General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Devkhel

Devkhel (देवखेळ) is a 2026 Marathi-language thriller and crime web series directed by Chandrakant Gaikwad and released on the streaming platform ZEE5 on 30 January 2026¹. Its seven episodes follow Inspector Vishwas Saranjame, newly transferred to the Konkan coastal town of Guhagar, as he investigates a death in the fictional village of Devtali, where a villager has died every Holi night for 15 years and the deaths are attributed to the mythical demon Shankasur¹^•². The series stars Ankush Chaudhari and Prajakta Mali and was produced by Cine Masters Production².

Key fact	Detail
Title	Devkhel (देवखेळ), meaning "God's Play"³
Release	30 January 2026, ZEE5; audio in Marathi and Hindi with English subtitles¹
Format	7 episodes, roughly 20 to 31 minutes each, rated U/A 16+⁴
Genre	Thriller, crime¹
Director and writers	Chandrakant Gaikwad; written by Nikhil Palande, Gaurav Relekar, and Gaikwad⁵
Lead cast	Ankush Chaudhari, Prajakta Mali, Arun Nalawade, Yatin Karyekar, Mangesh Desai, Veena Jamkar³
IMDb rating	7.1/10 from 594 user ratings⁶
Second season	Announced by ZEE5 in August 2026, with Chaudhari and Mali returning⁷

Spoilers

Premise and plot

The story is set in Devtali, a village in the Konkan region of Maharashtra where the annual Shimga (Holi) festival centers on a play about the demon Shankasur. For 15 years, one villager has died on Holi night, and the villagers accept these deaths with devotion as divine punishment inflicted on a "sinner" each year⁸. According to the Scroll.in review by Nandini Ramnath, whoever misbehaves during the year dies during Holi, and no red flags have been raised about the pattern; only a YouTuber with barely any followers is interested in the story⁵.

The pattern breaks when the latest victim is described as a good man. Inspector Vishwas, who has moved to the area with his father for mental peace, believes a human murderer is at work and investigates despite the villagers' superstition⁵. In the second episode a body is found and identified as Rajan, and the police suspect Shankar Mahadik while also watching Sadanand, Raghunath, and Ganesh, the three men who play Shankasur in the village play⁴. Later episodes interleave the investigation with a backstory about a boy shaped by an alcoholic father and abusive villagers, who came to believe the Shankasur stories were true; DNA reports and a letter eventually redirect the case, and in the finale Vishwas travels to the culprit's hometown, returns to Devtali to arrest the killer, and keeps him out of jail⁴.

Cast and characters

Ankush Chaudhari plays Inspector Vishwas Saranjame, in his debut role on an OTT platform⁹. Prajakta Mali plays Sarika Nimkar, a quiet, understanding woman whose marriage is arranged with another man and who suffers harassment; Arun Nalawade plays Vishwas's father Balkrushna Saranjame, Yatin Karyekar plays Vishwanath Nimkar, Mangesh Desai plays SP Rangane, and Veena Jamkar plays Lakshmi³. The supporting cast includes Sayali Deodhar as Sonali, Rohan Surve as Sub Inspector Omkar Bhide, Onkar Bhojane as Shafiq Tailor, Uma Sardeshmukh as Dr. Karnik, and Ambarish Deshpande as Shankar Mahadik².

Production and release

The series was produced by Cine Masters Production, with Chandrakant Gaikwad credited as director, story writer, and producer alongside Vinayak Jadhav, who also handled cinematography¹⁰. Filming took place in Guhagar taluka in the Konkan region¹¹. Prajakta Mali announced the series on social media in January 2026, and the official trailer was released on 21 January 2026, drawing roughly 8.4 million views on ZEE5's YouTube channel before launch¹²^•¹³. All seven episodes were released together on 30 January 2026¹.

Reception

Critical response. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in wrote that the series is not as suspenseful as it thinks it is, noting that several episodes begin with a prologue that supplies both motive and opportunity, but credited Ankush Chaudhari's portrayal of the bad-tempered, irreverent Vishwas as the unruly element that steers the predictable plot⁵. Shaheen Irani of OTTplay rated the series 3.0 out of 5, calling it mired in stereotypes and weak in screenplay while praising Chaudhari's performance when his character loses his calm and Mali's powerful entry scene; the review concluded the show is a one-time watch³. On IMDb the series holds a 7.1/10 rating from 594 votes, with individual episode ratings between 8.4 and 8.9⁶.

Controversy. MLA Bhaskar Jadhav demanded an immediate ban on the series, alleging that it portrayed Shankasur, an object of centuries-old faith and cultural tradition in the Konkan, as murderous and cruel. He also alleged that villagers were told a documentary on Shankasur was being made when a web series was actually being filmed¹¹.

Second season

In August 2026, ZEE5 announced a new Marathi content slate that included Devkhel Season 2 from Cinemasters Production, bringing back Ankush Chaudhari and Prajakta Mali⁷. A teaser released with the announcement hints that Vishwas and Sarika have married and shows Sarika holding a blood-stained sickle, with the launch date yet to be declared⁹.

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › South and Southeast Asian serials › Marathi and Bengali serials

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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