Vadhuvu: This Thriller Has Its Moments But Director Poluru Krishna Fails In Sustaining The Audience’s Interest Throughout

December 11, 2023

One of the things that work for ‘Vadhuvu’ is the short duration of its episodes. Each episode is a little above 20 minutes.

A watchable fare!

Vadhuvu (Telugu)

Cast: Avika Gor, Nandu Vijay Krishna, and Ali Reza
Director: Poluri Krishna
Producers: Abhishek Dogra and Shrikant Mohta
Music: Sriram Maddury
No. of episodes: 7
OTT platform: Disney+ Hotstar

Thrillers are one of the most tough genres to execute for any director.

Engaging the audience in the guessing game and making them feel a sense of high throughout is not an easy job.

Vadhuvu, directed by Poluru Krishna, has an interesting storyline and mysterious characters who come with a set of motivations. However, the director is not entirely successful in keeping the audience hooked.

For those who are not aware, Vadhuvu is based on a Bengali show titled “Indu“. Since I have not seen that, this will be a standalone review.

Synopsis

Poluru Krishna directorial Vadhuvu — Poluru Krishna’s directorial ‘Vadhuvu’. (X)

Anjuri Indu’s (Avika Gor) wedding gets cancelled when her younger sister runs away with her groom.

This affects Indu and her family psychologically. After a year, Indu finally gets another match. She is married to Anand (Nandu), but even this doesn’t happen smoothly.

After entering Anand’s house, Indu comes across some mysterious scenarios.

What are the reasons behind Anand’s family behaving suspiciously? Why did Indu’s sister run away with the groom that Indu was supposed to marry?

The rest of the plot is about unravelling answers to these questions.

Analysis

One of the things that work for Vadhuvu is the short duration of its episodes. Each episode is a little over 20 minutes. As a result, the viewers don’t feel restlessness even when things stagnate.

As mentioned above, the characters in Vadhuvu are mysterious, and this works for the series, at least initially. As viewers, you know something weird is happening, and this keeps you hooked on what might be the reasons behind it.

In the technical department, the background score deserves a definite mention. It is suitably eerie and adds to the tense atmosphere.

There isn’t much scope for the cameraman to showcase his work here since the series has an indoor setting. Nevertheless, the cinematography is quite good.

Performances

Avika Gor in Vadhuvu — Avika Gor in ‘Vadhuvu’. (X)

As far as acting is concerned, the trio of Avika Gor, Ali Reza, and Nandu do most of the heavy lifting. Avika Gor does a good job of depicting the turmoil of Indu.

Ali Reza gets a good amount of screen time as Indu’s brother-in-law Arya. He successfully showcases the grey shades of his role.

Nandu, as Iindu’s husband, is a delight to watch in the way he skillfully conveys the frustration and suspicious nature of Anand.

The rest of the actors leave little to no impact.

A major issue with Vadhuvu is certain repetitiveness in the proceedings and the slow pacing. There are some redundant scenes which the director could have easily done away with.

Also, the web show leaves you with more questions than answers. There are too many cliffhangers that come across as a major deterrent in the way of the audience’s enjoyment.

Final take

Vadhuvu is a web series that is just about watchable.

The mysterious characters and the performances of the central trio leave an impact. It is not a solid thriller though.