Black, White and Gray - Love Kills (Season 1)
Introduction
One of the early signs of a mockumentary style of narrative in the Hindi show Black, White & Gray – Love Kills, is when a journalist named ‘Daniel Gray’ doubles up as a documentary filmmaker to unravel an unsolved case. The name ‘Daniel Gray’ is a metaphor on two accounts – almost a fictional take on American journalist Daniel Pearl who was assasinated on duty in 2002, and secondly, preparing the viewers that the world as well as the tale narrated is ‘Gray’ (as mentioned in the title). In fact, the title itself is a metaphor of sorts, again communicating the fact that the narrative here largely remains a binary one (namely black and white), but the actual truth to the matter is ‘Grey’. The entire format of the show involves a bunch of characters playing ‘themselves’ on camera, and narrating an incident that seems a straight-forward puzzle to begin with, while a parallel plot-point involves the incident recreated through a different bunch of ‘actors’ – similar to a crime documentary that has a visual representation of the event along with a voiceover. The format itself is unique while creating a twisted narrative wherein the duality of the truth is evident through two drastically different narratives circling around a bunch of events. And it is twisted for a reason!
Story & Screenplay
Along with the mockumentary format, the tone of the drama remains pessimistic, almost doubling up as a neo-noir thriller. Written by Pushkar Sunil Mahabal and Yogendra Oke, the cold open here instantly drops you in the middle of a narrative that involves an interview of a cop narrating the incidents that have transpired. The outline of the case is simple – 1 accused, 4 dead bodies. The case is simple to begin with, even as you are tactfully taken on a recap on how the events may have transpired. You are introduced to the accused (Mayur More) who is in an intimate situationship with a politician’s daughter (Palak Jaiswal). Despite an evident class divide, you see the duo having flirtatious moments in their hideouts, wherein you see them planning an intimate session during their next meetup. The issue of intimacy here isn’t similar to the one addressed in Kanu Behl’s Agra (2023) which was space related. Here, the issue is that of identity and classism that laces the narrative. And given that the drama is set in the 2020s, the whole concept of a poor boy falling for a rich girl is built on the lines of intimacy, while maintaining the foundation of classism in the drama intact. But seldom do the lovers know what awaits them!
The drama isn’t afraid of switching POVs to some of the other characters in the show – more specifically, the identities of folks that were found dead along with the girl. So you have an earnest taxi driver Sunny (Hakkim Shajahan) who is tasked with taking a temporary blinded police officer Chauhan (Tigmanshu Dhulia) from Hyderabad to Nagpur. In a different setting, their track could have resembled Robert De Niro’s Taxi Driver (1976), but that remains for another time. Here, the difference is classism also applies to these two characters, even as Chauhan tries to befriend Sunny through supposed ’empty’ promises. The ‘distance’ in class between the two characters was more that the distance between the two characters seated next to each other in the taxi. This, while having a streak of pulpiness tagged to the characters – a wobbly car engine, a ‘blinded’ cop character and a nagging wife, all of which eventually add up at a later point in the drama.
Meanwhile, there are shades of pulpy black comedy that seeps in the track of the accused and his now slain girlfriend (particularly in the manner she turns slain). There are clear CCTV evidences of the duo entering together, an interesting slit between a grainy ‘actual’ footage and a recreated one, that directly points fingers at the accused. And this is when the ‘greyness’ in the drama is introduced – the ‘real’ accused who was supposedly absconding appears in front of the camera to simply turn the narrative on its head.
There is a clear motive of incorporating the ‘Rashomon’ effect in almost a deconstructed manner. And I say deconstructed because every incident has two facets of the truth – one told through the lens of the cops, and the other through the lens of the accused. There is enough doubt created in the minds of the viewers on what the actual truth is, even as you witness the turn of events including the accused ‘trying’ to dispose the body and flee the city, just when the panicked search begins for the girl. The events are tense even while you witness the worlds coming together through a streak of fate – a panicky accused has a tryst with Sunny and a sharp Chauhan who would potentially spoil his party. And this was particularly impressive given that you know the fate of the characters all along! Still, there are a couple of twists and turns that you just don’t see coming!
One of the key ingredients in this pulpy drama is the suspension of disbelief that accompanies the narrative. In a scene, you see the actual accused telling the interviewer that all of the events that he is about to reveal might seem like a scene from a film. So after a schuffle when the ‘twist’ arrives, it almost unfolds like a spiritual resurrection of sorts with a rendered version of ‘Silent Night’ playing in the background. The event has shades of the supernatural from another horror film, suddenly awakened in the middle of nowhere only to react in the most violent manner possible. But this is also where the pulpiness in the drama kicks in – that character was known to consume pills that may have been a contributing factor here. Nevertheless, the chase continues through the barren lands to the forest area and later to the hilly regions of Uttarakhand even while being chased by a new nemesis tasked to ‘kill’. And that brings in a fresh character in front of the camera.
At this point, the commentary of classism is at its peak with the accused’s parents being at the receiving end of the fury imposed by the politician. It also unravels the role of the media while highlighting the sensationalism that is prevalent in today’s times, rather than aspiring to search the ‘actual’ truth. The drama does present a for and against narrative even through the lens of the media, that goes perfectly in sync with the hazy narrative of the ‘documentary’. This, even as freakish incidents remain the cause of the bodies piling up.
One little complaint that I had with this structure was that the narrative style itself took the binary route for a while, focusing more on the chase and the ultimate fate of one of the characters in the drama. The problem by then was that the narrative did turn a little too simplistic, which basically meant that the distance between point A and point B needed to be treaded a little quicker. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be while incorporating a few lags in between a few shockers in the drama. Also, the finale episode further continued the commentary on the state of affairs of the media, along with the concept of honour killing that felt a little repetitive. The grammer of the proceedings slightly tilted towards a rant (although all points were justified with respect to the argument presented) as opposed to sticking to the fate of the characters, or alternately just allowing the commentary to reach the viewers through the proceedings as opposed to being preachy and laying out every detail. But, the ending does get the show back on track while leaving enough doubt on what the actual truth of the matter remained, thereby continuing to be true to the ‘grey matter’ in the title. This summed up the screenplay that was a bold attempt at storytelling, something thatbwas pulpy and twisted while creating an ambience of intrigue.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational, almost always in sync with the documentary-styled narrative the the show has to offer. This was particularly impressive during the ‘interview’ sequences wherein the conversations felt extremely organic and natural which remained a huge highlight for me. The BGM is pretty solid while elevating the levels of tension prevalent throughout the twisted narrative. Also in a scene, the use of a rendered version of ‘Silent Night’ was both pulpy and apt while showing the resurrection of a particular character (out of nowhere). The cinematography is exceptional too comprising of camera angles that resemble a documentary. Also, the grainy visuals of CCTV footage also adds authenticity to the drama. The editing remains one of the unsung heroes of the show (so much so that I am willing to concede the lags in the screenplay to an extent). The quick interlinked cuts oscillating between ‘actual’ and ‘dramatized’ events does create a marination of illusions in the minds of the viewer, while maintaining the grammer of a documentary (remember, this is actually a mockumentary). The costume department deserves a mention too – the red throng donned by the protagonist is symbolic of danger or the sins that the character caters to, something that is so well thought out. The makeup and prosthetics department also manage to do a stellar job with the continuity of the show. The mark of injury on characters is precise and inflicted on the exact same parts of the face. Director Pushkar Sunil Mahabal does an exceptional job in maintaining the ambience of a mockumentary. There is such precision with respect to the style that he adopts, something that really requires skills given the drastically two approaches on show. It was easy to get lost in the maze of reel and dramatized events, or alternately, even the complexities of the subject matter at hand. But the director does a commendable job in traversing through the narrative, and maintaining levels of intrigue through its characters, all of which collectively makes a splash. The little stutter was in the events leading up to the final act, but thankfully, that didn’t hamper the impact of the show. The direction was pretty solid for most parts of the show.
Performances
The performances are pretty good by the members of the cast, in almost all characters that remain gray. Kavita Ghai, Jairoop Jeevan, Hardik Soni, Anant Job and Kamlesh Sawant have their moments to shine. Isha Mate as Sneha is such a natural to the core in a role that didn’t offer her a lot of room to err. Being the interviewee, she needed to always maintain a profile for the camera while trigger a natural conversation and a little rant in the same flow. And she does an exceptional job here. Likewise, Sonal Madhushankar also manages to impress in a limited screen time. The idea of casting Deven Bhojani for an edgy character Rao, has got to be one of the most freaky and ultimately satisfying cases of anti-casting in recent times. A terrific actor who has forever been tagged to cutsie comedic roles (remember Dushyant from Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai?), makes a lasting impression in a character that offers a ruthless and unapologetic killing streak. He was simply outstanding to witness here.
Sanjay Kumar Sahu remained an important cog in the screenplay because the writing is designed to judge the morality of his character who is shown to be giving an interview. And Hardik has a chilling presence, almost peeping into your soul while balancing his act with such searing earnestness that it confuses you on the actual truth with regards to his character. Hakkim Shajahan as Sunny is sincere and earnest in a slightly underwritten role. Tigmanshu Dhulia as Chauhan is simply brilliant and manages to nail his character as a temporarily blinded cop. Abhishek Bhalerao as Sonawane and Nishant Shamaskar as Pintya are superb, and also make their presence felt. Palak Jaiswal as the slain girlfriend of the accused has a resounding screen presence that often commands your attention. There are a range of emotions that she has to offer – a playful bout of intimacy, a sudden phase of being slain, an empathetic and caring bout of passion, a palpable sense of fear and an everlasting game of passion. And she touches upon all of these emotions quite effectively. Mayur More as the accused is a revelation as well. This avatar of his is far from the endearing avatar of his character from Kota Factory. He is panicky, tense and conflicted with his fate. These were much deeper and complex emotions to emote, and Mayur is exceptional to the core while knocking it out of the park with his performance!
Conclusion
Black White & Gray – Love Kills is a twisted neo-noir mockumentary comprising of solid performances that makes for a unique watching experience. It is experimental with its approach and almost always lands with the atmospherics, thereby making it a wonderful watch. Available on SonyLiv.
