands other.

The cast of Kaala Paani has done a commendable job with each of the characters having a backstory of their own that makes the show more intriguing. However, Vikas Kumar as Santosh Savla stands out with an impeccable performance. He is portrayed as a timid husband who plans a trip to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with his family but ends up witnessing his wife and son falling prey to the deadly disease. This loss and the desperation to reunite with his daughter transforms the father-of-two into a man who overcomes his fears and is ready to go to any extent, even if it means killing someone. He eventually manages to escape the islands with his daughter who sadly gets infected.

The series prompts introspection and highlights several social evils like caste discrimination that we have failed to eradicate. It also sheds light on the harsh reality that diseases like COVID-19 or LHF-27 spare no one regardless of how wealthy one may be. But, the other side of the coin is that the rich still have better access to facilities that unarguably increases their chances of survival.