‘Arabia Kadali’ Series Review: Satyadev And Anandhi Are The Saving Anchors Of This Drama

VV Surya Kumar’s Arabia Kadali might seem quite familiar on the surface level. As weary fishermen from an Andhra village enter Pakistan waters by mistake, families back home scramble to rewrite their fate. Comparisons to Bharat Bala’s Maryan (2013) and maybe scraps of Mani Ratnam’s Roja (1992) seem inevitable in the beginning. But the Prime Video series stands firmly on fresh ground, establishing itself as a worthy entrant in the genre, showing us the real worlds of fishermen who deify and rue the fish they catch, sometimes not knowing that their lives aren’t that dissimilar to the fish themselves.

Arabia Kadali has two superb conflicts within it. The volatile Pakistan prisons aside, the fishermen also have to wade through the rivalry between the two villages they are from. The cause of the infighting doesn’t matter — but if it does to you, it’s because of a petty squabble regarding which village gets to use the ringnet fishing gear. But their issues are similar. The series draws a similar, almost successful metaphor between the warring governments of India and Pakistan.

Satyadev in a still from 'Arabia Kadali'

In the middle of the voracious sea and the equally voracious problems it causes for its admirers, the show sprouts a sweet love story between Ganga (Anandhi) and Badiri (Satyadev). As if it doesn’t help that they are from rival villages, Ganga and Badiri are further shucked apart when Badiri’s boat veers off course into international waters. Sect rivalries aside, Badiri now has to face the residual wrath of India-Pak tensions behind bars. Arabia Kadali does fall head first into stereotypes, staining half of the Muslims we see with kohl under the eyes, characters readily accompanied by stock Arabian oud music. The characters are often indulging in cardboard-speak, and often don’t offer any hint of reality. 

We are introduced to characters who keep the tension going — a prison doctor (Poonam Bajwa) and her human rights lawyer husband (who fights for humanity and not for a single country) make unlikely yet admirable companions to Badiri in a hostile country. Their intentions are as pure as the show itself, and it is to look past the tensions between these two countries. But these arcs are lacking in a writing that’s intricately fleshed out. While it’s important to point out the show’s tact in handling the complexities of the relationship between the two countries without any prejudice, a subject like this needed more nuance to back the tension in the scenes. 

Anandhi in a still from 'Arabia Kadali'

The emotion that unites the Pakistani civilians and the Indian prisoners is depicted through dialogue. But the series needed the know-how to depict the intricate differences that often unite the men of the two countries. Badiri is good and sometimes to a fault. But Badiri infuses lived-in kindness into the character, without which it would’ve run the risk of being too gimmicky. His long and winding voiceovers seeped in deep love for the sea and fish, often reminding us of Hemingway’s prose in The Old Man And The Sea. Arabia Kadali doesn’t just stop at Badiri’s plight. It also shows us how Ganga’s issues back home are as significant, if not more important. But the show doesn’t expand the same mindfulness to some of its other residents, who often cry and smile as if urged by a teleprompter.

Arabia Kadali is an outlier in the lost-soft-boy genre, but one that could’ve done with a little more imagination.