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Honeymoon Photographer (Season 1)

Farhad Dalal Founder
By-
Farhad Dalal
Rating
2.5 Star popcorn reviewss

Introduction

One of the key aspects of an exciting whodunnit is the writing particularly with respect to the characters and their traits which would prompt its viewers to keep the guessing game alive till the very end. And this is that one aspect in the new Hindi series titled Honeymoon Photographer that is slightly lagging. Had the characterization been a little more fleshed out, this would have been an even better product. It is a strange coincidence that this time last year I happened to watch a superb murder mystery show titled Charlie Chopra And The Mystery Of The Solang Valley that played so well with its atmospherics, and even while the characters weren’t exactly laid out well, their character traits were enough to trigger a guessing game in a show that had trespassed through major curveballs. That is the kind of an excitement that you do need from a whodunnit which brings me back to Honeymoon Photographer. There are two ways to view the show – one as a whodunnit and the other as a pure thriller with traces of mystery. If you stick to the former, there are chances that you will come out disappointed particularly due to the lack of characterization in store. But from purely a thriller perspective, the show does partially work to a point that it remains watchable should you keep your expectations low.

Story & Screenplay

The premise of Honeymoon Photographer is both interesting and amusing given that its writing taps into a zone that is synonymous with the social media trend of getting photographed at various occasions. There are influenzers and celebrities that have their personal photographers who accompany them even on holidays. So in that regard, the concept did have novelty with its setup that soon was reduced to a familiar template of a whodunnit. The world building here is decent as it does touch upon the lives of a few principal characters even as they make their way to a holiday. The character dynamics in play do add a weird angle to the events leading up to the eventual murder, post which the investigation begins. Here I must remind you that if you look closely, or alternately if you are privy to watching crime shows then this might be an elementary exercize in zeroing on the eventual perpetrator. However, I was more interested in the path opted by the makers in going from point A to point B, and that is when I started treating the show purely as a thriller. And in that regard, the screenplay standing at 6 episodes of 20 odd to 30 odd minutes each can be labeled as decent.

Firstly, I did like the coherence of the writing with respect to connecting the dots. For instance, the murder did take place in a foreign land but there was a genuine purpose to bring the investigation back in the country while borrowing the finer details of the case in order to deduce that the death of a character was a murder in the first place. There was logic to it that made me want to invest on the journey even as the investigation was underway. But here I must say that the writing slightly loses focus of the plot with the introduction of a few other characters and a subplot that unfolds through the gaze of the protagonist Ambika (Asha Negi). In other words, it is Ambika who is on the run initially while also doing her bit to investigate the case herself, something that didn’t exactly sit right with me. I mean I did wish the investigation to take place through the gaze of the cop (Samvedna Suwalka) which would have made more sense even while allowing the viewers to indulge in the guessing game.

Some of the twists and turns are actually decent and even though predictable, they ensure to hold your attention in a limited capacity. The littke commentary on the rich versus the poor was decent but shortlived. But at the same time, I liked the urgency in the drama which did fuel the narrative ahead along with opening up new angles to the case that slowly allows you to piece the jigsaw puzzle even with respect to the reasoning. The final reveal by itself was predictable for me, having predicted the exact same set of events at a point in the screenplay but the reasoning was decent. Here, I would like to emphasize again on the characterization perspective in the drama. Had there been an emotional connect with regard to all the characters, the finale would have worked better. I also did get a feeling that the show had exhausted its budget at the end which eventually made for an abrupt completion. So overall, the screenplay definitely has its moments would work partially if you treat it solely as a thriller.

Dialogues, Music & Direction

The dialogues are decent and go decently well with the mood of the drama. The BGM could have been a little more intense to raise the levels of tension in the drama. The cinematography is excellent comprising of frames that are wonderfully shot. The wide frames of the beaches add a zing of freshness to the drama while painting a very modern setup that was an important aspect of the show too. The editing is brilliant too with some lovely transition shots that separate the scenes. Director Arjun Srivasstava does a decent job with the world-building but I wish he did allow the viewers to spend a little while with the characters and their lives ‘outside’ the main plot which would have added a little more depth and purpose to the drama. I did find a little issue with the staging too wherein certain sequences needed a little more buildup for a bigger impact. But other than that, the direction was decent.

Performances

If the show manages to be watchable then a large share of the credit must go to the actors here. Rituraj Singh is pretty good as Romesh is one of his final outings onscreen. Jason Tham as Elvin does a decent job here with his quirky outlook to his character. Sahil Salathia as Adhir does a good job with his outlandish body language and a terrific screen presence, managing to impress overall. Ashmita Jaggi as Brinda has her moments to shine while performing quite well. Samvedna Suwalka as Divya is outstanding here and despite a limited screen-time, she does a superb job. I really did wish that the writing could have ensured a longer screen-time for her. Rajeev Siddhartha as Rihen is in fine form here and seamlessly adjusts to the two contrasting personalities that his character has to offer. Apeksha Porwal as Zoya is top notch and does an excellent job here. She does handle herself really well in moments of confrontation and manages to leave a lasting impression. Asha Negi as Ambika is excellent as well while having an amazing screen presence to boast of. She has a range of emotions to play with and she does a wonderful job even while emoting well with her body language. If a part of the show does work then it is because of her.

Conclusion

Honeymoon Photographer is a decent whodunnit thriller with flawed writing but good performances that makes the drama decently watchable. Available on Jio Cinema.

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