Saturday, October 07, 2023

Asur (Web series, Season 1 and 2, Jio Cinema)

 Asur on Jio Cinema (free). I finished Season 1 and 2. 

Drafted in June, forgot to publish. Ah well...

Story is decent. A blend of modern technology and ancient scripture (Vedas, etc.). By itself it wouldn't have been enough to keep you hooked. But good writing, slick direction, and a skilled star cast manage to hold your attention most of the time. 

The series tries to draw you into a moral dilemma, akin to Thanos. It (at least partly) succeeds, and I think therein lies its success.
The growth of the characters due to what befalls them and the decisions they have to take have been shown quite  

Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Anupriya Goenka, Riddhi Dogra, Sharib Hashmi all are good. So is Marathi manoos Ameya Wagh.

One nuisance is the ads that come on Jio Cinema (even if you have a paid subscription). But it is what it is.

Worth a watch. Not family friendly due to disturbing visuals (language / nudity is pretty controlled most of the time).

https://www.jiocinema.com/tv-shows/asur/3500240

Khufiya (Netflix)

 Khufiya on Netflix.

Tabu is a married RAW operative who battles her secret identity and also struggles with conflict due to loving another woman.

There's a mole in RAW that leads to a lot of leaks, and ISI getting the upper hand in Bangladesh. To correct this, Tabu tries her best. But her loved one gets murdered in the process. The mole (Ali Fazal) escapes outside India too.


The rest of the movie is about retribution and redemption.

Tabu - excellent as usual.
Ashish Vidyarthi and Atul Kulkarni as Tabu's boss and estranged husband respectively are solid as expected.

Ali Fazal is competent. Wamiqa Gabbi as the mole's wife is bold enough to do a couple of explicit scenes (just enough to make it rated 16+, else rest is ok). His mother is played well by Navnindra Behl.

Azmeri Haque Badhon is a Bangladeshi actress who did a good job as Tabu's recruit cum lover. 
Raghu Ram of Indian Ocean fame was a pleasant surprise.


The disappointment is the usually competent Vishal Bharadwaj. His direction is good in parts, but not enough to grip you in entirety.

Worth a watch, but not as good as it could have been.