Karmma Calling producer Ashutosh Shah reveals how it took them 10 years to get Raveena Tandon on board

A murder on the beach shakes the swish set of Alibaug out of its self-obsessed stupor. Posited as both a preface and the probable final act of Karmma Calling, a seven-part Hotstar Specials series, the prelude points to what lies ahead for the denizens of the seaside enclave of the rich and the callously amoral.

A young woman with vengeance on her mind is on the prowl. The girl's prime target is a 1990s Bollywood diva-turned-socialite and her family. Protecting her turf comes easy to the obdurate matriarch. On the personal front, however, life isn't smooth sailing for her. Her husband strays and gets away with it. Her children do not see eye to eye with her.

As life goes on in the neighbourhood, dark secrets, pent-up rage, extra-marital liaisons, crass conspiracies, fake friendships and brazen betrayals come to the fore and upset a carefully constructed facade. The plot, busy and overheated, has momentum.