'Dayaa' (2023) Review: J.D. Chakravarthy's Web Series Is Gripping … – Film Fugitives
Each streaming platform nowadays, particularly the Indian ones, has one style that has been milked to loss of life: the crime thriller or homicide investigation. It has been introduced in 1,000,000 other ways. Plenty of them are comparable to one another, and only some handle to face out. Within the span of some months, Disney+ Hotstar has launched three regional reveals in the identical style, and every of them has left a mark of their very own. Be it Shaitan, a Telugu language crime thriller about an ex-Naxal, or Kerala Crime Recordsdata, a Malayalam language homicide investigation, the platform is acing thus far at bringing some unique content material on this gritty style. Including to this listing is Pavan Sadineni directed Dayaa, a Telugu-language internet sequence that was launched on the platform on August 4th, 2023.
Dayaa is the story of the eponymous protagonist, {a partially} deaf man who’s a driver for a freezer van firm and handles the transportation of fish across the city. Dayaa is the personification of a timid man who refuses to get into altercations till unhealthy luck befalls him. He notices the useless physique of a girl inside his truck, and his life from then on adjustments. All he can consider is ensuring he removes the useless physique on the earliest, and he asks his fisherman pal Prabha to help him. Prabha, being the extra audacious of the 2, comes up with a weird plan that goes haywire rapidly. Dayaa is joined by a couple of individuals from completely different backgrounds who attempt to give you an answer on tips on how to do away with the physique, which occurs to be of famend journalist Kavitha. All of them are disturbed by the flip of occasions and are keen to search out out extra concerning the lady’s household and unearth who killed her.
Dayaa is an eight-episode internet sequence, and each present or film within the crime thriller style must have a sucker punch of a begin that may set the tone until the tip. Dayaa by Pavan Sadineni does a great job of building the plot of the present, the underdog protagonist and a one-note villain who’s given no redemption arc. Quickly, the narrative slips into the territory of changing into a industrial internet sequence with all the weather that every other standard Telugu film would have. The director simply couldn’t steer clear of emphasising the heroism of the lead characters by giving them a savoir-faire angle. This was precisely the problem with “Shaitan” as properly. Being a criminal offense thriller/homicide investigation story, the makers and the writers might have added facets of realism to make all the present gripping and darkish until the tip. The storytelling would have been elevated if the suspension of disbelief had been dialed down.
One other facet that hindered the present even after a great setup was the over-exaggeration of how politicians behave and the best way tv information channels work. As a substitute of giving these subplots sure complexities, the media and the political antagonists have been projected as out-and-out unfavorable characters with no saving grace. Writers Vasant Kumar Jurru and Pavan Sadaneni create a villain who’s straight out of a masala Telugu movie. A politician, who lusts for ladies, and is concerned in lots of corrupt practices. The makers might have taken the danger of giving these unfavorable characters some layers to maintain them from changing into caricatures of the kind normally performed by handsome actors. This trope of a good-looking, wealthy man all the time having improper intentions in the direction of everybody has been used for a few years, and it’s time Telugu filmmakers break free from these stereotypes.
The route after a couple of episodes is lazily executed, for there is no such thing as a method to perceive after a juncture why sure characters are behaving in a peculiar method and why they’re even launched. Pavan Sadineni’s route is value mentioning solely in bits and items as a result of there are scenes that didn’t must be included within the present. The runtime of every episode was hardly over thirty minutes, however the screenplay has been stretched a lot, particularly within the climactic episodes, that it impacts the viewing expertise by a big margin. The writers overrated characters such because the investigation officer, Dayaa’s spouse, and Shabana however didn’t give them a particular closure, regardless that these individuals had sufficient potential to develop into sturdy roles. At many junctures, sure eventualities and subplots got here throughout as ridiculous. The intimate scenes have been added simply to titillate the viewers, they usually deliver out nothing of significance to the general narrative. Some subplots have real loopholes, and because the makers missed them, it looks like a giant blunder on their finish as a result of an investigation thriller must be tightly knit.
The writers on this present speak about crimes towards girls, however at no level is a girl’s plight showcased realistically. The speak about how girls have been focused by abuse to create concern comes throughout as essentially the most insensitive portrayal of feminine characters in a present. This can be a results of having no feminine writers on board. The empowered girls on the present need to take revenge or need to showcase solely rage. That is the inherent flaw. The savior complicated in males is the spotlight of Dayaa, which makes the present barely regressive.
Vivek Kalepu’s camerawork and framing are wonderful, which permits the viewers to get an understanding of the place the present is ready in. There’s a sure eeriness that’s developed via the cinematography, which supplies the present a solemnity proper earlier than the chaos is unleashed. Credit score the place credit score is due as a result of Viplav Nyshadam’s enhancing and transitions might be applauded. These technical facets are a few of the highlights of Dayaa, and it will appear the makers didn’t disappoint in any respect.
Dayaa, named after the lead protagonist, is a one-man present, and it’s only JD Chakravarthy’s efficiency of a brooding, cowering man who all of the sudden transforms right into a larger-than-life character that makes the present partaking until the tip. The person has displayed assorted feelings all through the eight episodes, and it’s his caliber as a veteran actor that shines like a diamond. Sadly, his character was a letdown as a result of the writers didn’t get into the historical past of this man to assist the viewers perceive what led him to his present persona. Josh Ravi as Prabha can be wonderful. He can embody a sure shade of grey as his character is conflicted about tips on how to deal with the disaster. The remainder of the forged within the present is simply mediocre, particularly the feminine characters, who don’t have a lot to do. Ramya Nambeesan, as a steadfast journalist, was not allowed to discover her character, and the identical might be stated about Vishnupriya Bhimeneni as Shabana.
The climax of the present was too generic and predictable, and it didn’t shut many free ends, which makes the viewers surprise if the makers are eyeing for a season two. Dayaa might have been so much higher if the makers had not caught to typical twists and turns. The predictable nature of Dayaa is what makes the present a mean watch.
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