Politics and Families

Political families have had tumultuous history attached to them, no matter where they live on the globe. Quite a few of them have ended up as victims of targeted killings - be it the Romanovs in pre-Soviet Russia, the Kennedys in US or the Bhuttos in our neighborhood. 

Very often, the underlying motive behind an assassination is to challenge and peg back institutions that influence the 'world order' (as diplomats call it). Irrespective of whether perpetrators are internal / external, power centers become prime targets when they are controlled by a select few individuals (gets easier to take sides perhaps?).

The Hunt Arrives

First things first, The Hunt is hands down one of the surprise packages of 2025. Even though its storyline (as evident from its name) is based on a rather unfortunate chapter of modern Indian history, the Hunt attempts to lay down and present facts as they were without superfluous mirch masala for the sake of grabbing eyeballs. This is both its strength and its Achilles heel.

SIT: Task Cut Out

The plot begins with IPS officer DR Kaarthikeyan (Amit Sial) asked by the head of CBI - Vijay Karan (Saurabh Dubey) to lead a SIT (Justice League of grownups) and probe Rajiv Gandhi's brutal assassination. Unlike a few SITs, the end objective is not to submit a cute 'official report' but to nab the culprits for real (first family of India after all...).

Kaarthikeyan is foresighted in choosing his team members to balance the trans-national sensitivities involved - both political and cultural. He quickly assembles his team comprising SP Amit Verma (Sahil Vaid), DIGs Amod Kanth (Danish Iqbal), Radha Vinod Raju (Girish Sharma) and DSP K Ragothaman (Bagavathi Perumal). Except for Kanth, all of the chosen bunch including Kaarthikeyan are well versed both in Tamil and Tamil Nadu.

Challenges and Hiccups

The SIT's chief target is identified to be Sivarasan (Shafeeq Mustafa), a one-eyed, chain smoker LTTE operative who masterminds the entire plot. Sivarasan is shown to be a close lieutenant of Prabhakaran (LTTE chief), further raising the stakes. A cat and mouse game of manhunt involving SIT and Sivarasan forms the crux of this show. 

With the SIT mobilising, one sees varied working styles come together - young Verma is proactively aggressive and expressly vocal (perhaps a far cry in early 90s); the rest are a more seasoned bunch of cops who set their own pace and maintain a measured approach towards the case. 

Federal Faultlines Surface

This show might make you ponder over a contentious topic - India's federal structure. Some of us might have inhibitions in sensitising the support for LTTE amongst sections of Indian Tamils unless you are well read on this subject. 

One man's hero is another man's terrorist - multiple characters quote these lines including police officers on a recurring note, highlighting a closet dichotomy between local sentiments and 'Delhi'. Interestingly, this narrative bears a close resemblance with another TV show, The Family Man (S2). 

Grounded, Gritty Storytelling

The story follows a non-linear narrative and shuffles between events leading up to the assassination and its immediate aftermath, while not losing focus of the main issue. The entire cast including supporting characters portray their roles spiritedly and there is no labored acting anywhere. Dialogue do not feel out places, the climax is intriguing and every character adds its bit to weave a well-rounded plot. 

 

Sony LIV comes up with such India focused gems every now and then (Gullak, Tabbar, Maharani, Scam 1992 etc. to name a few) and somehow manages to survive in the Indian OTT market. Watch The Hunt if rational content excites you.