Opening Doorz

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | July 16, 2020

Rating: 2 / 5

The Essence: Sitting through the 12 episodes was a challenge and from Episode 3 onwards I sat through only out of curiosity to understand how one can produce such a sub-standard product just after we have been treated to Pataal Lok. That series is an education in film-making with the aid of a super plot and powerful performances from every actor.

Whenever Amit Sadh comes on screen, you can breathe!

That’s how suffocating the web series is with its skewed plot, sub-standard screenplay and shoddy scenes, which are a plenty. Nay, they make the bulk of the 12 episodes!

The Plot…

A psychiatrist’s daughter is kidnapped and for over six months there is no news from the kidnapper. No call for ransom, no leads for the cops to follow. Zilch! Delhi police have drawn a blank.

The parents, get back to life when out of the blue comes a packet detailing that their daughter is alive and there is insulin enough for just 11 days to keep their daughter alive. To get their daughter back, the husband has to kill a man.

The daughter is a juvenile diabetic and needs timely shots. This was one worrying factor for the father who thought his daughter would be dead by now since the kidnapper would not know this.

Instead of going to the cops, they agree for the kill. There’s another catch; the video of the killing has to be recorded on the victim’s phone and sent to a number given by the kidnapper.

The number happens to be that of a News Channel!

The kidnapper does not stop there; after the first killing there’s another and then Another…

In between, there’s news that the daughter is alive but there’s no effort from the cops to trace her other than the customary visit to the police station by the parents. I guess the parents are by now used to the daughter not being home and the cops have the murderer to catch. That’s how far-fetched this web series is.

The writers were busy handing out a sub-standard plot to Abhishek Bachchan who plays Dr. Avinash Sabharwal who lives in a sprawling bungalow with his chef wife Abha Sabharwal played by Nithya Menen. It is their daughter who has been kidnapped.

The Performances

Thank God for inspector Kabeer (Amit Sadh) who comes in time and again to inject some life into the scenes.

Most scenes are so lazily stitched together with poor make-up and mediocre performances that you wonder why Abhishek would agree to be a party to this. He tries and tries but can never match up to the writing. Amit Sadh on the other hand let’s his body do the talking.

Nithya Menen is another actor who pumps in some life into her character. Effortlessly she embraces the lifeless plot and injects some spice with her presence, performance and unconventional good looks. Plabitha Borthakur as the wheel-chair bound Meghna Verma stands out for her performance along with Resham Shrivardhan. Both make an impact and a case for future roles with their honest characterisation of their part. Ivana Kaur as Siya conveys on screen what is expected of her.

Annoying Background Score…

Otherwise, there is nothing in the series. Even the background score is annoying; like the buzzing of a bee. It is difficult to understand the dialogues being spoken as there is a constant humming in the background. Thanks to the English subtitles, one can figure out what is happening on the screen.

Sitting through the 12 episodes was a challenge and from Episode 3 onwards I sat through only out of curiosity to understand how one can produce such a sub-standard product just after we have been treated to Pataal Lok, an education in film-making with the aid of a super plot and powerful performances from every actor.

Thank God for Amit Sadh, one can breathe easy and suffer in silence through 12 episodes.

CREDITS
Director: Mayank Sharma
Star Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Amit Sadh, Nithya Menen, Plabitha Borthakur, Resham Shrivardhan, Ivana Kaur.

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