Summary
A satisfying and (mostly) happy ending brings an entertaining caper to a well-earned conclusion.
The eight-episode Netflix series Choona has all the hallmarks of a classic heist thriller. It’s an exciting caper blending humor and excellent character development as a ragtag team of underdogs attempt to take revenge on a ruthless, superstitious politician. But what happens at the end of Choona Season 1? Well, we’re here to tell you, though be warned that major spoilers are ahead.
First, an outline.
The politician is Shukla, an astrology-obsessed man with a lust for power who has wronged enough people in his political career that they can form an entire, bumbling team. That team includes struggling alcoholic contractor JP, Baankey and his sister Bela, goon Ansari, the unpredictable Triloki, and the classic inside man Bishnu, Shukla’s mute brother-in-law.
It also comes to include Pandit Ji, a presumed-dead astrologer whom Shukla tried to have killed.
Across the eight episodes, the crew develops a plan that includes Triloki disguising himself as a mystical seer to manipulate the superstitious Shukla. Naturally, things all look to be going a bit pear-shaped as we rattle towards the ending, but there’s a decently happy ending in store.
To get the obvious out of the way: Yes, the heist in Choona is a success. There’s a satisfyingly slapstick, almost childish quality to Shukla losing his ill-gotten gains and ending up locked in the bathroom of his office on video call to Ansari, Bankey, Bishnu, JP, Pandit Ji, and Triloki, who all make fun of his misfortune.
After saying an embarrassing password to secure his freedom, Shukla sells off all his assets to pay back Shenoy Builders and ends up in prison anyway. He serves his time, and when he emerges from prison he decides to return to his birthplace to start again.
He still very much believes in mythology.
This quite happy ending does not, however, extend to Ansari, since Bela decides not to marry him.
This love story is a central component of Choona. It begins when Bela’s flirtations reveal that their friendship could really be something more, but their relationship was kept a secret for a while. It’s through Shukla, predictably, that the truth came out.
While Ansari shows obvious affection for Bela and her unborn child, she remains somewhat unconvinced of his devotion to their relationship, even after Baankey comes around to the idea. After their success, Ansari proposes to Bela, but she rejects him on the grounds that he wants to be Chief Minister more than he wants to be a father.
