The Great Indian Murder
Introduction
Onto the final release of the weekend and I just finished watching the new Hindi series The Great Indian Murder on Hotstar. The series marks the return of Pratik Gandhi to the OTT space after the super success of Scam 1992. And one thing that instantly fascinated me was the title. It did spark a level of intrigue in me especially with this being touted as a murder mystery. The series had to release under the shadow of Rocket Boys on Sonyliv and so the footfalls might be slow. That said, is The Great Indian Murder worth your time, stay tuned.
Story & Screenplay
Based on a book titled 6 Suspects by Vikas Swarup, The Great Indian Murder follows the convoluted case involving the murder of a politician’s son. The story is indeed just that – convoluted. With so many characters involved, at times it becomes a little hard to keep track of all the events unfolding. The screenplay is also written in a manner to intentionally confuse the audience. While the buildup is slow in the first two episodes, the background of many suspects is shown through a series of flashbacks leading upto the eventual murder. They do seem rather unrelated events that slowly piece together to complete the jigsaw. So a word to the audience – do not begin your guessing games as the series may not appeal to you then. Instead allow the series to show you the path. Even if you do not understand the “mess”, stay patient for the journey is quite a good one. The twists and turns in the middle are engaging and they will keep you going. With so many people doing the rounds, the series requires focus. But the downside is that many characters aren’t allowed to completely bloom. So while the pace is maintained, only a few characters have depth to their parts. Now, I was able to guess the culprit before the actual reveal but it was no more about the whodunnit by then. It was more to do with the politics behind the murder. Certain topical issues are well tackled through the narrative that ends on a satirical note but a tad underwhelming too. But overall, a good screenplay which works due to its convoluted nature.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are good especially after the secomd episode. There are elements of dark humour which are well showcased through the dialogues. The music is good particularly in the run sequence. The BGM is pretty good and it plays a part in keeping you on your toes. Director Tigmanshu Dhulia begins on a slow note but soon finds his groove. There are moments of brilliance in the middle with some smartly written scenes where he is in full control. I wouldn’t say this is his best work but he definitely has done a good job here.
Performances
As mentioned before the depth in most of the characters is missing yet the performances are pretty good. Rushad Rana, Kenneth Desai, Paoli Dam, Parinitaa Seth, Nikita Grover and Sakshi Benipuri all shine in their cameos. Ronjina Chakraborty is pretty good as Champi. Guneet Singh as Manjot was excellent and probably the find of the series for me. Rucha Inamdar as Ritu is first rate. Himanshi Choudhary as Rita looks pretty and does a good job. Mani PR as Eketi is my favourite character here and he oozes of innocence so much so that you start feeling bad for the character, a wonderful performance there! Amey Wagh as Arun is a wonderful actor and he is quite nice here too. Jatin Goswami as Vicky will make you angry so much so that a part of you would say that his character did meet his fate well. And this means a stupendous performance by Jatin. Sharib Hashmi as Ashok is such a natural onscreen, it is always a pleasure watching him. Ashutosh Rana as Jagannath is good in an underwritten role. Raghubir Yadav as Mohan Kumar is hilarious and I had a blast watching him here. This is brilliance personified. Shashank Arora as Munna is a very talented actor and his character has some level of depth here. He also expresses through his eyes so well. Pratik Gandhi as Suraj is impressive in a very different role from his good boy image. He is excellent here. Richa Chadha as Sudha is brilliant and does a fabulous job here. I really enjoyed her performance.
Conclusion
The Great Indian Murder is a brilliantly convoluted murder mystery that is definitely worth your time. Available on Hotstar.