Kankhajura (Web Series)

 Kankhajura (Sony LIV) (Hindi)

"Fragile ... yet fatal".  That tagline is so true in this web series.

The word "Kankhajura" translates to centipede in English. But the English word doesn't do justice. 

In Hindi, it roughly means something that will get inside your ear, burrow inside and give you a lot of pain. 

It can even kill you.

The series is based on the Israeli series "Magpie". I haven't seen that one.

The main protagonist of the series - Ashu (Roshan Mathew) - is a man of very slight build. 

At first glance he doesn't appear to be dangerous at all. But like a centipede, it is this deceptive quality 

that he has portrayed excellently.

Ashu has a past. Served 14 years in jail for murder. The story starts with his release.

Ashu has a brother - Max (Mohit Raina). Leaving his humble beginnings behind, Max has now become a 

builder on the verge of making it big.  He has landed the rights to a huge project of opulent villas and 

apartments in a prime location of Goa.

Max is working with his old friends - Ninad Kamat and Mahesh Shetty.

He has his wife - Sarah Jane Dias - who is blissfully unaware of all his past as well as Ashu's.

However, there are many problems with the project. There's tenants to be convinced to sign off, 

environmental clearances, etc.

Whatever problems Max faces, Ashu goes and manipulates things to get them solved.

A female employee who they want to fire says she will bring their past black deeds to life. Ashu goes, 

finds out that she is an alcoholic who killed her own daughter in a car accident. He manages to 

convince her to commit suicide.

The tenants of the existing property need to be vacated. They are led by a slumlord lady - 

Deshmukh Bai (Usha Nadkarni) who is demanding far too much to get out of the way. 

The manipulations that Ashu does there border on the brilliant - psychopathic almost, but brilliant.

Other manipulations include getting a rape victim to withdraw a case against a guy handling the project's 

finances so that Max is not affected. The way he manipulates is chilling to behold.

Ashu slowly almost displaces both of Max's friends from his life. Almost, but not quite.

Ashu was ill-treated by Max and both of his friends always in their childhood. They treated him as a 

joker in the pack. Would kick him around, almost drowned him once. 

His friend keep warning Max that Ashu has a lot of pent-up rage, and that he is dangerous.

 But somehow Max has a rose-tinted view of this entire period. But later he remembers. 

All the casting is pretty good. The way Deshmukh Bai acts is delicious to watch - the veteran Usha 

Nadkarni does that with aplomb.

Max's character could have been better. Mohit Raina can act. 

But he is given a pretty one-dimensional role.

Trinetra Haldar as Aimee - the transgender "friend" of Ashu (romantic angle here) - adds a layer of 

normalization of the LGBTQ+ community in a series that is refreshing. She is woven into the story, 

not just a token character.

She loves Ashu. But when she finds out what he has done, she is disgusted and pushes him away.

The police officer (lady) - Heeba Shah, who has worked with Ashu, yet is wary of him, plays her role 

well. I just learned today that she is Naseeruddin Shah's daughter.  Another underrated gem that I 

was unaware of.

The way Ashu manipulates people is shown brilliantly. Leaning in, pretending to be their friend, and 

ultimately getting them to do what they want. All are shown perfectly.

He is fragile himself. But he is very very dangerous.

Goa as a backdrop is not used well unfortunately. There are just a couple of shots of famous places.

Otherwise you really don't feel the Goan flavor. It could have been any place for all you know.

Just for Ashu, this is worth a watch. Roshan Mathew has a string of films in Hindi, Malayalam and 

Tamil. Now I might watch at least one of them just for him :-).

Rekhachithram (Malayalam)

 Rekhachithram (Malayalam)

Saw Rekhachithram recently on Sony Liv (OTT).

This is not your usual crime thriller. It starts off as one, with a crime and a dead body shown right at the beginning. The director - Jofin T Chacko - however, has other plans for the viewers. He takes you on a journey of discovery about the victim, instead of treating her as just a body in a crime.

The body is of a woman who was killed when she was very young. Her name was Rekha (Anaswaran Rajan), hence the movie title. She was an aspiring actress in the Malayalam film industry. Before she died, she had also spent a night in a convent with some nuns. There was a robbery in the convent. Was Rekha a thief and the robbery went wrong? Or is there more than meets the eye?

The chief investigating officer, Vivek Gopinath (Asif Ali), has a checkered past. He was suspended for his gambling habits. He is determined to redeem his reputation.

The movie starts off with a young boy witnessing 4 people taking a wrapped body in the pouring rain. He tells his friend. Cut to the present, where a rich man goes to the forest. Leaving his driver at the edge, he goes deep into the forest, and records a confession on Facebook live by a tree. He then shoots himself. The confession is about Rekha's murder (although he doesn't know her name).

The film seamlessly transitions between the past and the present. Affection for Mammootty is shown in the way he is is depicted (just as a film star, he doesn't have a part in this movie). AI is used sparingly to insert him in the scenes from the past. Rekha was playing the part of an extra in his film when she suddenly disappeared. So all folks associated with that film who are still living are questioned in order to form a complete picture of what happened.

The main strength of the story is how they turn a dead body into a living, breathing person slowly in the eyes of the viewers. That is why it is literally "Rekha's film". 

Rekha's story gradually unfolds. Her hopes, her dreams. How she ran away to be a part of the Malayalam film industry. Her bright path ahead, cut tragically short by her untimely death. Her family, esp. her younger sister, who has still not given up trying to find her even after so many decades.

It's not a typical thriller. The mystery behind Rekha's murder is revealed before the end. We know who the killers are. But still, there's a twist in the last 30 minutes that is commendable. 

Asif Ali should now be declared as a honorary Police Officer by Kerala Police, so comfortable is he in cop roles :-). Police procedure has been paid proper respect in the film. For this, kudos to Jofin and the writers, John Manthrikal (original story by Ramu Sunil).

Anaswara Rajan does a good job as Rekha. Making her feel like someone who you mourn for, even though you don't know her. She does a good job in showing the potential in Rekha which gets tragically wasted.

There are good actors in the supporting cast, rendering it a watchable experience. Zarin Shihab esp. delivers a standout performance, the flickering emotions on her face are a treat to watch.

The only weakness if at all, are the dialogues. There aren't any punch lines in the film.

Other than that, totally watchable. Family friendly as well. Will recommend.

Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (Hindi) (Netflix series)

How far can obsession take you? Usually it is from the view point of the stalker or the one with the obsession. 

But this Netflix series is from the other side - the one who is the object of the obsession (the target).

Vikrant Singh Chauhan (Tahir Raj Bhasin) is a normal person with 

dreams in a small city. 

He has a girlfriend, Shikha (Shweta Tripathi). He is an engineer, and is certain of getting a job in a big city where he plans to ultimately settle down after marrying her.

But fate has other plans. Purva Awasthi (Anchal Singh) is the daughter of the big shot politician Akheraj Awasthi (Saurabh Shukla). 

Purva was Vikrant's classmate in school. She had gone away as a child for a long time, and comes back just as he completes his Engineering.

Purva had always liked Vikrant, and it has turned into an obsession. Vikrant's father, 

Suryakant Chauhan (Brijendra Kala) is Akheraj Awasthi's accountant cum money manager. 

Brushing aside Vikrant's choices, he gets him a job in the Awasthi household.

And there the downfall begins. Vikrant tries to get out of the current job. 

He tries to get the job in another city that he wants, to start a new life with Shikha.

But Akheraj, and his nephew, Purva's cousin, Dharmesh (Surya Sharma) scuttle anything and everything he has planned. 

His job applications get rejection replies. 

On top of that, his family is harassed - electricity and water is cut off, legal notices come, etc.

Vikrant has no choice. He stays in the town. 

Everything else goes back to normal.

But Vikrant knows that he is a "marked man" in another sense.  All roads are leading to Purva.

Vikrant tries all tricks that he can to get out of it. Including trying to kill Purva.

He takes the help of his good friend called "Golden" (Anant Joshi) in his schemes.

Over Season 1, we see the moral decay of Vikrant as he tries to get out of the end game which is his nuptials with Purva.

Purva is ruthless, and the only thing she will not do is kill Vikrant. 

Anything else is ok with her.

So the game continues. People die, get hurt, many twists and turns.

But ultimately in Season 1, Vikrant has to marry Purva.

In Season 2,  Vikrant is obsessed with killing Purva since that is the way out. 

It gets even darker.

He gets a hitman to kill her, but the hitman Jalan (Arunoday Singh) is extra smart. 

He recognizes Purva, and kidnaps her for a huge ransom of Rs 1000 crore instead.

There are also new characters. 

Sherpa (Varun Badola). He offers Aditya Rs 3000 crore if he brings Purva to him instead of to Akheraj.

Guru (Gurmeet Choudhary), who has a very soft spot for Purva.

He's the desi Tom Cruise type who has a team that tries to rescue Purva from Aditya.

He suspects Vikrant, but can't prove anything.

Vikrant helps Aditya since his goose will be cooked if the truth is found.

Along the way, bodies fall like ninepins. There's more gore in Season 2 than in Season 1.

Amongst all this, Purva is like a cat with nine lives. She bounces back every time. Plus she is pregnant with Vikrant's child.

Purva finds out the truth in this season. She catches Shikha, Vikrant and others before they can flee to Nepal.

The series ends with a cliffhanger where Vikrant is shown to be shot in a 

totally different location and bleeding. 

What happened between Purva catching him and him ending up in 

a ragged state, fighting for his life is a mystery.

What will happen next is left as a question - Season 3 will definitely come.

Vikrant's moral decline is shown excellently by the director. Tahir Raj Bhasin does 

justice to this author backed role.

Purva does her part well. The facets to her personality - obsessive and 

trusting towards Vikrant, ruthless otherwise are shown well.

Shikha is not a well etched character. In spite of her family suffering so much, 

she still doesn't leave Vikrant. It's pretty inexplicable, especially in Season 2.

Arunoday Singh does another good job as Jalan the contract killer. 

He has a lot of clarity on what he wants, which is more than what you 

can say for most of the characters in the series.

Anant Joshi does a good job as Golden. But his character flounders and 

then comes back on track multiple times.

Brijendra Kala as Vikrant's father delivers yet another solid performance, as befits his calibre.

You can identify with the father's exasperation towards what he thinks is the sheer lunacy of his son. 

But at the same time, he can't abandon him.

Surya Sharma as Dharmesh does what is expected. 

His character is a little uni-dimensional, but he does justice to the role.

Varun Badola as Sherpa is good, as expected. But far too short a role to enjoy his acting.

As usual, a solid performance by Saurabh Shukla as Akheeraj Awasthi. 

The ability to act with silence, and inspire fear by just a look, is an art. And Saurabh Shukla has it.

Season 1 is better than Season 2. Whenever Season 3 comes, I will have low expectations because it should have logically ended with the 2nd season.

Note: There is a lot of blood gore in this series. So those who don't like it should be forewarned.

Gyarah Gyarah (Web thriller series) (Hindi)

 Gyarah Gyarah (Hindi thriller web series, Zee 5)

Gyarah Gyarah is a Hindi fantasy thriller, inspired by the Korean drama series Signal. 

It is a thriller that investigates crimes that span three different years in three different decades - 1990, 2001 and 2016.

The three central police characters in this tale :

1. Inspector Shaurya Anthwal (1990), played by Dhairya Karwa
2. Inspector Yug Arya (2016), played by Raghav Juyal
3. Vamika Rawat (1990 to 2016, first as Shaurya's junior and in 2016 as Yug's immediate superior officer)

Set in Uttarakhand, you have Yug Arya, who's a different kind of police officer. He doesn't believe in the police bureaucracy. His north star is justice, rather than following orders by his superiors blindly.

Vamika is the common thread connecting both of them in a sense, but she doesn't know it yet. As Yug's senior, she doesn't know about this magical connection, and plods on diligently to solve cases by the book. She has an unrequited love for her ex-boss, Shaurya, who mysteriously disappeared one day many years ago. Vamika has been steadfastly waiting for him, rejecting all proposals that her mother painstakingly brings her way.

Yug and Vamika complement each other well. He wants to work outside the system, whereas she is very determined to work within it. But both are dedicated to justice.

One day, Yug responds to a call on a very ordinary looking police walkie-talkie. Soon, he discovers that it allows him to establish a connection with Shaurya, across a vast gap in time - at the same time each time. This connection, however, lasts for exactly one minute only. Together they work across the boundaries of time on multiple cases, starting with the kidnapping and murder of a little girl. 

Since the call / connection lasts only 1 minute, and also it cannot be anticipated when the call will happen, both have to plan in advance what they want to say to each other. Especially Yug, since he is solving the cases in the present. 

Shaurya was handicapped by outdated forensic technology of his time - no DNA analysis, fancy instruments that give more detailed or precise reports, etc. Yug has this advantage, and hence is able to prove certain crimes that Shaurya just couldn't in his time. This sends a ripple effect into the future which affects the present.

Time is a major factor in the series. A Cold case unit is set up after successful resolution of the first case. This gang of incorrigible, defiant police officers is given really old cases. Including a serial killer one, which had shaken up the police many years ago.

There's a law that is coming into effect that cases older than 15 years are not to be investigated anymore. So the team has to race against the upcoming statute of limitations in the very first case. 

Messing with time, as expected, has unintended consequences or side effects.

When the relation of the story to the title is made clear, it is a small but delicious moment for the viewer.

Shah Rukh Khan himself has said that he has five standard expressions and he works with those limits. 

By that comparison, Kritika Kamra has two. 

One expression is when her character (Vamika Rawat) is in love, and one for everything else. The "in love" expression is her patent one, reserved for Shaurya Anthwal, and the remainder for the rest of the series. But she delivers her dialogues with the requisite punch.

Shaurya Anthwal (Dhairya Karwa) is a simple character. Lot of action, less thinking. He is brave and doesn't fear to tread anywhere. But detection doesn't come as easily to him. Yug's help takes him in the right direction many times.

The best of the lot is Raghav Juyal (Yug Arya). A troubled back story. A dear one dying by suicide. Being a witness to the kidnapping of the girl as a small child himself. All have left an indelible mark on him and made him what he is today. He is only after justice, by almost any means necessary.

Harsh Chhaya, such a talented actor, is criminally wasted. As the IG of Police, he is keen on doing things that are politically correct or advantageous to him and his unit rather than the right thing to do. 

His philosophy is that someone has to be found guilty of the crime, and the case must be closed. Whether that person actually did the crime or not, is immaterial.

But Harsh is stuck using "b****ch**" as a punctuation symbol in every sentence (comma, full stop, exclamation, etc.). And you can make out that giving gaalis is not his forte. So it seems really forced. 

Ironically his character is the only one giving cuss words, and is the sole reason why this can't be called a family friendly series.

There are flashes of brilliance, though. Brijendra Kala's portrayal of a decent man torn between duty to justice and to his loved one, touches your heart.  Nitesh Pandey gives what probably was his last (or one of his last) performances, and makes you miss him. Gautami Kapoor as the grieving mother fighting for justice for her daughter, who was kidnapped and killed 15 years ago (2001), gives just the right touch to her role.

The direction is taut. Grips you most of the time and doesn't leave you feeling bored. No fancy theories about time are spun, and things are kept simple - mess with time and something else will change.

Right now only Season 1 is playing. Season 2 is strongly indicated.

In short, will definitely recommend.

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

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.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81252372