CAT (2022 TV series)
CAT is an Indian Punjabi-language crime thriller streaming television series created and written by Balwinder Singh Janjua, Rupinder Chahal, Anil Rodhan and Jimmy Singh for Netflix. It stars Randeep Hooda, Suvinder Vicky, Hasleen Kaur, Geeta Aggarwal, Dakssh Ajit Singh, Danish Sood, Jaipreet Singh, Sukhwinder Chahal, KP Singh and Kavya Thapar. This is the first streaming series of Hooda and Netflix first India originals in Punjabi language. Plot Gurnam, who worked as a CAT for the police, during the Insurgency of the 1990s in Punjab, saves his brother Sunny from a drug peddling case with the help of a cop named Sehtab Singh. Gurnam is again hired by Sehtab to work as a spy and provide information about the drug-peddling activities in the city. While working with Sehtab, Gurnam discovers that his parents' killer Baljit Singh Rajpuria and Sehtab are in cahoots together. This information enrages Gurnam, where he forgets his mission and is now hell-bent on avenging his parents' death. Cast Randeep Hooda as Gurnam Singh/Gary, informer of police inspector Sehtab Singh Abhishant Rana as teen Gary Danish Sood as Sunny/Sarabjit Singh, Gurnam's brother Suvinder Vicky as Inspector Sehtab Singh, Police station Jalandhar, Punjab Police Geeta Agrawal as Madam Aulakh Neha Pawar as young Madam Aulakh Kavya Thapar as Kimi Aulakh, Madam Aulakh's daughter Rehmat Ratan as Keerat Aulakh, Madam Aulakh's daughter Ajay Bhardwaj as Darbara Singh Aulakh Varun Narang as SSP Kamlesh Arora KP Singh as Jaggi Pradhan Sonpreet Jhawanda as Bikramjeet Singh, STF Inspector Gurinder Makna as Baljit Singh Rajpuria/Bill Jaipreet Singh as Shamsher Singh Sukhwinder Chahal as Mukhtyar Singh Pramod Pathak as Police Inspector Chandan Kumar Dakssh Ajit Singh as Lakhwinder Singh/Laadi Coral Bhamra as Sweety Hasleen Kaur as sub-inspector Babita Manish Gulati as Monty Singh Eklavey Kashyap as Rocky Ranjha Elisha Mayor as Seher Batra Sachin Negi as Heera Ramandeep Yadav as Saaba Filming The session 1 of the web series was shot over 80 locations across Punjab and no single scene was shot on a set. Episodes Release CAT released on Netflix on December 9, 2022. Reception Anuj Kumar for The Hindu wrote "In the beginning, Randeep seems to be surrounded by lesser actors but as the series progresses, the earthiness of the characters renders a raw appeal. Suvinder aces the part of the two-faced police officer, Dakssh Ajeet Singh is absolutely believable as the sportsman-turned-criminal, and Abhishant Rana delivers the goods as the young Gurnam. So does the ever-reliable Pramod Pathak as the slimy cop. The performances are in sync with the locations, dialect, background score, and editing pattern and have not been dressed up to match the perceived global taste of the streaming audience." Troy Ribeiro for The Free Press Journal gave 4/5 star rating and wrote "Diving deep into the skin of the character, it is Abhishant Rana’s intense performance as the young Gary that helps Randeep slip into the boots of Gurnam Singh with ease. Both are outstanding in their respective roles, as they leave an indelible mark on the screen."