Aahana Swrup
‘Dabba Cartel’ presents a grounded reality in the Mumbai suburbs of Thane, where an aspiring small business owner accidentally becomes a part of a women-run underground drug dealing network. When Raji and Mala initially begin their “tiffin” delivery service—out of the former’s apartment in VivaLife society—they add covert herbal Viagra as a special menu item. However, as their business grows, compelling them to run an office out of a work-in-progress flat at Sankalp Siddhi, a series of unexpected events drive them to become drug dealers that transport stashes of weed in their lunchbox.
Eventually, under the management of Raji’s mother-in-law, Sheila, who comes from a shady past, their business grows, ultimately bringing them to the Orchidia apartment—the home base for their hardcore narcotics operation. Thus, these three society complexes become notable checkpoints in the women’s criminal undertakings. Naturally, as these buildings create the environment around the storyline, their own origins come into question.
VivaLife and Orchidia are Fictional Locations
Despite being a largely fictional story, ‘Dabba Cartel’ achieves a sense of realism through its authentic portrayal of life in suburban Mumbai. As a result, worldbuilding locations like the VivaLife Society and Orchidia play a crucial role in the narrative. Still, since these locations are more intrinsically involved in the storyline, the latter’s fictionality ends up extending to these elements. VivaLife, the starting point for Raji’s lunchbox business, is a society in association with the VivaLife Pharma company. Consequently, the gated society of apartment complexes is populated with the pharmaceutical company’s employees and their families.
This type of housing arrangement between a corporation and its workers reflects a realistic aspect of life in suburban Mumbai. Many companies in metropolitan cities tend to have society complexes of their own that are extended to the employees as housing benefits. However, since VivaLife itself is a work of fictionalization, its apartment complex similarly becomes fictional in origin. Within the show, it serves the purpose of building the social environment around the central characters, strengthening their connections to Thane. Similarly, Orchidia—a recently developed housing society—also retains no direct counterparts in reality.
Orchidia, a yet unoccupied housing society, becomes the perfect location for Sheila and her associates’ base of operations as they expand their drug dealing business. Since the group dips its toes into manufacturing a new party drug, Mithai, the apartment’s vacant status improves its operational ability. The fact that they have a real estate broker among their ranks likely aids in the acquisition of the units. Therefore, Orchidia becomes an efficient marker of the criminal evolution of Raji’s Tiffin business. Yet, much like the business itself, the housing complex is also confined to the show’s fictionality.
Sankalp Siddhi Possibly Has a Real-Life Counterpart
Unlike the other apartment complexes in ‘Dabba Cartel,’ Sankalp Siddhi Co-operative Housing Society—the middling location for Raji’s business—might actually have a reference in real life. The audience will be easily able to find an identically christened location in Goregaon East, Mumbai. The establishment is a residential project that offers a variety of rentable units to the public. Although the location seems to differ visually from the on-screen society, it is possible that it had a hand in inspiring the latter.
Co-operative housing, which leads to close-knit community living in society complexes, is an increasingly common part of the housing landscape in Mumbai and other Indian cities. Since it is common for homeowners of such complexes to rent out units, the show’s equipment of the place as a handy location for Raji’s barely legal business remains probable. However, outside of titular and socioeconomic similarities, the real-life Sankalp Siddhi has no other connections with its on-screen counterpart. Consequently, due to minimal information about the show’s filming location, the connection between the apartment complex and any potential real-life establishments remains unofficial. Ultimately, like VivaLife and Orchidia societies, the narrative inclusion of Sankalp Siddhi also primarily enhances the realism behind the show’s worldbuilding.
Read More: Dabba Cartel: Is the Netflix Show Based on a True Story?
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