Tabbar is OTT Web original available on SonyLIV. First of all, a big appreciation to the OTT plkatformas like SonyLIV for making quality content like Scam 19902, Tabbar, and recent Rocket Boys available to the masses. It is hard to imagine such content being created if only satellite Tv or Big screen were the source of release.
Tabbar revolves around the life of a regular Punjabi family life in a busy locality of Punjab. An event turns their life upside down and now they must battle to escape from law, and save their life from influential people involved.
Introduction
A shuffle in a train results in Happy carrying a wrong bag to his house. The owner of the bag arrives, and finds a package of drugs missing in the returned bag. This escalates to him getting shot by Happy. The dead person, as revealed, was brother of a local heavyweight Ajeet Sodhi. Determined to not let an unfortunate event destroy Happy’s life, they must find a way to escape from law by erasing the evidence, and from Ajeet Sodhi’s men.
The series touches many important issues from drug issue rampant in Punjab, to corruption, politics, dowry, putting burden of expectations on children, among others.
Drugs
The initial trigger for the events is provided by the drug addiction, of people involved in the scuffle as well as society at large. The brother of Ajeet Sodhi’s arrives at the house of Omkar Singh to get his bag back. He departs after getting his back, but soon returns on finding the package carrying the drugs missing. Unaware that the package, is taken by Tegi, they are involved in a skirmish. Things escalate, and before Tegi could clear the air, the uninvited troble maker is shot dead by Happy to protect his family. Surrendering to the police would destroy Happy’s future. Things might not end there, as dead person’s brother Ajeet Sodhi is the most powerful person of Jalandhar, and the entire family might the consequences.
Drugs mark their presence again when Tegi attempts to sell it. The peddlers identifies keen to know the source from where they obtained the “Yellow maal” aka drugs, capture Tegi and ask Omkar to get him in exchange for 20 lakh ransom. Their attempt at forcing Omkar to reveal the source of obtaining the drugs escalates to a brawl, resulting in goons getting shot by Omkar. This is breakthrough momentin the story. Though the family was involved in an accidental murder, Omkar never took law in his hands. He had frozen during the home squirmish, and did not pick the gun which would have averted the incident at home. Fighting tht resistance he picked the gun this time and shot twon men. Thus an innocent Omkar breaks bad , crosses the line and never looks back. Things get worse from here. The eldest person of the family, supposed to hold other back, there was no one to hold him back. More murders follow.
In the final episode, Happy confesses that the bag scuffle did not happen by error. He knew that the bag he picked from train belonged to Sodhi and carried drugs. He planned to sell those drugs to pay back the loan he took for the business that failed. Thus drug addiction of the murdered, murderer and society as whole, contributed to the making of the unfortunate incident.
Pressure of Expectations
Happy confides in Omkar that he never wanted to be an IPS. He tried for six months, gave his all but was never interested. He gave up the preparation and took a loan without informing his family, to start a business. The business failed and the desperation for money and paying back the load led him to deliberately pick the wrong bag from train that escalated into a disaster for the family.
At some point, everyone from Lucky to Tegi was burdened by the expectation of those around, at job or in family. The pressure has more dimensions and extends to societal pressure. Palak’s father burdened by the pressure of arranging dowry for his daughter turns into a blackmailer. What would be his attitude towards Omkar’s family if the arrangement of 20 lakh for dowry was not a factor, or if the marriage of Palak was arranged with Happy instead? Open to interpretation and guesses. Lucky, though mostly a positive character, never bothered to convince his family to not take dowry.
Desperation to get the money, start some business and stand on his feet, to marry Palak, was another contributing factor to Happy picking the wrong bag. Seemingly innocuous and unconnected events spiral out of control when they add up.
Drishyam meets Breaking Bad
In a nutshell, the show is Drishyam meets Breaking Bad. An unfortunate incident happens, and a man is determined to save his family. A druggie son turns the steering, and veers the show towards breaking bad when he attempts to sell the drugs thus forcing Omkar to pick the gun to trigger the Breaking Bad mode. Things get darker from here, leading to a haunting end where Omkar poisons his wife Sargun. Is it to save family, or save himself? – Open to interpretation.