Abhay is a ZEE5 Original Indian Hindi-language psychological crime thriller web series.[1] Produced by B. P. Singh under Fiction Factory Productions, and directed by Ken Ghosh, the series marks the digital debut of Bollywood actor Kunal Khemu, who stars alongside Elnaaz Norouzi, Sandeepa Dhar and Namit Das.[2][3] The series revolves around officer Abhay Pratap Singh, an investigating officer with the mind of a criminal, who can go to any extent to solve a case.[4][5] The first season comprised eight episodes[6] and was released on ZEE5 on 7 February 2019.

Abhay
Official poster
GenrePsychological fiction
Crime
Thriller
Developed byB. P. Singh
Written by
  • Alka Shukla
  • Vaspar Dandiwala
  • Pushaan Mukherjee
  • Ankana Joshi
  • Sushant Shukla
  • Srinivas Abrol
  • Sudhanshu Sharma
  • Priya Saggi
  • Smita P. Mukherjee
  • Aparna Nadig
  • Shubham Sharma
  • Deeptak Das
Directed byKen Ghosh
Starring
Music byAjay Singha
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes24 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer
  • B.P. Singh
CinematographyHari K. Vedantam
EditorMukesh Thakur
Running timeApprox. 35 minutes
Production companies
  • Fiction Factory Productions
  • Essel Vision Productions Ltd.
Original release
NetworkZEE5
Release7 February 2019 (2019-02-07) –
present

Abhay 2 saw [7] returning as the protagonist while Ram Kapoor[8] and Chunky Pandey[9][10][11] were seen playing the antagonist in the series. Besides them, the second season also stars Bidita Bag, Raghav Juyal, Indraneil Sengupta and Asheema Vadaan. Abhay 2[12] is produced by B.P. Singh,[13] and directed by Ghosh was released on the same OTT platform on 14 August 2020.[14]

Season 3, which released on ZEE5 on 8 April 2022, sees the stakes getting higher with Abhay facing a new unknown threat. Kunal Kemmu plays Abhay Pratap Singh with admirable composure in the eight-part crime thriller.[15]

Season 1

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The story revolves around the life of SP Abhay Pratap Singh who solves different cases along with his team which includes Inspector Komal and other officers. He has a son named Saahil towards whom Abhay is overprotective due to Abhay's past which includes officer Natasha and her informer Govind. Govind is back to take revenge from Abhay who was the reason behind Govind's family's death. Will Abhay be able to solve all the cases? Or will he lose to Govind's quest for vengeance?

Season 2

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Set within a year of the events of the first season, Abhay continues to hunt vile murderers and monsters with his trademark ingenuity, and novel deductions until an enigmatic criminal mastermind, with no name or past, turns his world upside down and traps him along with everyone else in a maze that will test the very fibre of Abhay's morality. He plays the villain's game better than the villain could have expected but still the game does what it is meant to. The Villain lies & tries to corrupt Abhay. It starts getting to Abhay, the pressure of saving the kids and his past secrets make him vulnerable, but even by the end he remains incorruptible.[16][17]

Season 3

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Season 3 is about Abhay facing a new unknown threat, a dark force capable of exploiting anyone in the name of a twisted belief.[18] Abhay must now crackdown on more than just criminality. Abhay is in a mess of his own life and cannot forget the setbacks he has endured. Abhay the hunter and hunted in his third coming. This makes him even more fascinating.[19]

Cast

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Main (Season 1)

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Main (Season 2)

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Main (Season 3)

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Recurring

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Episodes

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SeriesEpisodesOriginally released
187 February 2019 (2019-02-07)
2814 August 2020 (2020-08-14)
388 April 2022 (2022-04-08)

Season 1

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Bagged and Tagged"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma7 February 2019 (2019-02-07)
Angry group of people set fire to a woman in daylight in the village of Chinthari. Abhay Pratap Singh (Kunal Khemu) is handed over a case of children getting lost in Chinthari. He and his team visit the local police of Chinthari and get to know that Payal, a girl and Raghu and Pooja, brother and sister were last kidnapped. A man around age 40, Rawat comes and takes Pooja to the bathroom of another man's house, Chander Singh who is drinking and watching T.V. After some Rawat comes out of the bathroom and takes a chopper and cuts Pooja, who is raped by him earlier in pieces and starts cooking. The local police station's officer, Srivastav tells that Pooja's phone was sold by Jaggu, a thief to someone. Abhay tells his team to find Jaggu before he comes the next day. At his home, he prepares soup for his son and calls his team to know about the progress but scolds the in-charge Komal (Sandeepa Dhar) as she is not able to find Jaggu. It is shown that Abhay is overprotective towards his son and has fixed CCTV cameras to keep an eye on him 24x7. When Abhay is about to sleep, he sees that someone is kidnapping his son, Saahil. He runs towards Saahil's room but sees that he is sleeping quietly. Abhay walks towards Saahil's room and sees his throat being cut by a woman of the same age as Abhay and then Abhay wakes up in his bed scared. The next day he continues the investigation and finds from a shopkeeper whose shop is opposite Raghu and Pooja's school that he saw Raghu and Pooja last with one of their friends. He visits Raghu and Pooja's home and looks at some photos. Caretaker of Saahil, Radhika calls Abhay and tells him to come 2–3 hours early as she has to go for her mother's operation. Abhay then goes to Raghu and Pooja's friend's home and asks some questions about him. Before leaving he observes a toy kept beside the friend. Then he stays close to his house. A man visits the house who is none other than Rawat. Abhay follows him and reaches Chander Singh's house. He goes in and holds Rawat at gunpoint and asks the whereabouts of Raghu and Pooja. He tells Rawat that he saw the same toy at his house which was in Raghu's hand in the photo at Raghu's home. Rawat tries to defend but Abhay starts searching the house. Rawat and Chander Singh try to stop him but Abhay searches and finds Raghu lying in the garage. Rawat from behind hits rod on Abhay's head but he single-handedly manages to defeat both of them. The rest of the team comes and stop Abhay from beating Chander Singh to death. Rawat then tells them the whereabouts of other dead bodies. Radhika calls Abhay and asks whether he has given Saahil medicines or not to which Abhay gets shocked and drives towards his home. He checks the CCTV and sees that they are not working. When he reaches home he sees Saahil playing with the same women which he saw in his dream, Abhay takes out his gun and points towards the women.
22"Who is the Daddy now?"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma27 February 2019 (2019-02-27)
A man in his 30's visits the government office and asks for his mother's pension. When the officer asked why has he not brought his mother with him, we see another story where he gets furious when his mother calls him a mouse. He hits his mother with a cooker in his head. At the office, he tells the officer that she is severely ill. When the officer asks why has he not brought his father then, we again see the past in which he hits his father with the same pressure cooker after his father sees his wife's body. The officer gives the pension and warns them to bring someone with him next time. We again see the past in which a boy named Pramod mixing cement and pouring it all over his parents' bodies. Abhay who is holding the woman named Natasha at gunpoint tells her to leave home as soon as possible. While going she tells Abhay that Govind attacked her in jail and also he is back to take revenge from him. The case is handed over to Abhay in which a girl named Surbhi is kidnapped. According to the file, Surbhi was going to New York from Delhi. Abhay sees that she uploaded photos of her from New York but finds out that these images are google images which means that she never reached Delhi to catch her flight. In the parallel story, we see Pramod treating Surbhi like his pet and then licks her face. Abhay calls an old hacker, Pandey as he thinks that it would take much more time to get approval from an agency for hacking. In a parallel story, Pramod plays with Surbhi a game in which she has to recognize an animal acted by Pramod. When Surbhi is failed is recognizing one of them he asks what she thought it was. When she says that she thought it was a mouse he strangles her to death with a chain from which she was tied. Pramod brings one more girl from the brothel and treats him the same as Surbhi. Pandey with on Surbhi's mobile by hacking and traces the location which is Pramod's house. Abhay and his team find the dead bodies of Pramod's parents inside a bed covered in cement. Whereas Pramod orders food from a restaurant. Pandey hacks Pramod's laptop and uses its camera as CCTV. Abhay notices the box of the hotel from where Pramod ordered the food. He gets all the address where the food was delivered that day. The team starts searching at all address. Abhay and Komal reach the hotel where Pramod is staying. Komal enters the room and engages in a fight with Pramod. Komal gets an upper hand on Pramod but Pramod pushes her into the pool of cement. Abhay comes from behind saves Komal and beats Pramod. When Pramod falls in a pool of cement, Abhay creates a fake story so that no-one would know that he killed Pramod. Abhay has put a man behind Natasha so that he could know everything about her whereabouts. He tells Abhay that someone attacked Natasha and Natasha fought back by shooting him in his left hand.
33"Swipe Right"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma10 March 2019 (2019-03-10)
A young girl named Supriya is getting ready and smoking in her house. She checks her mobile where she sees Abhay's profile on the finger app and swipes right's him. Abhay with his team visits the forensic lab with his team where the forensic scientist gives him information about the hands and legs separated from the body. He orders his team to find the other body parts and calls the man who is searching for Govind. The man tells him the whereabouts of him. When Abhay reaches the place Govind is already gone. In Saahil's school, a man with a scar on his head is tying Saahil's shoelaces. Radhika comes and takes Saahil back. The man tells Radhika that he is Abhay's friend when she asks him his, he gets disappeared. Radhika tells this to Abhay, on which Abhay calls the man which he has put behind Govind to find him as soon as possible. The story gets in 2017 where Supriya and another man are having sex. Just after they finish Supriya shouts for help and a boy and beats the man with a bat. Supriya cut the man's throat and another boy, Rohit cuts the man to pieces. They take the body in a bag and throw it somewhere. Supriya takes the mobile and deletes the account from which she met the man. Back in the present Abhay notices a birthmark on one of the victim's hands from which they get to know about the victims family. They visit the victim's office and get to know that he used to drink a lot, consume drugs and used to take one girl to the pub. At the pub, Abhay gets the girls to sketch drawn from the owner as he was the victim's friend. Abhay also gets to know that the girl used a finger dating app to meet the victim. We again see in past where Supriya brings a fat man to her house where she, Rohit and other guy kill him and take his money. This is done by them 2-3 times. At present Pandey explains the features of the Finger dating app to Abhay and tells him that the killers create an account when they need the money and search for the wealthy victim on the app when they are done killing him and taking all the money, they delete the account. Abhay instructs him to make an account and tells ladies to make a fake male account. He tells Pandey to make one for him and post some photos which will show that he is very rich. Supriya and Rohit decide to hunt another man as they are in need of money she makes an account and right swipes Abhay. Abhay gets the notification and tells his team. He then meets her in the same pub. Supriya consumes some drugs and tells Abhay to take some. Supriya gets distracted by some girls nearby meanwhile Abhay throws the drugs away buts shows that he took the drugs. She takes him to his house and gives him a drink. Abhay drinks a sip and goes unconscious. Rohit comes and sees Abhay from near. Abhay suddenly spits the drink on Rohit and manages to take down Supriya, Rohit and another guy single-handedly. Govind calls Abhay and sings a song for him.
44"Cyanide Poisoning"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma27 March 2019 (2019-03-27)
An Aghori starts sex with a dead body in a jungle. Police inspector Srivastav and his group come and run behind him to catch him. He runs faster and reaches his group. They take everyone to the Police station to take a test of DNA. Suddenly one of Aghori falls on the floor and starts rubbing his penis and says that his penis is burning. CTF minister questions Abhay for his way of catching the killers as his video of severely beating a man on the roadside goes viral. Till the case on him will start he in on duty but once the case is started he will be suspended. Officer Natasha now a reporter makes a report in the newspaper defending Abhay on beating the man on the roadside. Abhay calls her and thanks to her and tells her that she can now visit his home anytime to meet Sahil. Abhay is handed over the case of a Cyanide killer who kills his victims using Cyanide. Abhay then goes to the station where the Aghori's are locked up. The forensic scientist there tells that the Aghori who was rubbing his penis was the one to rape the women. But Abhay objects and says that if he was killed and knew what happens when cyanide touches his penis then he would never have had sex with the body. He says that the death scene is different and the killer is also someone else. Abhay and his team then go to the victim's house and ask some questions. The victim's father-in-law tells her that she went wearing bridal clothes and jewellery. We see in another story that a woman visits a temple where a woman asks about her to which she says she wants a child. The women tell her to come in bridal clothes and wearing jewellery the same night in the jungle. The woman and his other associate get the set ready and make laddoos with potassium cyanide in it.
55"Crossfire"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma16 April 2019 (2019-04-16)
The story takes us back to Abhay's past which explains his current paranoia. Meanwhile, a dissatisfied teenager goes on a killing spree.
66"Burn"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma16 April 2019 (2019-04-16)
Abhay's relationship with Natasha begins to hinder the investigation of the killer. Will Abhay be able to solve the murder cases?
77"The Butcher"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma30 April 2019 (2019-04-30)
A butcher from Uttar Pradesh slaughters people and flings their body parts in different areas of the town. A lack of evidence and clues make this a tough case to crack. Will Abhay be able to catch this butcher or will he get trapped in Govind's vicious plan?
88"48 Hours"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma1 May 2019 (2019-05-01)
Abhay has 48 hours to find the killer. Will he find the butcher? Will Natasha help Abhay in hunting for the killer?

Season 2

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No.
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No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
91"Brain Soup"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma14 August 2020 (2020-08-14)
As students in Lucknow start going missing, the STF team headed by Abhay starts probing the case. Their investigation leads them to a twisted serial killer. Meanwhile, a school bus is taken hostage by a peculiar looking person.
102"One-Legged Skeleton"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma14 August 2020 (2020-08-14)
The dead body of sub-inspector Maninder Singh is found in a canal with a missing foot. Abhay's inquiry leads him to Saloni, a sex worker.
113"The Game Begins"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma14 August 2020 (2020-08-14)
Abhay learns about the hijacking of the school bus through Sonam, a reporter who is pursuing the case of the missing children and bashing the police force for its inability to track down the hijackers. Abhay receives a hint towards the location of the kid.
124"The 12-Hour Challenge"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma4 September 2020 (2020-09-04)
Abhay meets the Villain who challenges him into a game in exchange for information on the missing kids. The mastermind leads Abhay to the case of missing women and dares him to solve the case in 12 hours to get the location of one of the missing kids.
135"Misplaced Retribution"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma4 September 2020 (2020-09-04)
Abhay manages to locate the kid the Villain had led him to. The Villain once again promises to give Abhay the location details of two more kids if he can nab the murderer of a couple that was killed in a car crash in 48 hours.
146"The Homophobic Killer"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma29 September 2020 (2020-09-29)
A homophobic killer brutally murders two young men and broadcasts the news of their murders on the radio. At the vigil held for the victims, the killer strikes again and murders two more men. The killer's next plan can lead to the loss of thousands of lives.
157"A Tougher Challenge"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma29 September 2020 (2020-09-29)
Abhay manages to save a child, but the information is leaked to the press. The Villain shows Abhay an article about the murder of the two young men and orders him to find the killer in 12 hours.
168"The Final Trap"Ken GhoshAparna Nadig and Sudhanshu Sharma29 September 2020 (2020-09-29)
The Villain manages to escape and kills the accused in the missing women's case in police custody. He then threatens to kill the accused in the car crash case next. Meanwhile, Abhay reaches the house where he had an incident with Sonam and discovers that the Villain has set up another challenge for him. But this time, Abhay manages to set the Villain up in his trap.

Controversy

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The Abhay 2 web series, starring Kunal Khemu in the lead, became a controversial one for showing Indian Bengali freedom fighter Khudiram Bose, as a ‘criminal’ in one of its episode.[26] Netizens had criticized the makers of the web series for disrespecting him.[26]

Zee5 apologized after using Bose's photograph on a criminal board in the web series Abhay 2.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "ZEE5 launches procedural format crime thriller 'Abhay'". Zee News. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Kunal Khemu set for his digital debut". easterneye.biz. 25 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Abhay actor Elnaaz Norouzi: Get limited offers as people think I cannot speak Hindi". The Indian Express. 27 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Kunal Kemmu On Playing An Investigative Officer In Abhay". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Kunal Kemmu to make digital debut with ZEE5 series Abhay". The Indian Express. 19 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Kunal Khemu to shift gears with crime series 'Abhay'". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Abhay 2 teaser: Ram Kapoor stuns as a heartless murderer, Kunal Kemmu is out to get him". Hindustan Times. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  8. ^ Keshri, Shweta (18 June 2020). "Abhay 2: Ram Kapoor in a menacing avatar in new promo. Watch video". India Today. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Chunky Panday to make his digital debut with Abhay 2". The Indian Express. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Chunky Pandey says it was exciting to play antagonist in digital debut 'Abhay 2'". The Week. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Chunky Pandey makes digital debut with Abhay 2, says 'it will bring to the forefront ruthless crime stories'". www.indulgexpress.com. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  12. ^ "It was a tough role for me Ram Kapoor on playing antagonist in 'Abhay 2'". The Week. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Abhay 2: The stakes are even higher for Kunal Kemmu starrer". mid-day. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  14. ^ "ZEE5 Releases The Trailer Of 'Abhay' Season 2; Show To Stream On August 14". Mumbai Live. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Abhay season 3 trailer: Kunal Kemmu's supercop returns to hunt down dark, twisted killers, viewers in awe of Vijay Raaz". Hindustan Times. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Abhay Season 2 Review: A gripping crime thriller with twisted characters". The Times of India.
  17. ^ "Abhay 2 Review: Kunal Kemmu Returns with More Vigour to Counter Supervillains". News18. 15 August 2020.
  18. ^ Kunal Kemmu On Abhay Season 3, Why 'Zakhm' Was Crucial For His Career, Turning Director And More, retrieved 30 March 2022
  19. ^ "Abhay Season 3 review: Kunal Kemmu and Vijay Raaz shine but this thriller is undone by lazy writing". Hindustan Times. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Abhay Has Been Interesting and Intriguing Says Kunal Khemu". The Hans India. 5 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Dabangg 2 Star Sandeepa Dhar Says Actors Should Have Opted For Content-Driven Films From The Beginning". The Times of India.
  22. ^ "Sacred start with Elnaaz Norouzi". The Telegraph. Kolkota.
  23. ^ "Abhay Season 3 Review: A gritty and relentless crime thriller", The Times of India, retrieved 8 April 2022
  24. ^ "Anshuman Jha turns serial killer for ZEE5 web-series 'Abhay'". The New Indian Express. March 2019.
  25. ^ "Anupriya Goenka: As an actor, I want to live many lives". Outlook India.
  26. ^ a b "Kunal Khemu starrer web series kicks up controversy after freedom fighter Khudiram Bose shown as a criminal - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Freedom fighter Khudiram Bose's photo incorrectly used on criminal board in Abhay 2, Zee5 issues apology". Hindustan Times. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
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