Rautu Ka Raaz (Hindi) (Zee5)

Slow film, but very nice. Set in a small village (Rautu Ki Beli, Uttarakhand), it shows a slowly deepening murder mystery.

Normally nothing happens here. Very cozy place. Fixed itinerary for everyone, especially the police compared to other places.

But then something happens. The location is a school for the blind. The warden (female) has died. It seems it is a natural death.

But then the autopsy report says - "suspicious death". Now the investigation starts. Everyone has something to hide. And the needle of suspicion starts to point towards the owner / trustee of the school - a local big man called Manoj Kesari.

Nawazuddin as the inspector / SHO ("Deepak Negi - tez hai par ajeeb hai"), who himself suffers from a form of PTSD, is the main character. But all the others are well etched too. All the folks in the police station, the various characters in the school - Principal downwards - are endearing.

The way the dead warden's (Narayani Shastri) character evolves in the viewer's eyes as more information tumbles out is done very well.

There's political pressure, love, complex relationships, greed, etc. It just seamlessly swirls from one scene to another. It manages to keep you engaged till the end.

It's not a top notch mystery at all. But something about it just feels good. Family friendly- a bonus.

https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/rautu-ka-raaz/0-0-1z5577122

Maharaja (Tamil)

A film that starts off looking like a comedy, turns seriously dark and also has a twist at the end.

A salon owner - Maharaja (Vijay Sethupati) comes to the Police station to file a complaint for a missing iron dustbin called "Lakshmi". At first he is not at all taken seriously. Lot of hilarity ensues. 

But when he is willing to pay ₹7,00,000 for it, the police start giving it top priority.

The real reason for his quest comes later. Slowly but surely the movie turns darker and darker with intrigue added to the mix. The end has a twist that few would see coming.

Nithilan Saminathan - the director - has a non sequential approach to story telling. It works for the most part.

Anurag Kashyap as a villainous character does a good job. 

Vijay Sethupati is fantastic. He doesn't let you feel any gaps in the story. Makes it all look easy.

There is violence which is gruesome at times. Definitely not a family friendly one.

All in all, will definitely recommend if you have the stomach for it.

https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81690671?s=a&trkid=13747225&trg=cp&vlang=en&clip=81727943