Shodha Review: Modestly Watchable Thriller

BOTTOM LINE
A Modestly Watchable Investigative Thriller

PLATFORM
ZEE5

RUNTIME
100 minutes (6 episodes)

What Is the Show About?

Rohith, a lawyer by profession, arrives at the police station to claim that his wife, Meera, is missing. After a work trip, he’d returned home to surprise Meera on her birthday. Meanwhile, Meera’s sister Aditi takes charge of the situation at home, shielding his daughter Tara from the confusion. A woman, claiming to be Rohith’s wife, lands at home, whom he asserts is an imposter. Where’s the case headed?

Performances

Shodha doesn’t demand much from its cast, for it barely settles down, not giving any performance enough time to register well. Pawan Kumar (who also helped with the adaptation), as the protagonist, gets the maximum screen time and plays a multi-layered role minus any overt exaggeration. Yet it isn’t a performance you’d call memorable; it fits the bill and that’s about it.

Analysis

Shodha, the Kannada series, is the official remake of ZEE5’s low-stakes Hindi thriller Khoj-Parchaiyon Ke Uss Paar, which featured Sharib Hashmi and Anupriya Goenka. The adaptation is more or less a frame-by-frame, loyal cousin of the original, placing it in a similar small-town setting (Madikeri, Karnataka), retaining the same plot twists, while additionally creating a parallel with a Kodagu folklore.

It’s hard to understand the point of remaking a widely watched show from the same platform to another language. I get it, it’s easy to quote the success of the Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen as a contrast (whose Hindi remake Mrs created ripples on ZEE5), but Khoj barely has the substance to merit a new version. Yes, it doesn’t require ample scale or resources, but why use it to tell the same story?

For those unaware, Shodha (or even its original Khoj) is an okayish small-town mystery where a middle-aged man lands at a police station to complain about his missing wife, only to find another woman at his home who claims to be his partner. The wife’s sister, their daughter, surprisingly have no doubts about her identity. Gradually, details about their dark past come to the fore.

One of its major advantages (and a part of its problem too) is the crisp runtime – it’s rushed and doesn’t allow a viewer to settle down. At first, it’s a tale of a missing woman. It becomes a case of an imposter claiming to be his wife. Then, the protagonist meets with an accident. The daughter is distanced from the father. The cops are tired of the husband’s desperation to prove his innocence.

The setup is quite compact, and the show doesn’t tax your brain too much about finding the culprit. It basically mirrors the efforts of the cops to catch him/her with adequate evidence. The storytelling is pretty functional; what you see is what you get. There’s some information it hides from the viewer initially, which they eventually decode by the end of the show.

Another positive about the show is its shrewd antagonist (who uses his profession to his advantage) – the cop even says he nearly committed a perfect crime. The officers are challenged to prove the culprit’s presence at the crime scene; some of this makes for interesting viewing. The newer dimension to the show around the aunt’s involvement with surrogacy creates some intrigue, too.

Shodha is a basic, dumbed-down thriller with modest aims. It moves at a quick pace, and neither surprises nor disappoints. Watch it only if you must.

Performances by Others Actors

Siri Ravikumar brings in enough deception to make her portrayal convincing. Arun Sagar’s cop-act as Bhairava is strictly okay. Anusha Ranganath’s role, Aditi, could’ve benefited from better characterisation. The child artiste Diya Hegde, Ravi Hunsur (as Siddappa) do their best within the limited scope of their roles. Saptami Gowda’s appearance doesn’t make any significant impact.

Music and Other Departments?

There’s nothing much to write home about on the technical front; the contributions are perfunctory at best, and the story doesn’t provide much of a chance for the technicians to exhibit their skill. Arjun Ramu’s music, much like the show, keeps rushing from one plot point to the other, caring little about the impact.

Some of the changes that Suhas Navaratna brings to the original, are good, but it looks like he was hand-tied to stay closer to Khoj (Hindi show) for the most part. Rahul Roy’s cinematography captures Madikeri’s lush green landscapes quite well; one wishes he was given a chance to push the envelope more. The production design is basic; the narrative/edit structure is mostly similar to the original.

Highlights?

Fast-paced, racy

Time-pass story

Good cinematography, minor changes in the adaptation

Drawbacks?

Lacks any novelty/depth

Has little/no standout factors

No emotional connect at all

Did I Enjoy It?

Not much

Will You Recommend It?

Only if you’re desperate to fulfil your thriller quota for the weekend

Shodha Zee5 Kannada Series Review Review by M9