Murder in Agonda
RATING
Introduction
Who doesn’t enjoy a nice little murder mystery to end the week. And with that I finished the Hindi webseries Murder In Agonda which had its last episode streaming on Amazon Mini TV. Here was the thing though. Amazon Mini TV doesn’t stream all episodes of a series in one go. So instead you get a dose of a new episode every week. I personally do not mind that, although I most definitely prefer all episodes in one go. But given the genre which it was catering to, it needed continuity. The other side of the argument could be that you watch all episodes in one go. But considering the amount of content that is rolled out on OTT every week, that becomes a little difficult. Anyway, I finished watching the final episode last night. Does Murder In Agonda manage to keep you guessing, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Murder In Agonda is a classic murder mystery behind the murder of a woman. As you would have guessed, there is more than what meets the eye. The story is really good and it presents itself in a quirky manner. Again the series is taut with each episode ranging from 20-30 minutes each which makes for a binge watch. The screenplay wastes no time and gets straight to the point. An officer investigating the murder of a woman in the most quirky manner. The suspects are a bunch of interesting characters all of whom have motives. And you are left guessing as to who the murderer is and the subsequent motive. There is also a side track representing the homosexuality of one of the characters. I think this subplot did not add up at the end, unless it was indicative of things to come in season 2. What this subplot did was take some of the juice away from an otherwise gripping series. The twists and turns are good and each time you feel you have solved the mystery, another twist pops up. This continues till the final act which will leave you satisfied with the grand reveal. And there might be scope for season 2(with a totally different story). So overall, an intriguing screenplay albeit some flaws.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are cerebral and they aide in keeping your mind ticking throughout. The BGM is really good and it adds to the mood of the drama. Director Vikram Rai has done an excellent job. He is able to entice the audience in playing the guessing game right throughout.
Performances
The performances are pretty good. Kubbra Sait as Waheeda delivers a very dignified performance although I was on the fence as far as her character was designed and her motive. Lillete Dubey as Maya is fabulous to watch as always. Nasir Abdullah as Ignatius is someone who will keep you guessing. This was the first time that I saw Chrisanne Pereira perform and as Shalini she was quite good. There are different shades to her character which are interesting and a welcome addition to the drama. Asif Ali Baig also makes a mark with his effortless acting. I was the happiest for Aasif Khan who is slowly but surely getting meatier parts which match with his talent. He is brilliant as Sanket and he will surely keep you entertained. Shriya Pilgaonkar as Sarla is also phenomenal. She is such a natural onscreen and you can easily connect with her character which means she keeps things simple as well.
Conclusion
Murder In Agonda is a twisted murder mystery which will keep you guessing till the very end. Available on Amazon Mini TV.