''Rangbaaz'' is an Indian web series set against the rustic background of the

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

in the 1990s It was released as a

ZEE5 ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...

original on 22 December 2018. In October 2019, ZEE5 renewed the show for a second season, ''Rangbaaz Phirse'', which premiered on 20 December 2019. Season three of Rangbaaz title Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti premiered on

on 29 July 2022.

Synopsis

Season 1 Rangbaaz is based on the true story of

Shri Prakash Shukla Shri Prakash Shukla (6 October, 1973-22 September, 1998) was an Indian gangster active during the 1990's mainly in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He used to be hired by primarily politicians to kill their opponents. He was killed on 22 September 1 ...

(Shiv Prakash Shukla in the series), who was a notorious gangster and the most wanted criminal of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The series shows his journey from a DDU student to becoming the second most wanted criminal in India. Other characters related to Shree Prakash's life include Ram Shankar Tiwari, inspired by Hari Shankar Tiwari, and Chandra Bhan Singh, inspired by Surajbhan Singh, Suraj Bhan Singh (former MP from Mokama, Bihar). Season 2 ''Rangbaaz Phir Se'' is inspired from the life of Anandpal Singh (name changed to Amarpal Singh) who was a gangster active in the state of Rajasthan. The series chronicles his rise to becoming the most wanted criminal in the history of Rajasthan. The story also covers his illicit business of liquor, his rivalry with Gopal Phogawat (name changed to Raja Phogat), and his dynamics with the political leadership of the state. Season 3 ''Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti'' Season 3 has premiered on 29 July 2022 on

starring Vineet Kumar Singh and Aakanksha Singh. The story of the main character is supposedly based on a Gangster turned politician Mohammad Shahabuddin (Indian politician), Mohammad Shahabuddin.

Cast

Season 1

* Saqib Saleem as Shiv Prakash Shukla (inspired by

). * Tigmanshu Dhulia as Ram Shankar Tiwari (inspired by Hari Shankar Tiwari). * Ranvir Shorey as Sidharth Pandey - Special Task Force Lead * Aahana Kumra as Babita Sharma * Jay Saumik Joshi as Abhishek * Ravi Kishan as Chandra Bhan Singh (inspired by Surajbhan Singh) * Arun Kalra as Narendra Shahi (inspired by Virendra Shahi) * Chandan Anand as Ranjan Tiwari * Pawan Chopra as Director General of Police - UP * Bharat Chawla as Sushant * Saurabh Goyal as Host of India's Most Wanted (inspired by Suhaib Ilyasi) * Gaurav Mishra as Munna Shukla * Ankur B. Saraiya as Bangkok Goon * Daya Shankar Pandey as Mahavir * Ajay Singh as Morena Vidhayak * Atul Pandey as Tanuj Pratap Singh

Season 2 / Rangbaaz Phirse

* Jimmy Shergill as Amar Pal Singh (inspired by Anandpal Singh) * Sharad Kelkar as Raja Phogat * Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Sanjay Singh Meena * Mahima Makwana as Vaishali 'Chiku' Singh, Amar Pal's daughter * Gul Panag as Anupriya (inspired by Anuradha Chaudhary) * Sushant Singh as Jai Ram Godara (inspired by Jeevan Godara) * Harsh Chhaya as Sundar Singh Chauhan * Chetan Pandit as Home Minister Ahlawat * Amit Sial as Balram Rathi (inspired by balvir banuda) * Spruha Joshi as Rukmini, wife of Amar Pal * Sonam Arora as Madhu Godavari, wife of Jai Ram * Ujjwal Chopra as Harjiram

Season 3 / Rangbaaz Dar ki Raajneeti

Third season of the show premiered on

platform on 29 July 2022. The season's story is loosely based on Gangster turned politician Mohammad Shahabuddin (Indian politician), Mohammad Shahabuddin from Bihar. * Viineet Kumar as Shah Ali Baig: Sana's husband * Aakanksha Singh as Sana: Shah Ali Baig's wife * Vijay Maurya * Prashant Narayanan * Rajesh Tailang * Geetanjali Kulkarni * Prateek Srivastava *Teetu Verma as Dinesh Singh

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2 / Rangbaaz Phirse

Sequel Spin-off

After the successful run of first season,

announced a spin-off sequel for the show, titled "Rangbaaz Phirse"

Reception

Rangbaaz

The New Indian Express rated with 3/5 stars and critically reviewed the series by saying it had nothing out of the ordinary about the crime and criminals story. The lead actor performed well in his role as a gangster in making. The film relied so much on the film songs of the era to create a particular mood for the storyline which was a bit tiresome.

Rangbaaz Phirse

Binged gave a rating of 6/10 stars to ''Rangbaaz Phirse'' and critically reviewed the actors performances. They also stated that the series fails to display a larger than life gangster profile. Moreover, the direction of the series makes it look quite authentic when capturing expressions and other important scenes. Throughout the nine episodes the rise and fall of its protagonist is portrayed dramatically in impressive detail. Hindustan Times gave a review about the series saying that the webseries focuses on the rural heartlands plagued by the caste hierarchy. The storyline revolves around gruesome tit-for-tat that leads to numerous murders involving bystanders, politicians and cops, serving their own agendas. The cast in the film gave great performances and did justice to their roles.

References

External links

''Rangbaaz''
on

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rangbaaz 3_(web_series) Indian web series 2018 web series debuts ZEE5 original programming Action web series Crime thriller web series Fictional portrayals of police departments in India 2010s police procedural television series 2020s police procedural television series Fictional portrayals of the Uttar Pradesh Police Fictional portrayals of the Bihar Police Indian crime television series Indian thriller television series Indian action television series Television shows set in Uttar Pradesh Television shows set in Bihar Television shows set in Rajasthan Hindi-language web series Indian drama web series Television series set in the 1990s 2018 Indian television series debuts