Dabba Cartel takes the mundane world of lunch delivery and turns it into a thrilling ride of crime, power, and women breaking all the rules. Here’s why it’s a must watch.
I watched Dabba Cartel the week it dropped — the trailer had already sold me on the idea of five women flipping lunchboxes into drug deals (iconic, no?). But between life and deadlines, this review took a little longer to cook. Now that I’ve had time to fully simmer in the chaos, comedy, and crime that is Dabba Cartel, here’s why this show isn’t just binge-worthy — it’s gripping, biting, and brilliantly desi.
With its sharp storytelling and complex characters, Dabba Cartel stands out for many reasons. From its portrayal of powerful women breaking barriers to its social commentary on power and corruption, here are five reasons why Dabba Cartel should be on your watchlist.
1. A Fierce Women’s Ensemble Breaking Stereotypes
What truly sets Dabba Cartel apart is its all-women ensemble at the core of a gritty crime narrative — a rarity in Indian television. You have Shabana Azmi as Sheila, the quiet strategist and emotional anchor of the group. Then there’s Jyotika playing Varuna, an ex-CFO of a major pharma company who turns her downfall into revenge. Nimisha Sajayan as Mala, a domestic worker with steel beneath the surface, brings raw realism. Shalini Pandey plays Raji, a sharp-witted chef who’s also a normal housewife, and Anjali Anand is Shahida, a street-smart broker who gets spiraled into the cartel world.
Each character is layered — with personal histories, emotional conflicts, and power shifts — and together, they subvert every trope you expect from women in crime dramas.
2. A Fresh, Rooted Concept with High Stakes
What makes Dabba Cartel feel both refreshing and unnervingly real is how it flips the script on both crime dramas and domestic narratives. At the center of it all is the humble dabbawala system — a pillar of urban Indian life that’s known for precision, trust, and efficiency. By turning this seemingly innocuous, everyday service into a front for drug smuggling, the show introduces a startling duality: what appears wholesome and harmless on the surface becomes a cover for something dangerously illegal underneath. Oh and Mala throwing the bag of heroine down the drain, made us fear for what’s coming next!
What makes Dabba Cartel stand out is that its protagonists aren’t criminals by choice — they’re pushed into the underworld by desperation and betrayal. From running lunchboxes to running a cartel, their transformation is gradual yet gripping. The tiffin-as-trafficking-tool metaphor is sharp, showing how systems built on trust can be quietly subverted. In a sea of loud crime thrillers, the show builds tension through the everyday — a clink of steel, a glance, a parcel — making the crime feel all the more chilling because it hides in plain sight.
3. Power, Patriarchy & the Politics of Gender
Dabba Cartel doesn’t just show women breaking bad — it shows WHY they do it. The series explores how patriarchy seeps into every corner of their lives, from the home to the boardroom. Varuna’s storyline hits especially hard: a former CFO betrayed not by crime, but by her own husband Shankar, who deletes her job offer emails and gaslights her mental health to keep her under control. It’s these quiet, insidious forms of power that the show exposes — the kind that doesn’t need fists to hurt. The cartel they build becomes more than a drug operation; it’s a rebellion against a world that constantly undermines them. These women aren’t just pushing fentanyl — they’re reclaiming their space in their personal world.
Even the male characters who seem supportive often reveal their own biases when power shifts. Whether it’s jealousy, control, or fear of being outshined, the show subtly unpacks how fragile male egos can become when women take charge. We see Raji’s husband is supportive but still refuses to use her money for the shift to Germany. On the surface it feels he’s supportive but there’s a lot more going on underneath the surface. In this world, power isn’t just seized — it’s constantly negotiated, challenged, and stolen back.
4. The Modella Heist & VivaLife Scandal – Corruption from Top to Bottom
The Modella heist stands out as one of the most gripping sequences in Dabba Cartel — a moment when the women step fully into the world of crime, stealing not just drugs but control. But beyond the thrill, it underscores a larger narrative: how addiction devastates lives on the street, while those at the top profit and stay clean. This connects directly to the VivaLife Pharmaceuticals scandal in the show, where an unregulated opioid quietly floods the market under the nose of a compromised regulatory body, the FDSCO. It’s a bold critique of how corruption isn’t limited to back alleys — it thrives in boardrooms too. We see Shankar being the mastermind behind Modella supply and Hari, being a normal worker gets spiraled into the complexities for his own interests and to be seen. Peak corporate behaviour that we see everywhere.
By linking the struggles of everyday addicts to corporate greed, Dabba Cartel smartly weaves social commentary into its crime drama, reminding us that the drug crisis is systemic — and sinisterly organized. Oh and the making of the drugs gave full on Walter White vibes. Breaking Bad fans would know!
5. Social Satire with Relatable Roots
Beneath its crime-thriller exterior, Dabba Cartel is also a sharp social satire. It pokes at the cracks in society — the widening class divide, the burden of unpaid emotional labor, and the silent frustrations that women carry in their daily lives. It doesn’t matter which social strata they belong to, the Dabba Cartel family has a mixed plate of challenges to combat, and though each member rubs the other the wrong side on a personal level, their adversities in life unite them in purpose. Where Varuna’s story invested us, so did Mala’s. Their relationship seemed to portray their rivalries and one wondered how they would work together but they came together for their joint adversaries, where they found a common ground to work as a team. From Mala’s financial struggles as a domestic worker to Varuna’s downfall from corporate grace, each story feels personal, even familiar. The show uses dark humor, irony, and intimate character moments to highlight how broken systems push ordinary people to extraordinary extremes. It’s this relatability — the feeling that this could be your neighbor, your friend, even yourself — that gives the series its emotional punch and lasting impact.
Bonus: Sunil Grover’s Menacing Cameo
A special mention must go to Sunil Grover, who plays Chacko, a key figure in the narcotics underworld (umm, let’s call him the Escobar of Dabba Cartel?). Known for his comic timing, Grover flips expectations with a chilling, composed performance. He doesn’t need loud threats — his stillness and unpredictability make him all the more terrifying. In a few sharp scenes, he establishes himself as someone you fear even when he says very little — a testament to his versatility as an actor.
An Appreciation For The Performances
The strength of Dabba Cartel lies as much in its storytelling as it does in its performances. Shabana Azmi delivers a masterclass in subtlety — her presence is commanding, and every look she gives carries weight. Jyotika brings a simmering intensity to her role, navigating vulnerability and vengeance with remarkable finesse. Nimisha Sajayan is a standout as Mala – her portrayal is grounded and deeply human, as a domestic worker working to make ends meet and for a brighter future for her daughter. Shalini Pandey brings a spirited energy that makes her instantly relatable for many business owners and homemakers, while Anjali Anand nails the balance between toughness and hesitation, portraying someone who didn’t choose this world but learns how to survive in it. Each woman brings a unique energy to the screen, and together they create a magnetic ensemble that keeps you watching — and rooting for them — even as they descend into darkness.
While Dabba Cartel has its flaws — with some storylines feeling stretched at times — it remains a captivating and thought-provoking series. The fresh concept, powerful performances, and sharp commentary on power, patriarchy, and corruption make it stand out in the crime drama genre. From the gripping Modella heist to the women’s rise in the drug trade, the show offers much more than just thrills. If you haven’t already, it’s time to dive in. Despite its few missteps, Dabba Cartel is absolutely worth the watch.
Catch the trailer here:
Dabba Cartel is a crime drama series created by Shibani Dandekar Akhtar, Vishnu Menon, Gaurav Kapur, and Akanksha Seda, directed by Hitesh Bhatia, and produced under Excel Entertainment. Available on Netflix, the series features a stellar cast including Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Anand, Sai Tamhankar, Lillete Dubey, Jisshu Sengupta, Sushmita Mukherjee, Gajraj Rao, Bhupendra Singh Jadawat, Sandesh Kulkarni, Santanu Ghatak, and Sunil Grover.
