Vadhandhi: This whodunit thriller is mildly engaging

Cast: SJ Suryah, Laila, Nasser, Sanjana

Director: Andrew Louis

Music director: Simon King

Synopsis: A cop tries to unravel the mystery behind a murder that tests his intelligence every time he believes he has cracked the case.

Rating: 2.5/5

CHENNAI: SJ Suryah while investigating a murder, says, "Truth walks, but a lie flies". This statement is the central theme of the latest OTT series Vadhandhi (rumour).

The series opens up with a murder, mistaken to be of an actress and later turns out to be of Velonie's (Sanjana). We are soon taken into the life of Velonie, a cheerful and happy girl who gets judged for being so. From then on, it's a story of police trial and a parallel media trial for the most of Vadhandhi's runtime.

One of the wisest choices made in this series is the avoidance of make-believe elements. Unlike Pushkar-Gayatri's earlier series Suzhal, where scenes were forced alluding a connection between a missing case and fire accident, Vadhandhi doesn't bother itself with too many things. It is a straight story of a murder case that sets the cops in pursuit of unearthing nature of the events and intentions of people.

An interesting aspect of the series is that it is canopied by harms caused by the borderline people and not the "bad" people, the latter ones at least safely aren't written-off.

Casting choices too are worth appreciation. Though not a performance-heavy role, SJ Suryah was uncomplainable as police inspector Vivek. Sanjana, playing Velonie, does a commendable job of coming across as a happy teen, balancing the emotional baggage of parental neglect. Nasser as writer KI Sebastian convincingly carries a sense of enigma to his character right to the finish. Laila, essaying Ruby, steals the show in the last two episodes.

Vadhandhi, however, is not without imperfections. If Suzhal didn't convince us to buy into connecting two unrelated incidents, Vadhandhi struggles to keep us hooked onto the primary plot. Subplots of Velonie in love with a mystery man, the corrupt politician episode and Hareesh Peradi as an unscrupulous newspaper editor further dull the narration.

Locations used in Vadhandhi are worth special mention. The forests of Kanyakumari add to the eerie of the screenplay. Simon King's background score is fairly interesting. Lighting and shot compositions are gainful to the screenplay.

Vadhandhi indeed is engaging in parts, but director Andrew Louis seems to have taken the last minute twist for granted as the inane subplots take a toll on our attention. This series, though, is not highly recommended, offers some stunning performances and a cracker of a final episode that cannot be missed either.

The series is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.