Karagar

Karagar is a thriller web series directed by Syed Ahmed Shawki, started streaming on the Bengali OTT platform Hoichoi from 19 August 2022. Hoichoi announced their upcoming new five web series, Karagar is one of them, Based on Bangladesh, the series features Chanchal Chowdhury, Intekhab Dinar, Tasnia Farin and FS Nayeem in the lead roles.

Part 1

Episode 1: Resurrection

At the gallows

Mohabbat Ali: Jalal, keep this under my pillow. Where is the wax? Grease the rope with wax. Why do we grease the noose? Why? If it's not butter-smooth it can cut deep through the skin. The head might even get severed. Why make him suffer so much when he's going to die anyway?

At the Akashnagar Central Jail

Humayun Kabir: Mr. Mostak, Are we running a hotel here? Are you the receptionist? Am I the manager? Huh? Why are you quiet? Am I running a brothel?

Episode 2: The Black Ship

First jailer: Sir. No use beating up a ghost.

Second jailer: He is not a ghost. I think he's Gazi Baba the saint.

First jailer: Who?

Second jailer: Haven't you seen the tree in D block?

First jailer: Yes.

Second jailer: That's his shrine. He was a convicted criminal. Died in jail. The authorities didn't let the corpse out. He was buried there.

Second jailer: Nonsense! How can the dead come back?

First jailer: Then tell me. Who is he? How did he get into that cell?

Third jailer: Brother, last night, you said he's a ghost. Now you're saying he's alive. Come on!

Episode 3: Life and Death

Mohabbat Ali: You recognise someone by what's in their heart. I can see that he has a good heart. Not everyone does. But those who do... write their own destiny. No power in the world can stop them.

Episode 4: History and Mystery

In the prison office

Mostak Ahmed: Do you know anyone who has lived for 250 years? Then how can he be alive for 250 years? You all are revering him like a saint. Is this a jail or a shrine?

Time to interrogate

Mystery man: (in sign language) How long will a person live? Nobody knows. It's not just you. Even I don't believe that I've been in prison for so long. That I'm still alive. He (Mostak) knows... that a lot of prisoners here have been accused of crimes they have not committed. Some are imprisoned for their own crimes. And some for the fault of others. Some don't want to end up here. While some don't want to leave. Some come here to die. And some come here to kill.

Episode 5: Light and Shadow

Murad: We don't have guardians. Yes. We have no one to care for us. No one to share our feelings with. No shoulder to cry on. Who do we share our sorrows with? Which court should I appeal to? We have someone. There is someone. Gazi Baba. He was a prisoner here. He was a sinner like us. Then he suddenly disappeared. Do you know why he disappeared? Huh? Do you know? In grief. The jailer of this prison at the time did not let him live in peace. So, Baba disappeared. But we're lucky, brothers. Gazi Baba has returned. We have a guardian now.

Episode 6: Spirits and Ghosts

Mohabbat Ali: Hope... Everyone in this world... is hoping for something or the other. Waiting for something. Prisoners are waiting to be free. And the hangman... is waiting to hang convicts. Some wait for the time to kill. And some wait for time to kill them. Yes... Wait has so many shades.

Episode 7: The Lost Sheep

A disciple of Mohabbat: They've only imprisoned our bodies. Not our souls. No one has the power to hold the soul captive.

Part 2

Episode 1: The Birth

Alfred: What do you think? Who is he? Forget about the 250 years. Think logically. How old could he be? Hmm? When could he have been born? What did this war give birth to? Our country, Bangladesh.

Episode 2: The Homecoming

The memory

The sister: God bless you, my son.

David Adam: He hasn't.

The sister: Consider yourself blessed, my son. At least, you have a name to search for. Someone to call mother. Unlike you, everyone hasn't been adopted.

The plan

David Adam: I'll tell them a story. What's more powerful than a good story?

Alfred: What story?

David Adam: Behind every spirituality, there's a good story. Who knows that better than you?

Episode 3: The Brother

Maha: But what about me? Are you even trying to look for my dad? You're busy following me.

Diya Guha: You have met just three of us. Only three black sheep. What did the doctor say?

Maha: Don't you know everything? You're supposed to know what she said.

Diya Guha: You hate us, don't you? That's okay. We were born out of hate. Not out of love, like others. Maybe our mothers loved us. That's why she didn't want to harm us. They brought us into this world despite all that they suffered. Why else would they bear us for nine months?

Episode 4: The Father

Maha: No. You tell me. My mom's in the hospital. And here I am running errands for you. Still, I don't know what I'm a part of. They promised to find my dad but there's still no update. I have more information than them. You tell me now or I quit.

David Adam: My mother is unwell.

Maha: Then go to her. Why are you here?

David Adam: Your mother is unwell too. Why are you here? There's a guy in this jail... I've to get him out.

Episode 5: The Mother

Justice and existance

Alfred: Look, David. He might get away now but he won't in the afterlife. God has His own plan.

David Adam: Were we born according to your God's plan?

Alfred: David! Now you're questioning God.

David Adam: No. I'm questioning my existence. Our existence.

Face-to-face

Gulzar: Where does the tunnel lead to?

David Adam: To your destiny. To your loved ones. To your family.

Episode 6: The Son

Believe

Mostak Ahmed: Please ask him to be specific. If he tells us in instalments...

Maha: I just relay what he tells me. I can't say anything more.

Mostak Ahmed: Just try...

Maha: Ultimately, you have become a believer too.

Mostak Ahmed: Believe, huh? Belief is a strange thing.The things people believe in! Take for instance, jail food. It's so bad, even prisoners don't want to have it. Yet, business tycoons, lawyers, even politicians... they're desperate to have jail food. They call me for it. Sometimes I feel less like a jailer and more like a hotel manager.

Maha: Why do they want jail food?

Mostak Ahmed: Eating jail food is in their horoscope. They have it beforehand so they aren't forced to have it as a prisoner. Is there any logic to it? No. It's all about belief. Take your own example. Your mother's in the hospital. You're unwell too. But you still come here. Why? What you or I believe doesn't matter. It's about family.

Time

David Adam: My mother... I wish my mother ... had waited just two more days. If only...

Mohabbat Ali: She is waiting. Her body has died. But the soul never dies. She is waiting.

Episode 7: The Motherland

Raju: Why are you so worried? Once you're out, take your mom abroad. Remember that poem by Tagore? "Imagine, Mother, you and I in a foreign land... Travelling to a place far away. You in a palanquin with its door slightly ajar. While I on my chestnut horse trot alongside." Trot, trot, trotting along. Take your mom to a good doctor. She'll be fine. Uncle. You know what she needs right now? A daughter-in-law. The banter between them will keep her happy. You know, like in TV shows. Mothers-in-law thrive on quarrelling with their daughters-in-law.

Characters

• Chanchal Chowdhury as the mysterious prisoner alias David Adam
• Intekhab Dinar as Mostak Ahmed, the prison warden of Akashnagar Jail
• Bijori Barkatullah as Panna, wife of Mostak
• Partho Sheikh as prisoner Sajib, son of Mostak and Panna
• Zahid Hasan Shovon as Humayun Kabir, IG Prison
• Afzal Hossain as Mohabbat Ali, the hangman
• AK Azad Shetu as Abul Khayer, a prison officer
• Tasnia Farin as Maha
• FS Nayeem as Ashfaq, a officer of Detective Branch and friend of Mostak
• Shatabdi Wadud as father Alfred
• Tanvin Sweety as Diya Guha, the mysterious woman in the burqa
• Jayanta Chattopadhyay as Gulzar, one of prisoners
• Mir Naufel Ashrafi Jisan as Raju, a prisoner and the associate of David Adam

External link

• Encyclopedic article on Karagar on Wikipedia
• Karagar on IMDb