Inside Edge - 2017

What is Inside Edge about?

Inside Edge is an Indian sports drama released on Amazon Prime Video and celebrated 3 seasons of success. This web series was created by Karan Anshuman and premiered on July 10th, 2017.

Inside Edge was the first Hindi series distributed by Amazon Originals. The series revolves around the ups and downs of T20 cricket, which is quite relatable to the audience. It is a mix of facts and fiction about the world of Indian Cricket.

The series received critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Drama Series at the 46th International Emmy Awards.

Table of Contents

• Details

• Story

• Release

• Cast

• Crew

• Character Analysis

• Prediction

• Seasons

• Behind The Scenes

• Ratings and Reviews

• Controversy

• Awards

• Interesting Facts 

• Conclusion

Details

Story

PlayInside Edge is a fictional web series with enough twists, trials, turns, tribulations, and triumphs revolving around the T20 cricket franchise. It characterises powerful men and women who run the game behind the scenes and go to great lengths to get what they want.

The plot focuses on the ambition, greed, lust, and manipulation of characters and their betrayal of the sport they swore to defend. Inside Edge is about Mumbai Mavericks, which uses factors like drug addiction, mysteries, murders, and match-fixing to show you how the world of cricket business runs.

The series is beautifully portrayed by Richa Chada (Zarina), who defends her teams and wants victory at any cost; Vivek Oberoi (Vikrant) is a businessman character, who stays true to his character, and Tanju Virwani (Vayu), an attacking cricketer who has a great reputation against the team. Season 1 caters to match-fixing issues, Season 2 is about cricket scandals and team selection manipulations, while Season 3 focuses on international cricket.

Release

• Original release - 10 July 2017– present

• Original network - Amazon Prime Video

• Running time - 40–47 minutes

• Season 1, Episodes – 10, Originally released - 10 July 2017

• Season 2, Episodes – 10, Originally released - 6 December 2019

• Season 3, Episodes – 10, Originally released - 3 December 2021

• Camera setup - Single-camera

Cast

• Vivek Oberoi is Vikrant Dhawan

• Richa Chadda as Zarina Malik

• Tanuj Virwani as Vayu Raghavan

• Siddhant Chaturvedi as Prashant Kanaujia

• Angad Bedi as Arvind Vashishth

• Sayani Gupta as Rohini Raghavan

• Aamir Bashir as Yashvardhan Patil/Bhaisahab

• Sapna Pabbi as Mantra Patil

Crew

Created by  - Karan Anshuman

Written by  - Karan Anshuman, Ananya Mody, Neeraj Udhwani, Nidhie Sharma, Sailesh Ramaswamy

Executive producers  - Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Kassim Jagmagia

Cinematography  -  Vivek Shah, Sanjay Kapoor

Production Company  - Excel Entertainment

Character Analysis

• Vivek Oberoi plays Vikrant Dhawan, who is the owner of one of the world's best sports management firms. When someone is disenfranchised or disempowered, the hunger and desire for pure power go to extremes. That's Vikrant!

• Richa Chadha is Zarina Malik, co-owner of the Mumbai Mavericks. She is strong, smart, and powerful and goes through the dark side of the world of cricket to defend her team and emerge as a winner in the end.

• Tanuj Virwani, as Vayu Raghavan, plays a young cricketer who is confident in his form but brash in the game. His character shows that the much-loved cricketer with thousands of adoring fans is not exactly a role model. He's a womanizer and often runs wild.

• Siddhant Chaturvedi as Prashant Kanaujia,  a rookie fast bowler who joined the Mavericks and befriended Vayu, hails from Uttar Pradesh and suffers a culture shock when he replaces an injured player at Mumbai's Mavericks. 

• Angad Bedi, as Arvind Vashishth, former international player and captain of the Mavericks and later captain of the Haryana Hurricanes, is all about composure, patience, and making smart moves throughout the series.

• Sayani Gupta, as Rohini Raghavan, is Vayu's younger sister and chief analyst for the Mavericks, later Hurricanes, and Indian team. Rohini Raghavan has a soft side to her character, who tries to bring her brother, Vayu, back on the right track while also being professional in her role of playing against her brother.

Predictions

After the success of Season 3, creator Karan Anshuman revealed in an interview that Inside Edge Season 4 is coming. Some of the predictions surrounding Inside Edge Season 4 are about the culmination of the main story, which is still in progress.

Vikrant Dhawan and Vayu Raghavan remained in custody, and their betting licenses were transferred to Mantra. The third season was a cliffhanger, and there is a possibility that it can be resolved in Season 4. The creator is silent about his Inside Edge Season 4, while the audience is anxiously waiting for the announcement of the next season, hoping it will not be the last one.

Inside Edge Seasons

Season 1

Episodes - 10

Originally released - 10 July 2017

Inside Edge, season 1, was about introducing all characters, focusing on the story of Mumbai Mavericks, a T20 cricket franchise. Season 1 revealed the inside story revolving around match-fixing in this season and reflects conflicting interests, selfishness, hunger for money and power, and lust, portrayed wonderfully by all the characters. This season was a massive success.

Season 2

Episodes - 10

Originally released - on 6 December 2019

Season 2 of Inside Edge was more about team selection, power scandals, and greed for victory. Vayu Raghavan leads the Mumbai Mavericks and challenges Arvind Vashisht-led Haryana Hurricanes.

Besides the team clash, the season also focuses on Zarina Malik, who allies with Bhaisaab and seeks power and control. Season 2 also revolves around the strained relationship between Rohini and Prashant, who is going through a guilt attack for killing Devender.

Season 3

Episodes - 10

Originally released - 3 December 2021

Season 3 is about international cricket, with Vayu contesting against Indian captain Rohit. This season also witnesses a strong alliance between Dhawan and Zarina to take revenge on Bhaisaab. The whole mesh of spot-fixing and illegal betting revolving around Mumbai Mavericks comes to notice. Mantra has a critical role in ending corruption in the cricket world and seeks help from Vayu to legalise betting in India.

Behind the Scenes

While the characters bonded well while shooting for Inside Edge and had great fun with each other, the crew did have a hard time filming sport-related scenes and making them look real. There were approximately 1200 VFX shots which set a benchmark to be used in a simulation to show 50,000 people filling the stadium and cheering for the teams.

The characters were practising real cricket to add realism to their role. There was also a joke about Siddhant (who plays Prashant Kanaujia), who was told by his coach that if he practised like this for 6 months, he could play in the IPL.

Controversy 

There were some controversies regarding the Inside Edge screening. First, Zarina Malik’s character was said to be a portrayal of Preeti Zinta. Similarly, Tanuj Virwani as Vayu Raghavan was rumoured to be based on cricketer Virat Kohli or Yuvraj.

Another controversy was that the channel has asked for a revision of season 3, as it highlighted the cricket war between India and Pakistan. The streaming platform feared the controversy and suggested a reshoot of the series.

Ratings and Reviews

IMDb rating for Inside edge is 7.9/10, voted by approximately 12k members. Inside Edge paved the way for several other Indian web series.

Inside Edge has received critical acclaim for its performances and plot and has been called a series that is perfectly cast and technically brilliant. 

According to the audience and critics, its gripping story, interesting characters, power-packed performances, the right mix of excitement and emotion, and stunning sets kept them wanting more each season!

Awards

Interesting Facts

• Angad Bedi, who plays Captain Arvind Vashisth, is the son of a very famous Indian cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi

• On the team player's jersey, the logo advertises dreamscape which is a startup by director Karan Anshuman.

• There were striking similarities between Vayu's character and Virat Kohli.

Conclusion

The web series has an interesting clout underpinned by some candid performances that don't make it feel like a fictional world. It’s a beautifully packaged show which demonstrates that digital media is the future, paving the way for many web series to emerge.