As far as heist stories go, Choona gets points for placing so much importance on the act of getting its team together. The first two episodes watched for this review don't advance forward in plot as much as they pivot from one point of view to another around the same moments in time. Unfortunately, because the series is so particular about its own structure, it loses sight of the reasons why we should be emotionally invested in the heist in the first place. There is a world of gang violence sketched out in these early episodes, but little sense of what's actually at stake. And with the show's over-reliance on voiceover narration, Choona sucks the tension out of its plot, as this seemingly omniscient voice constantly keeps us at a distance.
Synopsis
When an unlikely group of misfits discovers a common enemy in the same ruthless yet superstitious politician, they plot a heist to exact revenge.
Storyline
An eclectic group of individuals plots to take down a powerful, superstitious politician who has plans of overthrowing the reigning government.
TLDR
See, you can never trust a man who believes in astrology. Which is how my Aries Sun tells me I should think.
What stands out
The ideas of astrology and superstition play a recurring role in the way this story is framed, and while Choona doesn't do anything too substantial with them yet, it's still interesting to see the show's main villain so fascinated with the alignment of planets and whatnot. One would imagine these kinds of folk beliefs to belong only to the "ordinary people" in a story like this, since a powerful politician (Avinash Shukla, played by Jimmy Shergill) doesn't seem to need these things that aren't concrete reality. But Shukla believes nonetheless, and that makes him unpredictable and much more dangerous.
