Revenge is a dish best served cold. The new ZEE5 original Poison is an undying thirst for revenge, vengeance, and power. Starring Arbaaz Khan, Tanuj Virwani, Freddy Daruwala and Riya Sen in the lead roles, the web series carries a theme of destroying your enemies in an unthinkable way, just to get even. Directed by Jatin Waghle, Poison is packed with all the elements to keep you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails as you progress through the episodes.

The 11-episodes-long series is based in Goa, portrayed as the drug-ridden kingdom of Antonio Verghese (Arbaaz). He is an influential businessman during the broad daylight who has the power to turn every no into a yes, by hook or by the crook of course. His real estate company Horizon Infra is a coverup for all his white collar crimes and drug mafia image. But Verghese has Dominic (Shantanu Moghe) do all his dirty work. Dominic is the face of Verghese’s terror to put simply.

Making things tough for Dominic and Verghese is ACP Vikram Singh (Freddy). The first few episodes establish him as the righteous cop who is out to put an end to the evil forces. But it is later revealed that he is only lusting a promotion to the post of Police Commissioner. Riya Sen plays Natasha Bansal, Vikram’s former flame, albeit reignited. She works in Verghese’s company, and also acts as her police officer beau’s informer.

The main driver of the narrative if Ranveer Shrivastav (Tanuj). He has spent 7 years in the jail for raping a minor, accused wrongly of a crime he never committed howsoever. Ranveer sets out on a murder spree, punishing all those who took away his life and love, Mary D’Costa. To seek his revenge, Ranveer traps Vikram’s sisters Aashu (Pranati Rai Prakash) and Jhanvi (Ruhani Sharma). The love triangle ends with Vikram exposing Ranveer’s past which leads to both the sisters hating him. However, Ranveer’s only aim has been to destroy Vikram and everybody else who made a false case against him. The series ends on a rather predictable note – a fresh start for Ranveer and a dead end for Vikram. The latter confesses to his crimes, loses his family and misses out on the promotion of course.

Director Jatin Waghle has eminently and efficiently dealt with characters of different shades. Albeit the male protagonists all ended up on the other side of the law, the mystery and thrill are sprinkled over every scene. Even for Ranveer, who is the most unpredictable character for it is difficult to distinguish between his many facets. Relationships do enjoy a sub-contextual theme herein. However, Poison is all things hatred, greed, sex, violence, love and the lack of thereof in life. Ranveer’s road to redemption is not the chosen path but does make for an intriguing character arc.

It is a debut yet so unlike, going by Arbaaz’s performance. The vicious predator puts on an effortless mask – “Acche loggo se nazdeeki aur Verghese se duri, zindagi salamaat rakhein.” Freddy as the ACP, or Riya as his lover Natasha, the sister duo Ruhani-Pranati and Archanna Gupta as Megha – each one delivers brilliance. Also stealing the thunder and causing ripples from time to time is Sakshi Pradhan as Rani. Rani can shortly be described as ‘Masterplan ki Maharani’! She can shoot her boyfriend for money, for all she cares.

All in all, chills and thrills will be your constant companions through Poison. Have you watched the ZEE5 original yet? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

Catch all episodes of Poison, now streaming on ZEE5.