Vadhandhi The Fable of Velonie review: SJ Suryah-starrer is a riveting thriller | Web Series
Husband-wife filmmaker duo Pushkar-Gayatri have efficiently championed the long-form narrative house with their exhibits. After the large success of their first Amazon Prime sequence, Suzhal: The Vortex, the couple is again with their newest creation, Vadhandhi, one other small-town thriller that’s centered on the killing of a younger woman and the hunt for her killer. Created and directed by Andrew Louis, Vadhandhi is a riveting present that hardly ever dips in rigidity and makes wonderful use of the milieu it’s set in. It’s a present that feels exhausting by way of pacing, but it surely’s well worth the time invested because the pay-off is really rewarding. Additionally learn: Suzhal The Vortex creators Pushkar-Gayatri say present makes Broadchurch, Mare of Eastown’s style ‘as Indian as attainable’
The sequence opens with the mysterious loss of life of younger actor Mamtha, who’s discovered useless on the units of her newest movie in Kanyakumari. Because the information about her loss of life spreads like wildfire, the movie’s director, who’s in the course of a police investigation, is shocked to obtain a telephone name from Mamtha. A lot to everybody’s shock, Mamtha informs them that she’s completely fantastic and that the physique they discovered on the set is of another person. It’s discovered little later that the physique is of a 17-year-old woman referred to as Velonie, who belongs to an Anglo-Indian household. The case is rapidly handed over to SI Vivek (SJ Suryah), hours earlier than he’s all set to go on a household journey along with his household. As Vivek digs deep into the investigation, he will get so obsessive about cracking the case that it impacts his private life. The extra he learns about Velonie’s life, he’s satisfied there’s extra to it and the individuals round her have taken her with no consideration.
Vadhandhi is developed on the conundrum that lies journey quicker than fact, particularly in an period the place information channels are extra bothered about TRP scores than something. The writing performs a key position in making the present largely engrossing, notably using Rashomon impact to current totally different and contradicting views of the identical incident. With every episode, the present narrows down on a brand new suspect, solely to deceive the viewer and it’s a tactic that strongly works within the present’s favour. The present parallelly, with out ever getting in preaching mode, shifts the highlight on the position of media in sensationalizing information for the sake of viewers’ pleasure. The present additionally talks about how judgmental we’ve turn out to be as a society, particularly relating to how we view girls. There’s additionally a sub-plot about politics and the way energy is used to twist the reality.
The casting performs one of many main roles within the present’s success. Each actor is appropriately solid and each will get ample house to shine of their respective elements. SJ Suryah, who’s extensively fashionable for his over-the-top appearing fashion, delivers a relaxed, subdued efficiency that’s so refreshing to look at. It’s unarguably certainly one of his greatest performances. The largest shock by way of casting comes within the type of Laila, who not too long ago returned to appearing with Tamil movie Sardar virtually after a decade. Enjoying an Anglo-Indian mom to a teenage daughter, Laila showcases her untapped potential in a task that’s one of many highlights of the present. Simon King’s music, particularly the rating for the title observe, actually stands out and fits the general temper of the present fairly effectively.
Vadhandhi is a true-blue slow-burner. The small-town arrange helps in making the narrative fairly attention-grabbing because the story presents us with a number of suspects and this naturally piques the thrill of a viewer.
Net sequence: Vadhandhi
Director: Andrew Louis
Solid: SJ Suryah, Laila, Sanjana, Vivek Prasanna and Nassar
