Witch-hunting appears to be an artifact of the past, obsolete in the new world 2025. But its specter is always present, insidiously imprinted in the texture of societies that still hang on to antiquated convictions. Inquire of a sturdy, independent woman who remains unmarried well into her advanced years, or a divorcée or widow, especially if such was her plight in her early years. She will most assuredly have a treasury of tales to tell—stories of penetrating stares, soft-voiced whispers, and the razor-edged bite of censorious comments. The world might have changed, but some prejudices continue to remain obstinately stuck in time.
And Dainee, featuring the powerful Mimi Chakraborty, though presents it as a prejudice based in the countryside, the urbanized uber cool civilization has this embedded in them as well. Dainee is gruesome, brutal and yet liberating. What a showcase! Spectacularly navigating through a hard-hitting tale of oppressions. And there we have two sisters, Pata & Lata, as the messiahs that save the humankind from sinking in the mud of patriarchy.
Helmed by Nirjhar Mitra, this gripping six-episode saga has a stellar cast, featuring Koushani Mukhopadhyay, Zanjeen, Biswajit Das, Shruti Das, and Sujit Kumar Burman, among others.
A thrilling combination of survival and suspense, the story whisks viewers to Bengal’s fog-shrouded hinterlands, where ancient lore remains to spin its dark, inescapable quagmire. Where danger seethes unseen and tradition keeps its unyielding hold, the tale unwinds with an unholy vigor that haunts viewers long after the credits roll. Pata had long entombed the demons of her past—until they dug themselves back out. Back in Kolkata to tie up a simple inheritance claim, she anticipated documents, signatures, and a speedy goodbye. Instead, she discovered herself on an unwilling adventure to a distant village, tempted by an unresolved business she never sought out. But nothing could have forewarned her for what loomed in the darkness of that desolate ground.
Lata, her sister, stood chained to a tree, eyes numb, lips dry, sentenced by the same people she had lived with. ‘Dai nee’, they said. Witch. One word hurled with hatred, enough to reduce a human being to prey.
Mimi Chakraborty is the spark of this disturbing story; she fuels the flames all along in your eyes and guts. Giving a performance that cuts through the lopsided writing like a knife. Her rendition of Pata is gritty, unapologetic, and forceful, capturing both the fury and the strength of a woman driven to the edge. Even when the narrative goes astray, she keeps it grounded, so Dainee never loses its emotional heft.
Dainee will totter on the strength of its wishy-washy writing. Still, it never forgets its coherence either—a chilling reminder of a society that continues to hunt its women, if not with fire, then with whispers, judgment, and silent cruelty.
The story can stumble, but its message is profound and won’t be silenced. It reminds us that witch hunts no longer occur in the dead of night under a hexed moon, but they do—in boardrooms, in living rooms, in the manner in which society examines and judges women who have the temerity to exist on their own terms. For all its imperfections, Dainee unsettles, is needed, and is hauntingly timely—a tale that keeps you thinking, a show that begs for claps, and a truth we cannot afford to look away from anymore.
IWMBuzz gives it 4 stars.
Dainee is now streaming on Hoichoi.
