Andhera (Season 1)
Introduction
The new Hindi show Andhera immediately makes for a very interesting case study. The graph of the show is typically an inverted parabola – where it takes a while for the concept to kick in before reaching its peak. But instead of then capitalizing on its peak, the downward spiral begins when the writers throw in every bloody concept that has ever existed for a horror. It is that kind of a test match wicket wherein batting is tough at the start, only for it to progressively get better. But inexplicably, the deterioration of the pitch begins again, results in batting getting tougher. The start of Andhera is at best clunky – featuring a girl who would soon be shown to commit suicide from a hotel room. Now everytime you want the viewers to engage in atmospheric horror leading to a jump scare, the key movement remains of the camerawork featuring tight frames that you make you a part of the space. But the opening shot itself was a classic case of amateur filmmaking, with zoomed out shots that never really allowed the viewers to dwell in the ‘darkness’. And in hindsight, this little passage was a metaphor of sorts – of escaping this darkness when I had a chance, because the journey ahead would threaten to sizzle but eventually flatter to deceive in a show that virtually witnessed me aging through its runtime of 6 hours and 40 minutes!
Story & Screenplay
Written by Karan Anshuman, Chintan Sarda, Raaghav Dar, Gaurav Desai and Akshat Ghidial, Andhera remains a classic case of a horror show overstuffed to the point that the drama becomes sluggish and completely derails by the end of things. The concept of the show is easily a winner – the horror emerging from the darkest space of depression in a haunting city that would further push you into darkness. The allegory on mental illness is witnessed through multiple characters namely Jay (Karanvir Malhotra) who is haunted by the visions of a demonic entity, at times even resembling his brother Prithvi (Pranay Pachauri), Jude (Kavin Dave) haunted by similar visions given his deep-rooted depression of separating from his family and daughter post a crime that he committed. They team up with Kalpana (Priya Bapat), a cop harassed at her work place by patriarchs, and a vlogger Rumi (Prajakta Koli) who runs a channel called ‘Paranormal Club’. There is also a subplot straight out of Excel’s Dabba Cartel with a queer angle that unfolds featuring Kalpana with another character who somehow fits herself in the maze.
The writing here is ambitious wherein the good ol’ phrase of less is more, never plays its part. It is like the chaotic T20 game wherein the batters would continue to swing despite the team being in a fairly good state. So the result remains simple – the runs begin to flow but so do the wickets. The idea of loneliness in a city shows promise initially, with darkness used as a metaphor in many ways. For instance, you have the character of Jude who always carries his UV lights in order to escape the dark – or in his case, loneliness. This is true even for Jay, who frequently has to live under the guilt of his brother being in a state of coma following an accident, to the point that he begins to even imagine objects around him that doesn’t exist. And yet, this concept self implodes with the kind of detailing that follows!
The show is packed with subplots that overcrowds the drama, to the point that it doesn’t stick to a single germ of an idea. There is a capitalist angle involving a pharma company, a machine for the brain that stores data, an illegal experiment being run by compromised individuals, a henchman who frequently goes either for scouts or hunts, some patients who start behaving abnornally, the darkness that spreads from one human to another, a healing center called Aatma Healing, a doctor who has the tag of E-V-I-L written on him that isn’t visible to the naked eye of other characters, a patient that is dead and then brought to life before again dying, and passages and passages of hallucinations that unfold, some including that of a 10 year old boy. If that sentence was long, so was the show – even as I apparently celebrated my birthday twice during the duration of the show! The point being that all of it doubles up as an information dump, even while the show tries packing in some interesting twists and turns with respect to its concept.
The writing needed the focused energy of Amazon Prime’s other horror show – Khauf, that strictly focused on the horrors of the male gaze as viewed through the lens of different female characters of different demographics. Instead, the concepts in this show just go on an over-ambitious overkill – from dealing with mental trauma to infusing the proceedings with a mytho-horror straight out of a comic book called Satya The Warrior, or even resorting to a flashback involving another character who apparently was Patient Zero of Darkness, that triggered an origin story of sorts. It was the density of the information that killed the drama, so much so that a significant character is randomly killed in a shootout, that made mein go ‘Ayein’ (like in the meme), a reaction so loud that it also extended in a scene imvolving the death of another character (or was it the other way round? I was disillusioned by then just like Jay).
The overkill further goes on an overkill at a time when I had mentally switched off completely from the show. I hardly cared for a character that had creeped out of the dead to reveal his/her real self, while being on an impersonation spree all along. The clarity on the objectivity of the show was never explored beyond the ordinary, even as reel darkness enveloped the real one, in a fight for identity that make my mind go on a wordplay – Andhera in Andheri🥹. It all became too convenient in a story of good versus evil, or should I say – darkness versus the light in a finale that was serviceable. Needless to also say that the fetish for the second season is still in play, even as the screenplay acts like a patient on the show – dead at the start, alive in the second act, and dead again at the end!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational but the ability to clarify the exact concept of the show, was a missed opportunity through the lines. This is not to say that I haven’t understood the show – I have! But the onus lies on the writers to simplify the same either through the visuals or the lines, wherein here, it was neither. The visuals are so clunky with the worst form of CGI that it almost felt like a leftover from the sets of the show Naagin. If the idea was to scare people, it was only successful on my brain cells that have taken a huge beating already, this weekend. The BGM is largely forgettable, doing nothing to create an ambience or fear or tension along the way. The ideal approach ought to have been a recurring theme that would play as a scare-tease for the viewers at regular places. But then what do I even know about cinema!
The editor seemed to either be on a notice period or a paid holiday. How else would you justify an Indian show whose length is close to 7 hours when an entire generation is fed on 30 second reels. This is also not to say that we must pivot towards micro-dramas, and the length of the show would always be justified if the events are interesting. But if the events are repetitive or overstuffed or both, with passages of lags in between, then there is no justification for the poor editing pattern that is shown to simply dump information onto the viewers.
Director Raaghav Dar ranges from showing promise to absolutely being amateur with his skillset. The case in point being the opening act wherein the mood of horror just wasn’t set. And while he does well in handling the concept initially, he isn’t able to handle the high ambitions of the writing, that seldom translates into something fruitful. The overstuffed nature of the drama further pushes the show into darkness, wherein the direction only allows it to meander and meander and meander….
Performances
The performances are a mixed bag too and don’t really hold your attention, unlike a show like Bindiya Ke Bahubali wherein the performances overpowered the overstuffed writing. There were a few sparks in the form of Gaurav Sharma as Dr Aziz, Sonali Sachdeva as Sarita, Priyanka Sethia as Saba or even Nimisha Nair as Neetu who have their moments to shine. Dilip Shankar as Uberoi is a fine actor but largely wasted here. Parvin Dabas as Dr Sahay is just about decent but doesn’t necessarily show the vile that was intended for his character. Vatsal Sheth as Darius is hardly intimidating despite being a henchman, and he doesn’t quite impress here while exposing his limited range as a performer. Pranay Pachauri as Dr Prithvi shows some spark too, and atleast his performance remains sincere and earnest. Anand Ingale as Kanitkar is decent too.
Prajakta Koli as Rumi tries hard but with largely unsuccessful results, wherein she is unable to engage you with her act. She needs to keep in mind that acting isn’t just about turning in front of the camera, but instead absorbing the emotions of the character in every scene. I just couldn’t feel her trauma at all, and that tells you a story or two about her performance. Kavin Dave as Jude is excellent and that one actor who actually stands out amidst the crowd. He is zany but also grounded with his emotions, while performing brilliantly here.
This show marks another failed attempt at utilizing Surveen Chawla the performer after Mandala Murders. It is almost as if she is cotton-wooled throughout the show, just for a late burst – similar to Jasprit Bumrah and his workload management. It is unfair for Surveen who really tries here despite the tone of her character being inconsistent. Karanvir Malhotra as Jay is inconsistent here, scoring fairly well in expressions but never fully exhibiting the same impact through his dialogue delivery. It is similar to the complaint that I have with performances of Janhvi Kapoor who diffuses much of the energy through her dialogue delivery. Her the nasal twang is replaced by an element of flatness, that flattens the intended emotions of the character.
Priya Bapat as Kalpana Kadam aka KK (not sure why that rhymed) is understated and does a good job. The success of her performance is to keep things simple – be assertive as a cop, but vulnerable as a character during moments of silence. She touches upon some of her emotions pretty well and makes for a solid impact, overall.
Conclusion
Boasting of a promising concept, the first season of Andhera is an ambitious but overtly sluggish and overstuffed horror show that forgets to turn on the lights. This results in the show running for just so long (approx. 7 hours), that I celebrated my birthday twice during its runtime. And that is only so much my brain cells can handle for the weekend. As Jasprit Bumrah had said in the final test match in Australia – ‘Aur Zor Nahi Lag Raha Ab’ (read : Can’t Push My Brain Cells Any More). Available on Amazon Prime.