There’s nothing like watching a horror movie late at night and going to bed in fear of going to the bathroom. The biggest indicator of a good horror film is one that leaves you hallucinating, hearing sounds and fearing the shadows. After all, darr ke aage hi toh thrill hai! And that’s probably why most of us enjoy binge-watching a good horror film or a supernatural thriller to keep us on the edge of our seats as it spooks us all out. And this week has brought to us a supernatural thriller led by actors Rasika Dugal, Ishwak Singh, Rahul Dev, Zoa Morani and Shrenik Arora among others. Adhura, directed by Ananya Banerjee and Gauravv Arora and produced by Monisha Advani, Nikkhil Advani and Madhu Bhojwani, premiered on the OTT platform Prime Video on July 7. Check out our review of the web series.
The Story Of Adhura
Set in Ooty, Adhura follows the story of the 2007 batch of a boarding school, Nilgiri Valley School, that returns to school for a reunion. Ahead of their return, strange occurrences plague the boarding school after the death of the dean. Their return triggers more horrifying incidents and everything points towards a new student of the school, 10-year-old Vedant and an old student of the 2007 batch, Ninad Raman who seems to be missing. As Ninad’s best friend Adhiraj Jaisingh tries to find him, sinister secrets come out from the shadows followed by a vengeful spirit that haunts the school. On the other hand, the school psychologist and teacher, Supriya goes on a mission to save Vedant but struggles to come to terms with the truth that the student might be possessed. The film also addresses the topic of bullying and carefully tries to deal with it.
Also Read: Tarla Review: Huma Qureshi’s Lacklustre Performance, Dry Storytelling Makes This A Bland Serving
Cast And Characters
Ishwak Singh as Adhiraj Jaisingh: Ishwak Singh aces the role of a calm yet anxious person with stillness on the top but chaos inside. He seems to effortlessly slip into the role of Adhiraj but IMHO, he seems far too calm for a horror thriller. He maintains his emotions and portrays anxiety with ease and makes one feel invested in him but he does have his fair share of slip-ups. There are moments when one would expect him to look scared or panicked but the actor looks far too calm for comfort. Nonetheless, the actor does impress.
Rasika Dugal as Supriya: As always, Rasika Dugal goes out of her way to play her part with perfection. She aces her role as a child psychologist with a secret of her own as she tries to save Vedant. Despite the underwhelming writing of her character and a barely-there character arch, the actress manages to give more depth to her character with her acting.
Shrenik Arora as Vedant: The only thing that is extremely bone-chilling about Adhura is this child actor and his impeccable acting. Just one menacing stare from the actor sends chills down the backs of the viewers. He manages to build and hold the eerie feeling throughout the series.
While Zoa Morani lends the much-needed support towards the end of the horror thriller series, she has very little to offer overall but that can be blamed on the shoddy writing of her character. Poojan Chhabra will give you chills with his acting skills. Rahul Dev’s character seems very out of place and the actor too looks uncomfortable in the role and falters every now and then. Sahil Salathia seems to be playing his hoity-toity self with nothing to offer and yet he somehow manages to fail as the former student of Nilgiri Valley School and TV celeb Suyash who is struggling with depression. Priya Banerjee’s character Nancy was unnecessary. We wouldn’t have missed her if she wasn’t a part of the web series. The rest of the supporting cast was forgettable.
Also Read: Blind Review: Sonam Kapoor, Purab Kohli’s Crime Thriller Is Missing Thrill And Script!
Verdict: Slow-Paced Horror Thriller Does Everything But Thrill Or Scare!
For those of us who grew up watching Ssshhhh…Koi Hai and films like Krishna Cottage, Adhura isn’t going to do the job. Allow me to start with everything that went wrong with this web series. To begin with, it’s too slow for its own good. As if the sluggish pace wasn’t bad enough, it’s marred with predictable twists and turns. You know it in your bones that the missing friend is dead and it’s not very tough to figure out who killed. There is one little twist at the very end of the last episode that is tough to predict 100% but not impossible. For murder mystery and thriller fanatics, it’s not a tough task. The not-so-spooky plot isn’t helping the cause.
While Ishwak Singh, Rasika Dugal and Shrenik Arora manage to hold your interest but the supporting cast hardly lends any support which makes for a dull watch. To make matters worse, the makers seem to have confused murder mystery with horror thriller. When did vengeful spirits turn a murder mystery into a horror thriller? The script had a lot of potential but the luxury of time that comes with OTT made the web series seem far too stretched. IMHO, this could’ve been a 2 hours movie and done just fine. And the way the spirit helps his friend in his own murder investigation reminds one of Krishna Cottage really. More so since it’s set in a hilly region.
Also Read: Neeyat Review: Vidya Balan Led Whodunnit Gets Its Knives Out, But They Are Frustratingly Blunt
Sure, Adhura is a wasted opportunity but the actors gave their 100%. The performances make it worth watching and it’s only the three leads that grab eyeballs. Further, it is commendable how the web series carefully deals with important issues like mental health, bullying and sexual orientation. Though the painfully-slow pace is a buzzkill, the series picks up pace in the last few episodes and that’s what keeps one hooked to the screen. And if you’re a curious person, you’ll want to watch till the end but you’ll be skipping bits in between because itni prolonged story ki zaroorat nahi thi.
Speaking of horror, hear me loud and clear. YOU WON’T BE SCARED OF GOING TO THE BATHROOM ALONE after watching Adhura because the scares are also adhura! Allow me to conclude by saying this – watch at your own risk! Adhura starring Ishwak Singh, Rasika Dugal and Shrenik Arora is currently streaming on Amazon’s OTT platform Prime Video.