Chaar Yaar Review
Director: Vinay Waikul
Date Created: 2026-10-23 17:39
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Chaar Yaar Review: The Prime Video crime drama directed by Vinay Waikul, set in the Mumbai of the early 2000s. The eight-episode series stars Prayrak Mehta as Jay Gala, Saqib Ayub as Tony Gomes, Purav Jha as Sahil Shaikh, and Naman Jain as Sameer Khilji, four childhood friends whose financial struggles push them towards crime. The supporting cast includes Sai Tamhankar as Inspector Sumati Bhalerao, Sikandar Kher as gangster Imtiaz Engineer, Rajesh Tailang as a senior police officer, Manav Gohil as Wasim, and Chunky Panday as a powerful underworld figure.
Chaar Yaar Review
Prime Video’s Chaar Yaar is about four young friends who have faith in themselves that staying together will help them solve any kind of problem that might arise. The smart friend in this story is Jay, who most of the time leads the others along with Sahil, Sameer and Tony. When Jay requires a hefty sum of money due to his girlfriend named Jinal, they all take help from the gangster, Imtiaz Engineer.
The cricket wager seems to provide an escape at first, but their efforts are thwarted when the bookie gets caught, and they cannot claim their winnings. In the face of such a financial burden, the group is sucked into the even more perilous practice of car theft. The quest to remedy one financial problem leads to their entanglement in the greater criminal scheme of things, all while Inspector Sumati Bhalerao is on their trail.
The first thing I find wrong about the Prime Video series Chaar Yaar is its inability to understand the type of series it is trying to make. Initially, I was intrigued by the concept of four common young men taking more and more irresponsible decisions in the pursuit of earning money. This scenario could have made for a wonderful narrative about friendship, greed, and that one instant when survival justifies doing wrong things. However, the series continues to add more complexities in such a way that the initial concept finds itself pushed into oblivion. When I got involved in one issue, another one cropped up before me.
This storyline, involving car thefts, was supposed to be the point at which the series would establish its pace. It would be quite amusing to watch four novice characters make an effort to transform their difficult circumstances into a successful business venture. The efforts of these guys to organise themselves, earn some money, and save each other provide ample scope for both comedy and drama. In addition, there is something fascinating about how rapidly a desperate move turns into a habit once some money starts flowing in. Unfortunately, the script does not allow for this process to unfold properly. The guys get into difficult situations, get out of one, and land themselves in another.
At the same time, I wanted to know these four friends better, not just as a unit that always finds itself in trouble. Their friendship during childhood should serve as a background for the plot, but it turns out that the problems they face personally seem to be facts of knowledge about the story, not an experience we share as viewers. Problems with money become the explanation for their decision to get involved in criminal activity, but still it was necessary for me to learn more about their life without the business.
The problems they have with lies and secrets become apparent only at times when they create certain conflict that is worth noting, such as the tension between Sahil and Tony. The relationships of Sahil with his cousin Sameer show that there could have been some conflicts there.
In addition to that, Jay was yet another character about whom I would have wanted to know more. Given the fact that Jay appears to be the brains of the outfit, it should have been he who would lead the pack through the choices that would affect them. However, the writing does not always manage to make him intelligent and powerful. The narration itself sometimes appears to be out of place because some of the revelations can be conveyed through scenes rather than through narration. I understood the logic of a young man becoming more self-confident while entering the criminal world.
Sumati might be one of the 2026 series Chaar Yaar’s biggest assets. She is played by Sai Tamhankar, who is trying to do her work with integrity in the face of the corruption she has to face in her workplace and with strong men. This character’s clash with a superior who cares more about taking the credit for her work provides another dimension to her story. The appearance of Wasim, along with the fact that there is unfinished business between him and Sumati, could have provided some good dynamics to her professional life as well. However, Sumati’s storyline often comes across as separate from the criminal ventures of the friends.
However, despite the performances being rather entertaining overall, the writing hampers their ability to really shine through. Purav Jha is endearing as Sahil, and the relationship between the characters provides at times the energy that the show badly needs. With the right build-up, Sai Tamhankar could very well end up being a memorable focal point of the police story. Similarly, Sikandar Kher is good at making Imtiaz a valuable source of antagonism. Nevertheless, there are many underutilised characters here, and even some thrilling moments cannot linger because of the pace of the show.
Prime Video Chaar Yaar Review: Summing Up
Overall, the 2026 Chaar Yaar series still does not entirely fail. The central friendship, the dire situation the boys are in as far as trying to escape the cycle of debt, and the conflict of Sumati with the corrupt system all would make for a fun crime drama. But with the plethora of subplots, lack of character development, uneven flow of action, and vicious circle of problems, those positives do not really merge into something coherent. I was hoping for a fun trip following the adventures of the four buddies, but the series just could not stay away from it.
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