Undekhi streams on SonyLIV from July 10.
Gun-wielding men, a gunshot, a murder and a lot of chaos. This made for the trailer of SonyLIV’s original web series Undekhi, and while watching it, I thought to myself, “No, not another dark thriller with the same old cat and mouse narrative.” But, after watching the 10-episode series, I arrived at a different conclusion. Undekhi is a well-crafted and intelligently scripted story that will keep you engaged throughout.
Undekhi opens when the untoward has already happened: a police officer is killed in Sunderbans. The DSP of the area, Barun Ghosh (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) is on the lookout for two tribal girls, the prime suspects in the case, but they have fled to Manali. Meanwhile, in Manali, one of the girls is shot dead by the drunkard head of the Atwal family, Papaji (Harsh Chhaya) during a stag party. Her body is removed by Rinku (Surya Sharma), the foster son of Papaji and troubleshooter of the family. Now, his targets are the dead girl’s friend (Apeksha Porwal) and the wedding photographer Rishi (Abhishek Chauhan) who has recorded the entire crime.
Surya Sharma is convincing as dreadful Rinku in Undekhi.
While Rishi’s life turns upside down after witnessing the crime, the Atwal family is as calm and chill as they were before the murder. Papaji who is rich and has all the big ministers, police commissioners by his side, roams around suggesting one solution to every problem, “Goli maar daange” (we will shoot the one creating trouble). And, as Rinku goes around killing, kidnapping and threatening enemies (including DSP Ghosh), the audience is made to think how deeply corruption is embedded in our system and how justice is denied to the underprivileged and less-powerful.
Every episode of the web series comes with a new twist. By the end of the episode, the writers leave you thinking, and anticipating another catastrophe, you quickly move to the next episode. While the series is dark and intense, a bit of comic relief comes from Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Harsh Chhaya’s characters.
Apart from a crisp script, Undekhi boasts of solid performances. Dibyendu is delightful as a Bengali DSP whose calmness brings some relief amid so much bloodshed and violence. Harsh Chhaya as Papaji makes sure you despise him. Surya Sharma is convincing as dreadful Rinku, and model-turned-actor Apeksha Porwal portrays both her parts ably. Abhishek Chauhan as Rishi, the only guy who has a conscience in this morally corrupt world, is good too.
Undekhi leaves you guessing till the end. And with a cliffhanger ending, the makers leave the possibility of another season open.