Never Ending Movie Carnival
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Duranga review: A slick and tight crime thriller
What: ZEE5 adaptation of “The Flower of Evil” is slick and tight that stays faithful to its original.
Ott web series Duranga synopsis
Based on the Korean series, "The Flower of Evil", Duranga, created by Goldie Behl and directed by Pradeep Sarkar and Aijaz Khan, stars Gulshan Devaiah playing a perfect family man, Shammit Patel - a caring husband to his wife, Ira (Drashti Dhami) a police officer with the crime department and a doting father to his daughter. But beneath the facade of this perfection, there lurks a sinister past - that of a malevolent serial killer.
When a murder is discovered with a brutal and unusual injury that traces its pattern to a serial killer from the past, the baffled police begins its meticulous investigation with Ira heading it. What happens next?.
The cruel and dark past takes you to Sarangwadi village serial murders committed by Bala Banne (Zakir Hussain) and his son, Abhishek Banne who has no trace for the past 15 years, after brutally killing the sarpanch.
What ensues is a taut cat and mouse game with the killer staying 2 steps ahead of the investigating team.
Sarkar and Aijaz craft an intriguing narrative and the writing by Charudatt Acharya is intelligently contextualized in the Indian milieu and powered with an arresting musical score by Ripul Sharma and George Joseph. Each of the nine episodes which are squeezed in a racy 30 minute runtime (thanks to the editors - Abhijit Deshpande and Hrishikesh Petwe) begin with a visual snippet from the past depicting the conjugal equation between Sammit and Ira. Which vindicates the shock and dilemma of the later when she first stumbles upon a clue that pinpoints towards her husband.
Surreptitiously sinking into the skin of the wicked and sinister, Gulshan Devaiah nails the layered and complex part of the killer. I particularly enjoyed his dynamics with the crime vlogger (played by Abhijeet Khandedkar) who has a connection with his past. Devaiah is very articulate and highly reliable when it comes to portray grey shades. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Duranga rests on his able shoulders.
He is surrounded with an equally reliable ensemble of actors. Drashti Dhami, besides looking resplendent with her radiant eyes, plays the cop with an unmistakable sincerity. Abhijeet plays his part with a seasoned and endearing confidence. Divya Seth, Rajesh Khatter and Zakir Hussain do justice to their roles.
I haven't seen Flower of Evil but i actually enjoyed Duranga. It is a well packaged crime thriller that you would relish and love to binge watch.
Going with 3.5 stars. The series is streaming on Zee5.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee