India, Sept. 26 -- Janaawar, the new series from Zee5, has its heart in the right place. A rooted police procedural drama, it deals with caste discrimination in a sensitive manner and asks the question: 'How much can a person take before they turn into the animal the society wants them to be?' The problem is the route it takes to get there. Janaawar has the subtlety of a sledgehammer and dialogue so archaic that they belong in a 70s film, if not a museum. Together, this lack of finesse dulls any well-intentioned storytelling and more-than-decent performances from the principal cast.

Janaawar is set in Chhand, a small town that is divided by caste at every turn. Sub-Inspector Hemant Kumar (Bhuvan Arora) also navigates this discrimination ...