Director: Oni Sen
Producer: Tanveer Bookwala
Watch it on: Voot
I began watching this series because of Arshad Warsi. I often think he doesn’t get enough credit for what a brilliant actor he is. Unfortunately, even a convincing Warsi cannot hold a limp script together. Asur promises to be psychological thriller. The eight-part series on VOOT tells the story of a forensics team at the CBI in Delhi, cracking down a serial killer. Dhananjay (DJ), played by Arshad Warsi and Nikhil played by Barun Sobti, lead the front.
Let’s start with the good parts. Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti and Riddhi Dogra have given nuanced performances. Most of the cast members acted well. They have given us a glimpse into how the forensic department works and in India, apart from CID, I don’t think we’ve have seen forensic experts solving murder mysteries. It’s refreshing, in the Indian context. I also loved how every episode begins with a 4-5-minute sequence showing the killer’s formative years, hinting at possibly how he became who/what he is today – a cold-blooded murderer. The flashbacks in Banaras are beautifully shot. The visuals are fantastic and will keep you hooked throughout. Asur tries hard to raise a potent question – are we born evil or do we become evil due to circumstances? Are humans, by nature, evil? The overall idea to include ideologies on dharma, spirituality, religion and abstract concepts of salvation and swarg is also fantastic. But unfortunately, it is just fantastic on paper.
What we get however is a really a mumbo jumbo of mythology that have less logic and more idiocy. It appears pretentious. The bad guy is so melodramatic and seems like he is always giving a speech, even in normal conversations. For instance when Nikhil asks the bad guy for a cigarette, the villain tells him: “Cigarette tumhe nahin, tumhare mann ko chahiye”! I mean … how do you take this villain seriously? He never talks in a concise and precise manner. He’ll bring up metaphors, folklores and God knows what else to make his point. By the 4th episode, you are just honestly tired of his whole mytho gibberish.
Furthermore, the show has so many unreasoned loopholes. On the basis of circumstantial evidence, Nikhil suspects Dhananjay of murder and he is immediately sent to jail. No trials, no hearings! It is very convenient for the writer to do that because the ‘jail’ has an important role later in the series. But at that very point, it seems hard to believe and unrealistic that a top-notch CBI officer is being sent to jail without proper proceedings. Ironically, DJ is hardly rattled by the fact that he’s been wrongly accused of his wife’s murder. And while in jail, the committed cop that he is, he gets a chalk and scribbles random things on the jail wall like “murder”, “motive”, “mythology”. It just looks so stupid. And it was so annoying to see him keep going in and coming back to the jail. You lose track of where he is actually supposed to be. Similarly, when the killer announces his new target, a genius CBI team couldn’t nab him. The murder of Aditya Jalan was so stupid. They could’ve easily caught the killer at the party. Riya’s murder was equally illogical. Similarly – Nikhil, as a character, is very confusing. While apparently, he’s supposed to be this intelligent guy, he falls for a rookie’s claims and gets DJ arrested. His wife, too, played by Anupriya Goenka, is not particularly likable. I did not see much chemistry between Nikhil and his wife. And it was just odd for her, a software engineer, to start working for the CBI to hack the government database, on DJ’s request. You’re telling me CBI does not have a cybersecurity team? Nusrat is one character I would have liked to know more about. Nikhil and Nusrat share a past – there is an obvious tension and I would have loved to see that developing. Plus, she also seems mysterious without trying too hard.
Overall, Asur starts off well but ends on an extremely disappointing note. It only reinforces the fact that Indian writers think audiences here love drama over logic.
Xoxo
Ritwika
