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Rudra: An Convoluted Thriller

Rajesh Mapuskar’s Rudra is a psychological thriller/drama that doesn’t quite land. For those who are not aware this series is an official adaptation of the BBC show Luther. Since I haven’t seen Luther I would be talking about this as a standalone one.

This Hindi remake revolves around DCP Rudraveer Singh (Ajay Devgn). He is a part of the special crimes unit of Bombay police, every episode has a new case that puts Rudra to test. The first episode introduces Rashi Khanna’s Aliyah Choksi- she is a genius in space research and also a suspect in a double homicide case. Aliyah’s character keeps coming and going in the series. She is seen affecting Rudra’s professional and personal life. Other important characters include Esha Deol, Atul Kulkarni, Ashwini Kaleskar etc.

One of the few things which work in Rudra is the scenes between Ajay Devgn and Rashi Khanna. The unusual bond that Rudra shares with her is brought out well by the director. Rudra wants to keep away from Aliyah but there are certain times in the series where he has to take help from her. The chemistry between Rudra and Aliyah keeps the series afloat even when things start to go downhill.

It also helps that Rashi Khanna gives a layered performance. She plays her character’s complexities with ease.

Out of the multiple psychopaths KC Shankar is the most terrifying one. The actor plays a painter who paints with blood and gets a kick by drinking other women’s blood. KC Shankar plays his role with an unhinged madness. He is the only villain who stands up to Ajay Devgan’s screen presence.

Another performance worth noting here is that of Ashwini Kalsekar. It is refreshing to see the actress step out of the Golmaal mode and playing an authoritative character.

Ajay Devgn as Rudra gives his trademark intense performance. There isn’t particularly anything new but the actor makes it work. He displays the various shades of his character with finesse.

The biggest issue with Rudra is the underdevelopment of several characters. This can be best seen with Atul Kulkarni’s Gautam. In the initial episodes he is the best friend of Rudra but the character takes a 180 degree transformation, this sudden twist makes you scratch your brains about what the director was thinking.

Another issue with the show is its predictability. The template of Rudra getting it wrong for the first time and solving it in the second chance feels so overdone after a point.

This predictability can also be seen in the scenes of Ajay getting angry. He breaks the things in his cabin and just messes everything around him. As an audience you wonder why the bosses aren’t deducting salary.

The portions involving the turbulent personal life feel more like an add on than anything else. It also doesn’t help that Esha Deol hasn’t improved one bit in all these years.

In a nutshell Ajay Devgn’s OTT debut could have been far better.

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Gangu Comes Alive Through Alia

In her short career so far Alia has done many memorable characters. There have been a few exceptions like Sadak 2 but most of them have hit the mark. Out of all the roles that she has done so far the one which is most recent and most appreciated is that of Gangubai.

The character of Gangubai is in many ways different from what we have seen Alia do earlier. Roles like Highway and Udta Punjab showed the actress playing a young girl but the graph of Gangubai is very different. Here we see the life of Gangubai in three stages. It starts off with her being sold to the brothel house at the age of 16 and goes until the character is in its mid-thirties. Though we don’t see much change in the facial features as it is glamorous throughout still it doesn’t distract you from the viewing experience. The main reason for that is her body language. By body language I mean her walk, voice and eyes. Throughout the film there are many instances where she conveys her various emotions like innocence, sadness, frustration, anger and pain just through her body language. Following are some scenes in the film which bear testimony to this.

Alia is an actress who has become synonymous with her breakdown scenes starting from Highway. There is a general pattern to these, however in this movie we see a very different side to her acting capabilities. There are scenes in the film where you don’t have any breakdown but you still feel her grief. For example in one of the initial scenes where she has to stand in front of a brothel house leaning on a wall calling out to men in whispers. There are no dialogues here but Alia conveys the pain of Ganga superbly just through her eyes. There is a certain emptiness in those eyes.

The song Meri Jaan in the back of the car is also another example of how much she has evolved as an actress. The song starts off as a blossoming romance between Alia and Shantanu’s characters but midway through it takes a different turn. Shantanu’s character tries to get intimate with Alia but she rebukes him, at one point she even gets angry with him. The reason for the anger is that she expects a different relationship with him, not the prostitute-customer relationship. She wants to be cared for, it is an emotion that she has missed for a long time. All this was mostly expressed through her eyes only.

Before the song Dholida there is a scene where Alia makes a trunk call to her father, without knowing that he died already. While her mother is telling her about it the trunk call operator keeps reminding her that there are only thirty seconds left. This frustrates her to no end and not surprisingly Alia expresses her anger in full measure. The summary of what she says is that my father is dead and there are plenty of things to talk, how can you expect me to cover all this in thirty seconds. The loss and pain are superbly brought out by the actor with just her voice.

The Dholida song starts off as a celebration track but soon it moves into a very different zone. In the second part of the song we see the character going into trance and in this again we can see the different emotions that Alia conveys through her body language. The trance state is related to the telephone conversation of the previous scene.

Likewise there are plenty of instances in the film where she conveys emotions through her walk and voice. The tonality of the voice varies in many situations. For example in the school scene she talks in a teasing manner, on the other hand there is an authority that Alia brings to her voice in her scenes with Raziabai (Vijay Raaz). In the Azad Maidan speech we can see Gangubai’s empathy for sex workers. She also makes a strong case for the betterment of the sex workers lives.

In a nutshell Gangubai gives the audiences a whole new Alia.

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Bheemla Nayak: A Boisterous Second Half And Rana Saves The Day

Saagar K Chandra’s Bheemla Nayak tries to be a mix of retaining the spirit of the original Ayyappanum Koshiyum, but at the same time there is lot of fan appeasement particularly in the second half. The director has taken the Adivasi background with Pawan Kalyan’s character being a demi god for the locals. However, the Adivasi background doesn’t really add much value to the story except for the climax. The Adivasi characters are purely there to worship Bheemla and to sing praises of him.

For most part of the first half Pawan Kalyan is subdued. Rana Daggubati’s Daniel Shekhar provokes him multiple times but Bheemla doesn’t give in. Honestly nothing much happens in the first half, it is more like a filler for what is to follow in the second one. But it isn’t a complete bore either thanks to Nithya Menon’s Sugana. It is fun to watch her in her firebrand character. The second half is definitely much better but more on that once we are done discussing the story.

This Ayyappanum Koshiyum remake is set in the forest region connecting Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In the opening minute we see Bheemla Nayak paying his obeisance to the forest, the next shot is Rana Daggubati’s introduction. We see him resting in a car; he tells his driver that the tiger is resting after a few drinks. A folk number by S Thaman leads the audiences through the terrain. Daniel Shekhar does not think it is a crime to have a stash of alcohol when his car is going through the forest zone. Expectedly a clash happens between Daniel and the cops, this leads to something bigger. There is also a back-story to Bheemla which all the villagers know but they won’t discuss it. It is considered a ‘sacred’ oath. Murali Sharma plays Kodandram. He desperately tries to bring some peace. While Ayyapum Koshiyam tackled class divisions among other aspects here those are downplayed significantly. Also while there is a certain restrained approach in the first half still there is no getting away from the hero elevation. The best example of that is the title song where you have ample slow mo shots and hundreds of junior artists.

Rana Daggubati promises epic clash with Pawan Kalyan's Bheemla Nayak in new teaser | Entertainment News,The Indian Express
Rana Daggubati : Ample scope to showcase his towering personality

The movie gets more into the zone after Bheemla is stripped of his official duties. The scenes between Pawan and Rana are more powerful in the second half. It is fun to watch the actors taking on each other. One of the good things here is that Rana isn’t reduced to a junior artist; he gets ample scope to showcase his towering personality. He perfectly carries the attitude of the character from scene 1, his scenes with Samyukhta who plays the wife is quite good to watch. In these scenes we see a softer side to him. Also there is certain decency to his role; this comes through when Rao Ramesh’s character suggests Daniel to use Bheemla’s wife Sugana as a bait in his battle with Bheemla. Daniel scolds him saying that don’t you have shame in suggesting a thing like this.

Bheemla Nayak Movie News: Samyuktha Menon confirms she will be part of 'Bheemla Nayak'
Samyukta Menon, debut in Telugu films

The romance between Pawan Kalyan and Nitya Menon is also interesting because Nitya Menon’s character is no push over. She is appropriately spunky.

The climax fight is too elongated but it still makes an impact. The emotional touch at the end of the fight is quite good.

Pawan Kalyan as Bheemla is suitably restrained and also explosive when required. But his performance comes across as indifferent. The energy levels that you associate with the actor are missing for the most part.

The supporting cast hasn’t got much to do. They are mostly there to watch the show from the sidelines.

The first half as I said is quite a bore. One major reason for that is the mishmash of sensibilities and not knowing what approach to take. Also the music is one big letdown. There is an attempt to give it an earthy touch but it comes across as more artificial. This can be particularly seen in the title song.

Watch Bheemla Nayak for the confrontation scenes between Pawan Kalyan and Rana Daggubati

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Bhamakalapam: An Engaging Thriller

Abhimanyu Tadimeti’s Bhamakalapam is an interesting mix of ingredients such as crime, greed and religion. The director pivots his plot on a Faberge egg that is worth 200 cores. This valuable egg has been stolen and later on gets lost again. Apart from making an engrossing thriller the director also makes a statement on how to find god within. The underlying message here is that not to be misled by anyone who uses religion as a weapon. The film also benefits from Priyamani’s spot on performance.

Bhamakalapam begins with an incident that is eerily similar to 2018’s Andhadhun. Instead of the Rabbit you have a lamb that crosses the path and the car meets with an accident. This of course leads to many things. However the similarities with Andhadhun end here. Anupama Mohan (Priyamani) is a homemaker and also a well known Youtuber. She is famous for her videos on cooking.

But Anupama is more than just a YouTuber, she also keeps an eye on what is happening in neighborhood. You can say that Anupama is her ‘apartments Sherlock Homes’. We get evidence of this early on when she tries to expose the extramarital affair of her neighbour. Her detective work backfires and she is thoroughly embarrassed by her apartment people. She also promises her husband that she wouldn’t peek out of the window again; however fate has different plans for her.

Other important members of the apartment include a pastor who is waiting for divine events to happen. There is also a woman called Saira who is a survivor of domestic abuse. Sharanya of Fida fame plays the domestic help of Anupama called Shilpa.

The biggest reason why Bhamakalapam works is due to the intrigue that the director is able to maintain. He builds up the mystery around the egg really well.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/sbrrlQzaezY?feature=oembed Another major highlight of the film is the scenes between Priyamani and Sharanya. Their scenes are filled with comedy and also tension. The duo is particularly good when the characters become unwilling partners in crime.

The religious aspect is also brought out well by Abhimanyu. The theme of certain men misleading people by using religion isn’t really particularly new but the message is still an important one.

The cinematography by Viplav Nyshadam and music by Justin Prabhakaran also add to the comic thriller mood. For example there is a scene where Anupama finds herself dragged into a situation wishing that she had never taken that step. The sound of the violin has been very well used.

Priyamani as I earlier said is spot on with her performance. She gets the nuances of the character spot on starting from Anupama’s inquisitiveness. Saranya as Shilpa is another ace in the story. The actress is good in both the comic bits and also the ones where she needs to show tension. The rest of the cast are appropriate in their respective roles.

Bhamakalapam is an interesting experiment that deserves to be seen.

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Gehraiyaan: It Is Turmoil All Through

It is difficult to categorize Shakun Batra’s Gehraiyaan in one particular slot. It starts off with the theme of adultery in relationships; from there we move to various alleys. There is some corporate drama, an accidental murder and finally letting go of your past. There are too many things that Shakun tries to put in and the result is a huge mess. This mess becomes more apparent towards the end. There are too many unanswered questions, the film ends with a hint of sequel but it would be honestly better if the makers don’t go ahead it.

Gehraiyaan tells the story of four individuals. Alisha (Deepika Padukone) is a yoga instructor with a troubled past. She is carrying a huge emotional baggage. She has a start- up plan to launch a yoga app. Karan ( Dhairya Karwa) is a writer boyfriend of hers who is trying to get his book published. Their relationship is in muddy waters. Alisha’s cousin Tia (Ananya Pandey) is a well- off US returned girl. She has the best of everything in terms of lifestyle and money. Tia invites Alisha and Karan for a short trip and introduces them to her fiancé Zain (Siddanth Chaturvedi). Zain is flamboyant, impressive and also flirtatious. It doesn’t take long for Zain to flirt with Alisha, sparks fly and eventually bodies meet too. What follows is a complex web of human relationships that leaves you completely puzzled.

The biggest issue with Gehraiyaan is lack of strong foundation for the intimate relationship between Zain and Alisha. It all comes across as too fast, as a result it is difficult to be invested in the characters. Also except for Karan and to an extent Tia both Zain and Alisha are difficult to sympathize with.

The drama revolving around Alisha’s pregnancy is not just old fashioned but it is also irritating. She pushes Zain to the brinks of frustration. As a result you don’t really sympathize with the problems that her character is going through.

Zain, on the other hand, becomes a complete bad person, so there is no question of sympathizing with him anyway.

Shakun uses the high waves to show the turmoil of the characters but the issue is that one problem comes after another. Therefore the loud roar of the waves seems continuous without giving us the relief.

The starcast tries its best to make the script work but it is a difficult task given the nature of the story. However there are some emotional bits which work in bits and pieces. For example, there is a conversation between Nassurudin Shah and Deepika Padukone towards the end. This bit is quite effective mainly because of Nassurudin Shah. Ananya Pandey also scores in the few emotional bits that she has, Dhairya Karwa as Karan fits the laid back attitude of the character but he hasn’t got a lot to do.

In a nutshell Shakun Batra needs to take a serious break from adultery and strained relationships; he needs to write his stories better.

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The Great Indian Murder: Much More Than Just A Murder Mystery

Vikas Swarup’s Six suspects was a book which used the format of an investigate thriller to talk about the rampant corruption that runs through in all the systems. The character of Vicky Rai who gets killed in his own party was a just a medium through which Vikas Swarup explored the different facets of our contemporary society. For those who are not aware, the book was about a playboy called Vicky Rai. He is the son of the home minister of Uttar Pradesh. He gets embroiled in a murder case, but he quickly gets acquittal being the home minister’s son. To celebrate his acquittal he throws a party in his farm house. In that party he gets killed by a gun shot. The police arrest six guests on the grounds of suspicion.

Among those who are arrested there is a bureaucrat who claims to have become Mahatma Gandhi. Director Tigmanshu Dullia takes the Skelton of this book and gives it his own touch. There are certain characters in the book which aren’t here but you don’t really miss them as Tigmanshu delivers a mostly satisfying thriller.

The very first episode sets the base for what is to follow. You have a wealthy womanizer Vicky Rai (Jatin Goswami). He has thrown a bash to celebrate his acquittal at his Delhi farmhouse. The party includes family, friends, foes and also quite a few gate-crashers.

Ashutosh Rana plays the father of Vicky Rai. He is a power mongering home minister. Fireworks begin soon after Vicky Rai’s speech. In these fireworks someone has shot a bullet that leads to the death of Vicky Rai.

There are three people who come under the most suspicion for Vicky Rai’s death. One is a slum- dwelling thief (Shashank Arora), another is a tribal who is looking for a stolen ancient idol and lastly there is the former chief secretary (Raghubir Yadav). He is suffering from split personality, due to the split personality he sometimes starts behaving like Gandhi.

There are also other characters that may or may not have had a hand in the murder of Vicky Rai. One of them is Vicky Rai’s own father. Thrown into this mix are a top cop and a CBI officer. These characters are played by Richa Chadda and Pratik Gandhi respectively. Revealing anything more wouldn’t be appropriate since this is a thriller, also there are many mini stories within that are important to the plot.

The most striking aspect of The Great Indian Murder is the grip that writer director Tigmanshu Dhulia maintains for the most part of the show. There is lot of back and forth which is going on, the sequence of events keep on changing with plenty of twists and turns. It is a lot to handle but Tigmanshu makes good use of the Rashomon approach. The underlining theme of the show is the manipulating of evidence for political mileage.

Each character shows a different side of our society. My most favorite one is that of Shashank Arora. Yes, he is a slum dwelling thief but at the same time there is an inherent decency to his character. The trajectory of his role has an emotional touch. His love for Vicky Rai’s sister and how he goes out of his way to help her leaves you quite emotional.

Another character which needs to be mentioned here is that of Raghubir Yadav. His split personality gives the show some of its best moments. The scenes where he switches over to Gandhi are very amusing, to say the least. There are several jibes that the director takes through his character. 

While most of the characters are well written there are also some which could have done with more bite. An example of this is Paoli Dam who plays an actress. She is someone who has been body shamed and also physically assaulted by Vicky Rai. She even goes to a television channel and blasts Vicky Rai with her words. However, she is soon pushed to the background after the first two episodes.

Also the handling of the many tracks slows the proceedings at certain junctures. You can see that Tigmanshu is trying his best to tie up the many subplots, the strain of that shows up more than once.

In this huge ensemble Shashank Arora and Raghubir Yadav stand out the most.

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Bro Daddy: A Watchable Family Entertainer That Never Becomes Memorable

Prithviraj Sukumaran’s first directorial debut Lucifer was a well made political drama within the commercial framework but it wasn’t a film that stayed with you. With Bro Daddy the director attempts a comedy. Just like Lucifer, Bro Daddy also relies heavily on the screen presence of the legendary Mohanlal to make it work. Although Prithviraj has casted himself as the second lead it is Mohanlal who runs away with the show most of the time.

Prithviraj takes the conflict point from the film Badhaai Ho. Just like Neena Gupta’s character in Badhaai Ho here too Meena who plays Mohanlal’s onscreen wife gets pregnant at a late age, the sons in both the films aren’t happy with their mother getting pregnant at that age. However, director /actor Prithviraj Sukumaran doesn’t fully dwell into this topic, he treats it as a mere side plot as the proceedings unfold.

Bro Daddy begins off with a short animation clip. This clip gives the audience a good idea about what to expect from the film. Constant jokes are made about the age gap between father John Kattadi (Mohanlal) and son Eesho John (Prithviraj Sukumraran). The age gap jokes just don’t end here; the audiences are reminded of it at frequent intervals. The reason for the age gap between the father and son is that John and Anna (Meena) had married quite young.

They are waiting for their son Eesho (Prithviraj) to marry. Eesho works as an advertising professional. He is in a relationship with a girl who is also Anna (Kalyani Priydarshni). This Anna is the daughter of John’s best friend Kurian (Lalu Alex). The reason for Kurian naming his daughter Anna too is that once upon a time he wanted to marry Meena’s Anna. However, it wasn’t possible due to certain circumstances. But Kurian’s love for her is still there. Whenever Kurian meets or talks to her soothing background music starts playing.

Coming back to the plot, the parents of both the parties don’t know that their children are having a live in a relationship in Bangalore. Things take a turn when Kalyani Priyadarshini’s Anna gets pregnant and she decides to go ahead with the baby. Eesho isn’t happy with her decision but there is nothing much he can do. Another shock awaits Eesho when his father calls and says that he needs to discuss something important with him in person. What follows are a bunch of comic set pieces, some of them definitely land but there are also certain episodes that leave you with a bitter taste.

One of the things that Prithviraj gets right is the characters of John and Kurian, as John Kattadi Mohanlal oozes charm and vitality in every frame. His comic timing feels absolutely effortless, at no point you feel that the actor is trying too hard. His comic timing and expressions play a major role in some of the jokes really landing well.

Kurian’s Lalu Alex is another character which is worth mentioning here. The core of Kurian is his caged anger management issues. As Kurian Lalu Alex not only displays wonderful comic timing but he also gives a strong performance in the emotional bits.

For example, there is a key scene in the second half involving the big reveal. His hurt at being kept in the dark by his best friend and also his daughter is wonderfully brought out by the actor.

The father and the son equation also gives the film some lovely moments. John Kattadi comes across as more of a friend than dad to Eesho.

The biggest downer of Bro Daddy is the lack of strong emotional connect. This can be particularly seen in the characters of Meena and Kalyani Priyadarshini. Both the Anna’s start off strongly but they are left midway. The character of Esho is also something which leaves a lot to be desired.

The frustrations of Esho are understandable but there is not much development in the character that you see. Before the pre- climax there is a scene where John makes his son understand Kurian’s point of view. However, the transformation feels very abrupt and doesn’t give a complete sense of him having changed.

Some of the comedy bits are too annoying to say the least. Soubin Shahir’s event manager is meant to be a spoof but instead of being amused you feel like fast forwarding.

There is a serious hangover of Priyadarshan’s Hindi fims that you find in the comic style adopted by Prithviraj Sukumaran. This method doesn’t really pay dividends here as the humor hasn’t got that rip roaring quality to it. It is another matter that Priyadarshan himself has become a stale filmmaker over the years.

Watch Bro Daddy if you are in the mood for some light hearted fun but don’t expect too much.

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Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein: A Twisted Love Story That Keeps You Hooked

The story of Siddarth Sengupta’s Yeh Kaali Ankhein isn’t particularly new. Love triangles where one person is obsessed with another isn’t an unfamiliar space, here instead of a male obsessive/possessive lover you have a female. But what makes the show click is the treatment. Every episode ends on a cliffhanger which arouses curiosity in the audience. The twist at the end in particular deserves a special mention. It is not only something that catches you unawares but it also sets up the base for an exciting season 2.

This eight episode series is set in the imaginary town of Onkara. The plot focuses on the character of Vikrant played by Tahir Raj Bhasin. His father (Bijendra Kala) works under the powerful politician of that area Akhiraj (Saurab Shukla). Vikrant’s life plan is very simple. He wants to move out of Onkara, get a job and have a happily ever after with the love of his life Shikha played by Shweta Tripathi. But his life turns upside down with the entry of a childhood classmate Purva (Anchal Singh). Adding to Vikrant’s misery she is the daughter of the politician under which his father works. Purva’s obsession with Vikrant had started from school itself and now it has reached a dangerous level. Things take such a turn that Vikrant is forced to marry Purva as a result his life turns upside down. Since this is a thriller revealing anything more wouldn’t be appropriate.

An important aspect of a genre like this is how you keep audiences on the edge of their seat, it has to be said that the director does a splendid job in keeping the audiences guessing. The way the narrative moves between reality and Vikrant’s imagination is neatly done. The director also deserves credit for the way he sets up the story in the first twenty minutes of the first episode. There is no dragging or beating around the bush.

The lights moments have also been smartly integrated into the plot. Most of them involve Vikrant and his family. The son’s desperation to move away and do something with his life and the father’s inability to understand it raise many chuckles. These scenes provide a much needed comic relief from the tense drama.

Siddarth Sengupta also deserves appreciation for the way he shapes up the character of Vikrant. The journey of Vikrant from a small time boy to a man on mission is smoothly done. Because of this the grey shades of Vikrant’s character in the latter half of the show do not feel abrupt. It also helps that Tahir captures the nuances perfectly; he doesn’t miss a single beat. Anchal Singh’s Purva is another big winner. The most striking aspect of her performance is the way she uses her eyes. Every time she smiles at Vikrant audiences feel a sense of uneasiness. She is perfect as the intimidating and unforgiving Purva. In comparison to Tahir and Anchal, Shweta Tripathi’s character doesn’t feel adequately fleshed out. She feels mostly underutilized in spite of being one of the major characters. Her job is mostly confined to being on the run and waiting for Vikrant’s instructions. There is a half hearted attempt to give her some agency but it feels labored. Here’s hoping that she will have a better role in season 2.

Saurab Shukla is an actor who doesn’t need any special introduction. He has proved his worth many times in the past and here too he gets perfectly into the headspace of Akhiraj

The cinematography by Murzy Pagdiwala adds authenticity to the plot. The atmospherics feel real starting from the river Ghats and dams.

Watch Ye Kaali Kaali Ankhein if you are in the mood for a twisted tale of power, love and deceit.

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Human: A Show That Is Going To Haunt You For A Long Time

Vipul Amrutal and Mozez Singh’s Human is a deeply disturbing portrait on how the poor become sacrificial lambs at the secret clinical trials. The people in this case are victims who belong to the families of Bhopal gas tragedy. Most of the medical professionals that you meet in the show are manipulators of different kinds with few exceptions. It is true that the show presents a rather bleak picture of the medical community, however, at the same time the underbelly of the pharmaceutical industry is something which cannot be ignored either. The show is not making a statement that all doctors are evil, it only wants to show how some medical professionals lure the poor in order to test the drugs on them.

The story of Human revolves around a pharma giant that is trying to fast track the development of a new drug in spite of fully knowing its side effects. Kriti Kulhari plays Dr Saira Sabharwal. She lands a dream job in Bhopal’s premier hospital under the mentorship of the famous 45- year old Dr Gauri Nath (Shefali Shah). Saira looks up to Gauri as an inspiration, she feels that Gauri is an embodiment of goodness. However, she doesn’t know that Gauri is not what she appears to be on the surface. Saira grows a lot under Gauri’s tutelage as the two women start to form a deep bond. However, her life turns upside down when a shocking discovery throws her life into a chaos. This discovery is intertwined with that of a young migrant worker Mangu (Vishal Jethwa of Maardani 2 fame). Another important character is that of Roma ma (Seema Biswas). Roma and Gauri share a special relationship.

The most striking aspect of Human is the writing of Mozez Singh and Ishani Banerjee. It is not easy to showcase the ills of a profession that is considered very sacred but the writers do a wonderful job in exploring the hierarchy that exists in our society. They don’t confine themselves to just illegal drug tests, they expand the story by showcasing a number of societal evils. There are many times where the audiences will be deeply unsettled but in a good way.

The Bhopal gas tragedy has also been smartly integrated into the plot. It is not used for mere technicality. The directors deserve a huge appreciation for the sensitivity with which they have showcased the plight of the numerous generations which have been effected because of the gas tragedy.

However, it also has to be said that certain subplots don’t quite land. For example, the lesbian track of Saira feels convoluted and doesn’t really serve much purpose. The show could have also done with some trimming. The last few episodes after Saira’s expose of Gauri feel like a drag. Instead of ten, eight episodes would have been better.

The technical team of Human also does a wonderful job in creating the right atmospherics. The cinematography, production design and background score play a major part in the audiences being invested.

Shefali Shah scores the highest marks for her performance as Gauri. We don’t first see Gauri as a villain but as the show progresses several layers come out. By the end the audiences go from ‘Oh so good lady’ to please someone stop her’. The range that she shows is incredible to say the least. On a personal note can’t wait to see Shefali Shah and Alia sharing screen space in Darlings. It will be a pleasure to watch the two dynamite actresses together.

Kirti Kulhari is also in good form as a woman who is working hard to give her life a meaning. There are many emotional moments where the actress makes a striking impression. Vishal Jethwa is another standout performer. It is a far cry from what he played in Mardaani 2. Unlike Mardaani 2’s character, Mangu is vulnerable and helpless here. The actor does a good job in bringing out the nuances.

Watch Human for the performances and the reality it portrays.