Goa is usually about the beaches. Sunsets. Cheap beer. But if you’ve actually sat down and binged Smoke Season 1, you know that version of Goa is a total lie. It’s a facade. The show, which premiered on Eros Now back in late 2018, doesn't care about your vacation photos. Instead, it dives headfirst into a murky underworld of narcotics, cartels, and internal power struggles that feel way more gritty than the neon-lit trailers suggested. It’s messy. It’s loud. Honestly, it’s one of the few Indian web series that actually tried to handle an ensemble cast without letting the plot fall apart by episode four.
What Smoke Season 1 Was Actually Trying To Do
Most crime dramas pick a side. You’ve got the "good" cops and the "bad" dealers. Smoke Season 1 doesn't really play that game. It's about a vacuum. When a major drug kingpin gets taken out, everyone—and I mean everyone—scrambles to grab the crown. You have local gangs, international cartels, and the Anti-Narcotics Squad all colliding in this humid, claustrophobic version of paradise.
The pacing is frantic. Some people hated that. If you’re used to the slow-burn prestige dramas where characters stare at walls for ten minutes to show "depth," this might feel like a shock to the system. It moves fast. Too fast? Maybe. But it captures that sense of panic that happens when a criminal hierarchy collapses overnight.
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The Cast Is The Real Hook
You can’t talk about this show without mentioning the heavy hitters. We’re talking Tom Alter in one of his final roles, which gives the whole thing this weird, bittersweet gravity. Then you’ve got Jim Sarbh. Jim does what Jim does best—being unpredictably charismatic and slightly terrifying. He plays Roy, and his energy is basically the caffeine that keeps the middle episodes from sagging.
Then there’s Kalki Koechli, Gulshan Devaiah, and Amit Sial. It’s a stacked deck. Usually, when a show has this many "names," someone gets sidelined, but the writing manages to give most of them a distinct motive. They aren't just chess pieces; they’re people with really bad habits and even worse luck. Gulshan Devaiah, in particular, brings this specific brand of quiet intensity that makes you realize just how high the stakes are for the locals caught in the crossfire.
Why People Got Confused By The Ending
Look, let’s be real. The narrative structure of Smoke Season 1 is a bit of a labyrinth. It doesn't hold your hand. If you blink during a dialogue exchange in episode six, you might spend the rest of the season wondering why a certain character is suddenly dead or why a deal went south.
The show operates on the idea of "The Butterfly Effect." One small betrayal in a shack on the beach ripples out until it’s affecting high-level politicians. The central conflict isn't just about drugs; it's about the soul of the state. Is Goa a tourist destination or a transit point for global crime? The show argues it’s both, and those two worlds cannot coexist without someone getting burned.
Some critics at the time felt the plot was "too busy." I get it. There are a lot of threads. You have the Russian mob, the local peddlers, and the police politics. But if you watch it as a portrait of chaos rather than a standard "whodunnit," it actually makes a lot of sense. It’s about the smoke—you can see it, you can smell it, but you can’t quite grab it before it disappears.
Production Value and the "Anti-Goa" Aesthetic
Visually, the show avoids the saturated yellows and blues of Bollywood songs. It looks damp. It looks hot. You can almost feel the sweat on the actors' collars. The cinematography by Saurabh Goswami focuses on the back alleys and the decaying colonial architecture. It strips away the glamour. This was a deliberate choice by director Neel Guha to ensure the audience never felt "at home" in the setting.
The music also plays a huge role. It’s jarring. It’s modern. It fits the erratic heartbeat of the drug trade. It’s not trying to be a cinematic masterpiece in every frame, but it’s trying to be authentic to the grime.
Comparing Smoke To Other Indian Crime Thrillers
By the time Smoke Season 1 dropped, we already had Sacred Games and Mirzapur. Those were the giants. Compared to them, Smoke felt like the indie cousin who showed up to the party with a darker, weirder vibe.
- Sacred Games was about destiny and religion.
- Mirzapur was about raw power and hinterland violence.
- Smoke is about the economy of vice.
It’s more cynical in a way. There’s no grand philosophy here. It’s just people trying to survive a very bad week where everyone is lying to them. If you liked the "poly-centric" storytelling of shows like The Wire, where different layers of society are shown simultaneously, you’ll appreciate what they were going for here, even if the execution is a bit more "Bollywood-thriller" than "HBO-drama."
Is There A Season 2?
This is the question that keeps popping up in forums. The first season ended on several cliffhangers. The fate of several major players was left dangling in the humid air. For a long time, there was radio silence.
The reality of the streaming industry in India is that sometimes great shows get lost in the shuffle of corporate mergers and shifting priorities. Eros Now went through significant changes, and while there were always rumors of a script being ready, the momentum slowed down. However, the cult following for Smoke Season 1 hasn't really gone away. People still discover it on the platform and wonder why it isn't talked about in the same breath as the big-budget hits.
Actionable Insights For Viewers
If you’re planning to dive into this series now, don't go in expecting a light watch. It requires focus.
Watch for the subtext. The show is actually a pretty scathing critique of how tourism can hollow out a local culture. The "smoke" isn't just the drugs; it's the illusion of safety that the travel brochures sell you.
Track the loyalties. Characters flip sides faster than a coin toss. Pay attention to the scenes involving the Anti-Narcotics Squad—that's where the real moral decay is hidden.
Appreciate the performances. Even if the plot feels like it’s spinning its wheels occasionally, the acting never falters. This is a masterclass in ensemble performance from some of India’s best character actors.
To get the most out of it:
- Watch it in blocks. The episodes are short, and the momentum builds better if you watch three at a time.
- Focus on the Roy and JJ dynamic. Their relationship is the emotional anchor of the chaos.
- Don't look for a "hero." There isn't one. Everyone is compromised.
The show remains a fascinating time capsule of the early "Golden Age" of Indian streaming. It was experimental, risky, and unapologetically dark. While it might not have the massive marketing budget of its peers, the grit and the performances make it a mandatory watch for anyone who wants to see the darker side of the sunshine state.
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Next Steps for the Viewer:
Check your Eros Now subscription or look for the series on partnered platforms like Virgin TV or certain Amazon Prime Video channels depending on your region. Start with the first three episodes to get a handle on the sprawling cast before the real "war" begins in the mid-season.