239. Web-series Reviews – 85
More web-series reviews…
One of the reviews from IMDB...
The newest mockumentary in town is a must watch! After Modern Family, The Office & Parks and Recreation; there has been a gaping void in work place mockumentaries or mockumentaries in general. Abbott Elementary fills that void.
Set in a Philadelphia public school, Abbott is the story of how the staff at the underfunded institution struggle to make the lives of their students more comfortable by giving them a fruitful education and at the same time tackle office politics.
Created by comedian Quinta Brunson, who also headlines the show as the dedicated & hardworking Janine, Abbott Elementary is a fun ride. Assuming that this is the only work place mockumentary set in a school, it is refreshing take on it. Even though most of the problems faced by the staff are typical, the series does benefit from its unique set of characters. Apart from Janine, other characters that standout are Principal Ava played by the excellent #JanelleJames and Gregory played by Tyler James Williams. Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti & Sheryl Lee Ralph co-star.
With just 13 episodes in its first season, Abbott Elementary is a well-written work place mockumentary that has the potential to reach the standards of its peers.
My Take – Worth a watch
The Karma Killings/The Slumdog Cannibal – Both on the same topic. Karma came out in 2016 and Slumdog in 2012.
"The Karma Killings," is a modern-day crime thriller mixed in with Indian mythology and class warfare. The documentary delves into India's most infamous serial killings and its impact on a nation. Told through the people directly involved, the film unravels the complexities of the case and goes beyond the sensational headlines to present a suspenseful and scary mystery. And has a huge twist - one of the killers maybe innocent?
The crimes of Surinder Koli horrified the entire country. Psychologists try to understand his evil mind and his horrific crimes.
Reviews from IMDB...
Some things are way to out there to actually believe. But here we go with this incident and some very gruesome story that will not be for the faint of hearted. But not all things are as clear cut as they are presented at first. And there is more to this horrific story than meets the eye (no pun intended).
A really good structure, a lot of interviews and a crime that was solved by rushing through things, just to calm the public. Now the upset is more than understandable, the outrage they had about this despicable act of violence too. But while in a rage, you probably will find yourself not thinking straight and taking short cuts that will lead to false conclusions. And all that just to "solve" a case for a quite piece of mind ...
Even if you are a crime buff you will probably not have heard of this monster unless you also live in India. Surinder Koli is not only a serial murderer of young girls but a cannibal. Related mostly in English as you would expect, this documentary tells in a straightforward narrative the tale of the Slumdog Cannibal.
Coming from humble stock, Koli migrated to the metropolis where he ended up working for a wealthy man who had a taste for young prostitutes. When girls in the area began disappearing, the police were said to have been profoundly disinterested, but after the locals carried out their own investigation, and Koli was arrested, Moninder Singh Pandher found himself behind bars too, and was convicted of several murders although he was cleared on appeal.
We hear from a shrink who implies that Pandher's interest was only in girls of a certain age, ie young women. Okay, so he is no spring chicken, but consensual sex with a constant stream of prostitutes is at worst a moral issue.
It seems unlikely now that Koli will be hanged; since this programme was screened, his death sentence has been commuted. Though India executes convicted murderers but rarely, it is difficult to imagine a more deserving case than this miserable wretch.
My Take – Worth a watch!
Avrodh 2 – Came out in 2022. The story behind demonetization.
One of the reviews from IMDB...
In season 1, many were aware of the actual story of how India counteracted the Uri attacks. However, not many are aware of what led to the revolutionary move in 2016 called "Demonetization". Season 2 explains us this with a good amount of fiction.
Season 2 is not high on action but more focussed on intense investigation and capture of terrorists who not only plan to launch terror attacks in India but also had planned to infest the Indian economy with counterfeit money which is what led to the demonetization. Pradeep Bhattacharya is the man who works for Income Tax department as well as a trained soldier who by pure luck manages to capture a small scam which ultimately opens up for him and his team, a series a dreaded discoveries and they must act fast to stop anything bad from happening.
The series is quite detailed this time with 9 episodes of around 40 mins length on average. Each episode is gripping and tensed thanks to the screenplay. There is less of action as i said before but lots of interesting investigations especially on the economic front regarding banks and transactions so commerce students will understand all this better . Full marks here for making a series that kept my eyes pinned to the screen and an easy binge watch despite its slow pace.
Apart from that, there is very little patriotic dialogue feeding and hence kept it as realistic as possible. However, certain places do look cliched like the masterminds sitting in Pakistan and doing the usual stuff we see in every series like this.
Performances. I am really thankful to the makers to bring out Abir Chatterjee, a very famous and talented bengali actor on the big ott platform because as you know, these days people only talk about south or marathi actors but forget that talent exists even in the east. Abir Chatterjee casting is a masterstroke because , if you are a bengali you will know or if you don't know let me tell you, Abir normally does roles that are close to natural, family oriented and mostly no nonsense. So basically he is not a masala hero and casting him meant that the director is in no pressure at all to show him as a superhero kind of guy. Abir as Pradeep Bhattacharya gives a no nonsense near natural performance in this series and I am impressed that he can speak good Hindi as well although I did smell some bengali tinge in it but that's fine. I hope he and his talent gets good recognition in the bigger film industry .
Other than that, Neeraj Kabi and Anant Mahadevan are retained from S1 and both especially Neeraj has done a terrific job. I felt his role was much better here than in S1. Sanjay Suri too does a great job as the mastermind. Others also shine in this series. Overall, performances, top class.
Give this season a watch. You don't know the real story behind demonetization and hence you must know it.
My Take – Worth a watch!
Mai – Came out in 2022. A grieving mother discovers the criminals behind her daughter's tragic death, and transforms from meek to merciless to get the real story.
One of the reviews from IMD...
'Mai' echoes the same crime-and-revenge genre as the 2017 Bollywood thrillers- 'Mom,' starring late Sridevi and Raveena Tandon's comeback flick 'Maatr.' They are comparable in many aspects, particularly the fundamental idea, which revolves around a humble and ordinary mother seeking vengeance for her daughter. In this series, Sheel's life is flipped upside down when she witnesses her daughter Supriya's tragic death. At first glance, it looks to be an accident, but Sheel quickly realises that something isn't quite right, and Supriya's death might have been an intentional murder. Following that, she sets off on a trip to discover the truth.
Sheel Chaudhary (Sakshi Tanwar), a middle-class woman, witnesses her daughter, Supriya (Wamiqa Gabbi), being hit by a truck. Soon after the accident, she realises that it isn't simply a hit-and-run case, but rather something sinister is at play, which feeds her determination to discover the truth.
Parallely, Farooque Siddiqui (Ankur Ratan), a Special Police Force Officer (SPF), is on the verge of exposing the people behind a medical scam and money laundering case, which is led by Jawahar (Prashant Narayanan) and his right-hand woman Neelam (Raima Sen), who manages the business alongside Raghu (Saurabh Dubey), Keshav, Prashant (Anant Vidhaat), and Shankar (Vaibhav Raj Gupta). Be it Farooque as Supriya's boyfriend or Sheel as Jawahar's mother's caretaker in the old-age home, the series' characters are either directly or indirectly tied to the mother-daughter duo in question.
The directors-debutant Atul Mongia and Anshai Lal, who made his directorial debut with 'Phillauri' (2017)-manage to extract outstanding performances out of the cast. On screen, Sheel, who is both emotional and vulnerable at the same time, and Supriya, her mute daughter, who manages to express her thoughts, are both flawless. The directors' use of close-up shots of the protagonist further heightens the tension. Wearing multiple hats in this project, Mongia is the creator-producer and has co-written this six-part crime-thriller with Tamal Sen and Amita Vyas, who, together, bring to life the mother-daughter duo's sorrow and suffering, human relationships and sacrifices, political scams, money laundering and much more.
This fictitious drama, like other crime sagas streaming in the OTT space, uses Lucknow as a background to depict the right and wrong behaviours in the city that influence the lives of ordinary people. The first few episodes seem to be heading in the right way, complete with an incredible emotional outburst from Sheel, but the story soon begins to waver. The script is well-written in terms of connecting all of the elements, although it does seem unduly stretched at points to keep the audience's attention throughout the episodes. On top of that, there are too many characters and subplots, and not all of them get enough time to justify their existence. For instance, Kalpana's (Seema Pahwa) backstory of being a victim of an abusive marriage and subsequently being a criminal is rather hazily described. The story was unable to connect with the audience since Kalpana's tale was communicated casually throughout her conversation with Sheel. Furthermore, several situations in which Sheel seems to be capable of practically anything, from scaling walls to deceiving the masterminds, are implausible.
Despite everything, 'Mai' is preoccupied with keeping Sakshi at the centre stage, which slows down the show's momentum, and in some cases, makes it less impactful. There is, however, ample room to dwell on a variety of human interactions, such as Sheel's evolving dynamics with her husband Yash and extended family which includes Bhaisahab, Bhabhi and their kid or her bond with Kalpana (Seema Pahwa), who has been by her side throughout. It could have been a taut thriller if Manas Mittal's editing had been more lenient, each episode-which is nearly an hour-long-could have been trimmed to keep the show's pace. Above all, it leaves ample hints for the next season as well.
Sakshi Tanwar is simply perfect and dominates the screen playing a grieving mother who swiftly transforms from being meek to merciless after the tragic incident: her agony at not knowing who killed her daughter and why, is palpable. Later, Sakshi's Sheel, who is a nurse-cum-caretaker at the old-age home, sets off on a journey to settle scores with some dangerous people. All the heavy-lifting is left for Tanwar, and she is every bit convincing. Wamiqa Gabbi, who was last seen in the Hindi film '83' as Madan Lal's wife, plays a young mute girl who is the series' victim and is particularly effective. Vivek Mushran, who plays Sheel's husband Yash, suffers from not having enough heft like the rest of the cast, including his extended family members.
All the characters are believable and contribute meaningfully to the plot. The SPF officer, unlike Salman's Chulbul Pandey or any other masculine cop, is a no-nonsense policeman who just understands his job well. Perhaps as a result, Ankur Ratan as Farooque seems to be an outcast in several action moments. Prashant slips into the skin of his character as Jawahar/Mohandas with minimum fuss and yet again delivers a performance that makes us despise his character. Raima may be portrayed as a beauty with intellect in her role as Neelam, yet she maintains the same blank look throughout the series. Prashant and Shankar played by Anant Vidhaat and Vaibhav Raj Gupta (Annu Bhaiya from Gullak), respectively, are twisted characters played well by them.
It's difficult to keep track of so many characters in a show that's essentially a whodunit but deals with a variety of twisted motives. But, all things considered, 'Mai' is a bleak and relentless crime-thriller that proves to be a compelling one even when it isn't always easy to watch. The drama slows down in between, and yet, there is constant action that keeps the audience on the edge.
My Take – Worth a watch!
Cheers till next time😊!
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