Cast: Vaani Kapoor, Vaibhav Raj Gupta, Surveen Chawla, and ensemble
Creator: Gopi Puthran
Director: Gopi Puthran & Manan Rawat
Streaming On: Netflix
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 8 episodes of 40 minutes each
Have you ever appreciated someone way too much just because they dared to be different? Well, this entire piece will be that appreciation post because in a world where we are celebrating anything that is above average (IYKYK), we get a web series on a spicy Friday afternoon, when one is in all spirit to dive into the weekend mode but Mandala Murders arrive to play with that mood but leaving you with a satisfied session of binge!
The web series is dark with a gritty premise and promises psychological depth. And in all probability, it will be your next binge-watch obsession. But does it truly deliver what it has promised? Well, absolutely yes, without a doubt!
Mandala Murders Review: What’s It About:
Mandala Murders takes you into the darkest corners of myth meets fiction in a world that is almost real but feels too delusional to believe. The story of Mandala Murders goes way beyond where a woman (Shriya Pilgaonkar), called Chudail by the villagers, tries to make her experiment with some strange body parts successful, which could make a deity. But the experiment is stopped by the villagers, with everyone being burnt alive!
Story moves forward many many years later when murders start happening in Charandaspur. All these murders connect dots to an age old conspiracy. All the murders point to a Mandala art, and the protagonists, Vaani Kapoor and Vaibhav Raj Gupta, start decoding these Mandalas.
Mandala Murders Review: What Works:
From the first frame, Mandala Murders establishes a truly unsettling atmosphere. The visuals are at times impossible to look at if you are not a brave hearted one but all of them beautifully yet disturbingly complement the plotline. It’s visually arresting, even when it’s unsettling.
Gopi Puthran, Anurag Goswami, and Matt Graham’s screenplay, along with Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg’s additional screenplay, is brilliant to begin with! As the story proceeds, and the backstories interconnect, the web series becomes a desirable binge watch! No matter how disturbing the world is!
Gopi Puthran, Anurag Goswami, and Matt Graham’s screenplay, along with Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg’s additional screenplay, is brilliant to begin with! As the story proceeds and the backstories interconnect, the web series becomes a desirable binge-watch! No matter how disturbing the world is! The core concept of the show, following a series of murders linked to a ‘yantra’ and a coin that grants your wishes in return for a thumb, creates an intrigue that steals the show in the beginning itself! The initial episodes do a brilliant job of hooking you in, presenting a puzzle that feels genuinely unique and disturbing.
Mandala Murders Review: Star Performance:
The lead cast of Mandala Murders is brilliant. Vaibhav Raj Gupta breaks his Gullak image to join a very powerful Vaani Kapoor. Vaibhav emotes in scenes while he connects to the trauma of his past. A lost mother, a dead brother, and a girlfriend in a coma. Vaani Kapoor plays along with her inner demons, making sure that she picks the direction of the entire plot very right! Surveen Chawla as the local political leader struggles a bit. Probably because her accent feels to rehearsed as the leader.
Mandala Murders Review: What Doesn’t Work:
Mandala Murders comes along with its flaws. There are a lot of threads left untangled as the protagonists try to decode the mandals and we configure out the connections between the demon, the god, the vardaan, and the sacrifices. However, each and every thread that is solved is so chilling and captivating that the flaws get overlooked!
Mandala Murders Review: Last Words:
Honestly, when I saw the trailer of the web series, I was sure this was something worth watching! But I did not imagine that this web series would directly land on the moon while aiming for the stars! It is a brilliantly done epic that needs a season 2 ASAP.
4 stars!
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