BOTTOM LINE
Predictable Cop Drama Redeemed by Classy Execution
PLATFORM
ZEE5
RUNTIME
5 Hours (7 Episodes)
What Is the Show About?
After enduring several setbacks, Rita Brown, a cop from Kolkata, is assigned to investigate the murder of Ahana Jaiswal, the daughter of an influential businessman. There is significant pressure on Rita and her colleague, Arjun, to close the case quickly. When Rita’s impulsive decisions result in a department transfer, Arjun takes over the case. Meanwhile, another woman is killed in a strikingly similar pattern.
Performances
Karisma Kapoor, in what is her most assured performance in her second innings, is the lifeline of Brown. She portrays various hues of Rita Brown with brutal sincerity, unafraid to dive into her lows and also mirroring her resilience as a fighter. A chiselled Surya Sharma offers formidable company to his senior co-star, tackling grief while meaning business at work.
Jisshu Sengupta is efficient despite not being a great casting choice. Soni Razdan provides much-needed emotional stability to her role as Rita’s mother. Helen has a good time while she lasts in a not-so-consequential part. Paresh Ahuja is underutilised, though Ajinkya Deo and Meghna Malik do the needful in brief roles.
Analysis
Kate Winslet’s much-celebrated Mare of Easttown inspired a new wave of stories where a middle-aged woman, who is falling apart herself, is placed at the centre of a high-profile investigation. Kareena Kapoor starrer The Buckingham Murders gave it a good desi spin, and now it is her sibling Karisma Kapoor’s turn to dabble with it in Abhinay Deo’s OTT debut Brown, based on the book City of Death, out on ZEE5.
Brown does not have one, but two cops in a crisis. Rita Brown, having lost her father, husband and surviving a miscarriage, is down in the dumps on the psychological front, drowning in alcoholism, even as she thrives at work. Her colleague Arjun blames himself for losing his wife and daughter to a car accident. They are as empty as they can be, with work as the only source of solace.
When Ahana Jaiswal, an NGO worker, is brutally killed, the investigation, on the surface, appears simplistic. The victim’s father wants to do away with the case at the earliest, pressuring the cops for a hush-hush investigation. The tension in the Jaiswal household is palpable. All the evidence points to an obvious culprit, but Rita and Arjun are keen to dig deeper.
The show sticks to a generic template of a police procedural drama: traumatised, under-pressure officers, a killer with a chilling past, an obvious modus operandi and families of victims who conceal more and reveal less. What works best for Brown is the sensitivity in its treatment. It deals with its characters on a humane level, without reducing them to labels like cops, victims or culprits.
The whodunit element in the story is a tad too standard for comfort and is not exactly its strength. Perhaps, the decision to place more focus on the personal stories, the drama and less on the perpetrator’s trajectory was a conscious one. Maybe, the idea was to emphasise that everyone is going through a battle the other is not even minutely aware of.
In a pivotal moment in Brown, Rita, in a conversation with Arjun, says, ‘There’s a bastard in all of us, but when the time came, we still chose life,’ underlining the need for one not to let setbacks define them. The opening scene of the show, where Arjun catches hold of a boatsman who kills his wife, suspecting her of infidelity, is an indicator of its core theme. The rot in both the key crimes is very much domestic.
The choice of Kolkata as the backdrop for the story is another reason the narrative retains its lustre despite the exhaustive runtime and the predictable narrative. Abhinay Deo and his team consciously avoid any touristy portrait of the city, and rather bring it alive with an insider’s spirit, capturing its everyday life and intimate cultural details. It cares for the minutiae as much as the cops’ pursuit.
The mood of the show generally remains grim. Though it is sincere to its world, the narrative beats are not exactly novel. Mind you, it is a nearly six-hour show spanning six episodes with gloom in the air, brooding characters everywhere, and that makes the viewing experience all the more tedious at times.
Brown relies on a done-and-dusted story, which overcomes its predictability with the consistent storytelling, solid performances by the leads, cinematography and music.
Music and Other Departments?
Gaurav Chetterji’s music and Amogh Deshpande’s cinematography are the firm shoulders that Brown rests on. The score, the songs, the aesthetics and colour grading do justice in reflecting its grim mood and preserving the essence of the narrative. While the basic premise may lack originality, it is adapted well for the screen. The runtime is an area of concern, though the strong technical contributions keep us glued to the screens.
Highlights?
Solid performances by the leads
Nuanced execution, layered characters
Impressive music, cinematography
Drawbacks?
Unoriginal story
The excessively gloomy atmosphere
The killer’s over-simplified backstory
Did I Enjoy It?
Mostly yes, though the predictable writing is a problem
Will You Recommend It?
If you have a taste for slow-burn cop dramas with layered characters, you can try it
Brown ZEE5 Web Series Reviewed by M9 News
