Thadayam
is a crime thriller web series. No, not the 1997 film starring Ramki. This is completely different. And it's not a movie, it's a web series. The cast includes Samuthirakani and Shivada among others. Shivada, if you're wondering who she is, she played the villain in the 2017 film Adhe Kangal. In this series, there is no heroine as such, meaning she is not paired romantically with Samuthirakani. Instead, she plays a female lead character who is his superior officer. Alright then, let's see how this web series actually is.
As per the story, everything happens in 1999, a time when mobile phones were not in common use. The setting is a village on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. On one side of the road is Tamil Nadu, and on the other side is Andhra. Naturally, there are two police stations, one for each side. On the Tamil Nadu side, two separate double murders take place. In both cases, it's husband and wife who are killed. Someone has broken into their homes and beaten them to death. When the police question the neighbors, Two people have been beaten to death here, did you hear or see anything?, the villagers respond saying they didn't hear a sound. Yet, the police confirm one thing, the murders happened in the early pre-dawn hours, when the victims were in deep sleep. As the police slowly gather clues and follow leads, they take the evidence to the Andhra police station for inquiry. That's when we, who are casually watching and counting along, are shocked to learn, Oh, is it just four there? We've got seventy-six here! That revelation hits hard. And there's one more thing about this, I'll tell you that at the end.
Samuthirakani plays an ordinary police officer who is the one uncovering these clues. He brings along his trademark mannerisms, especially that intense look. When he plays a good man, he is extraordinarily good. When he plays a villain, he is outrageously villainous. For me, there are two of his villain roles that instantly come to mind, not just in the mind, but in the heart. Because those characters went beyond the mind and settled in the heart. One is his role as Kanagu in Subramaniapuram. The next is as Appala Naidu in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, where he absolutely dominated the screen. Those who've watched it will understand. But here? He plays an excessively good man. And on top of that, a police officer. Almost like a generous benefactor, helping every officer who joins duty with him, supporting them to grow step by step, until they rise above him in rank… and eventually turn against him. Even then, he just smiles silently, opts for voluntary retirement, continues doing his duty for the remaining days, and spends the rest of his time taking tuition classes for school kids. Wait a bit. Let me move aside, process my feelings, and then come back to talk about Shivada.
Shivada, it feels like she acted with an expression that says, I've given my call sheet, let me just finish this. And she carries this constant look as though she has lost something important, not sure why. Then there's the guy who plays the ghost in Demonte Colony, I don't know his name, shown here as Shivada's romantic interest. They've tried all sorts of styling tricks, shaving his beard in different designs, framing him carefully, to make him look convincing as her pair. But he just doesn't give off the vibe of a mature man. With that baby-faced look, it feels more like, “Okay fine, maybe he was just free on those dates and available at this location.” Let it be.
Another important thing, if you're showing a story set in 1995 and 1999, that period detailing is crucial. They could have recreated it so authentically. But somehow, it feels like something is missing. After all, this isn't just a crime thriller, it's a revenge-driven whodunit involving dual psycho killers. Think of the ways this could have been crafted! But instead… it's been handled in some other way.
is a crime thriller web series. No, not the 1997 film starring Ramki. This is completely different. And it's not a movie, it's a web series. The cast includes Samuthirakani and Shivada among others. Shivada, if you're wondering who she is, she played the villain in the 2017 film Adhe Kangal. In this series, there is no heroine as such, meaning she is not paired romantically with Samuthirakani. Instead, she plays a female lead character who is his superior officer. Alright then, let's see how this web series actually is.
As per the story, everything happens in 1999, a time when mobile phones were not in common use. The setting is a village on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. On one side of the road is Tamil Nadu, and on the other side is Andhra. Naturally, there are two police stations, one for each side. On the Tamil Nadu side, two separate double murders take place. In both cases, it's husband and wife who are killed. Someone has broken into their homes and beaten them to death. When the police question the neighbors, Two people have been beaten to death here, did you hear or see anything?, the villagers respond saying they didn't hear a sound. Yet, the police confirm one thing, the murders happened in the early pre-dawn hours, when the victims were in deep sleep. As the police slowly gather clues and follow leads, they take the evidence to the Andhra police station for inquiry. That's when we, who are casually watching and counting along, are shocked to learn, Oh, is it just four there? We've got seventy-six here! That revelation hits hard. And there's one more thing about this, I'll tell you that at the end.
Samuthirakani plays an ordinary police officer who is the one uncovering these clues. He brings along his trademark mannerisms, especially that intense look. When he plays a good man, he is extraordinarily good. When he plays a villain, he is outrageously villainous. For me, there are two of his villain roles that instantly come to mind, not just in the mind, but in the heart. Because those characters went beyond the mind and settled in the heart. One is his role as Kanagu in Subramaniapuram. The next is as Appala Naidu in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, where he absolutely dominated the screen. Those who've watched it will understand. But here? He plays an excessively good man. And on top of that, a police officer. Almost like a generous benefactor, helping every officer who joins duty with him, supporting them to grow step by step, until they rise above him in rank… and eventually turn against him. Even then, he just smiles silently, opts for voluntary retirement, continues doing his duty for the remaining days, and spends the rest of his time taking tuition classes for school kids. Wait a bit. Let me move aside, process my feelings, and then come back to talk about Shivada.
Shivada, it feels like she acted with an expression that says, I've given my call sheet, let me just finish this. And she carries this constant look as though she has lost something important, not sure why. Then there's the guy who plays the ghost in Demonte Colony, I don't know his name, shown here as Shivada's romantic interest. They've tried all sorts of styling tricks, shaving his beard in different designs, framing him carefully, to make him look convincing as her pair. But he just doesn't give off the vibe of a mature man. With that baby-faced look, it feels more like, “Okay fine, maybe he was just free on those dates and available at this location.” Let it be.
Another important thing, if you're showing a story set in 1995 and 1999, that period detailing is crucial. They could have recreated it so authentically. But somehow, it feels like something is missing. After all, this isn't just a crime thriller, it's a revenge-driven whodunit involving dual psycho killers. Think of the ways this could have been crafted! But instead… it's been handled in some other way.
Remember I said I'd tell you one last thing? In this so-called whodunit, they reveal who the “who” is right in the very first episode. That's it. Even if they knew how to build and portray those characters gradually, they ended up showing what should not have been shown, right at the beginning. Once that's done… the suspense is already dead!
No comments:
Post a Comment