The ‘Undekhi’ web series inspired by true events is now streaming on SonyLIV. Inspired by the murderous shenanigans at weddings.
‘Undekhi’ is the story of an influential family that tries to cover up the murder of a dancer.
Story of Undekhi
Undekhi is an Indian Hindi-language crime thriller web television series that premiered on SonyLIV on 10 July 2020. It is assembled by Applause Entertainment and Edgestorm Ventures. The series depicts two sides of society – the power-drunk influential people who think they can do anything and the oppressed, subjected to years of torture. Who finally decide to bring themselves to justice.
A dancer girl shot at a high-profile wedding in Manali has created a stir. Fueled by power, greed, corruption, and tangled relationships, an influential family tries to cover up the incident and the bodies pile up.
Ending: The series ends with Daman and Teji returning home to Papaji. Pointing out that Rinku lost the most important person in her life, her father. Rinku calls Samarth and threatens him but Samarth laughs before calling someone and telling them that their plan has been successful, promising another season.
Climax: After Kanak’s gruesome murder, Teji decides to break up with Daman and annul their marriage, while Rinku blackmails her into marriage with her father’s past.
Review of Undekhi
US returnee Daman Atwal (Ankur Rathi) is excited to be back in India to marry the love of his life Teji Grewal (Anchal Singh) in a big Punjabi wedding. Several days of loud and gaudy celebrations at their family resort in Manali make them feel at home once again. But before he can say I do, a senseless murder makes him realize just how twisted and power-drunk his family is.
Specifically, his foul-mouthed Papaji (Harsh Chhaya) and ruthless cousin Rinku (Surya Sharma), who almost own the town. Rishi (Abhishek Chauhan), one of the wedding cameramen, gets caught in the crossfire. When the shooting is caught on his camera and he wants to report it to the police. Thus begins an elaborate battle between crime and justice involving corrupt police officers, untrustworthy friends, and much more than meets the eye.
With such a busy story, Undekhi is as much about the twists and turns in its ploy(by Mohinder Pratap Singh) as it is about its eccentric characters. Spread over ten episodes, each a little over half an hour, ‘Undekhi’ is packed with a lot of action and reaction.
Although it does get a bit repetitive at times, the narrative remains intriguing and engaging enough for viewers to stay invested in the series. Mostly set in a five-star resort against a lavish wedding backdrop, director Ashish R. Shukla and producer Siddharth Sengupta strike an interesting contrast.
His choice of using the sleepy and beautiful hill station of Manali to showcase the crime and lawlessness in the hinterland is interesting. Rich production values give the show its authenticity even when the execution is far-fetched at times. Like the chase scenes set in the jungles of Himachal Pradesh are quite weak for the overall plot and get tired of being dragged on endlessly.
Role of Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Chief among them is Dibyendu Bhattacharya, the partly Bengali cop Ghosh, who likes to hum Bengali songs and who calls him Inspector, reminding him that he is a DSP. Bhattacharya is delightfully simple but effective as the lone man standing against the influential Atwal and a corrupt, uncooperative police force. Surya Sharma is intimidating as the unforgiving Rinku, who will go to any extent to protect her papaji, played by Harsh Chhaya.
Chhaya is annoyingly crude and one-note as Papaji, who seems oblivious to the mess around him. Abhishek Chauhan is decent enough as the vulnerable but determined Rishi, who is perhaps the only sanity-keeper in this story, which has a battery of unscrupulous characters. Others like Ayan Zoya, Anchal Singh, Ankur Rathi, and Apeksha Porwal have given good support.
The mouth-to-mouth dialogues (by Varun Badola) of all the characters in ‘Undekhi’ are laced with a liberal dose of profanity in Punjabi. This gives the show a realistic feel, but we wonder how much is too much!
Despite all its indulgences, ‘Undekhi’ makes for an entertaining watch, consistently delivering on what it promises to be a gritty crime drama.
Is the Undekhi series a true story?
Undekhi is taken from a recent real-life incident in which a dancer was shot by an inebriated man during a wedding as she rejected his proposal. All are eyewitnesses to the shootout, but no one comes forward, to tell the truth.
The only remaining documents are on the camera of a journalist who was there. His relaxed capture of the group takes a serious turn as the rolling camera pans to the sound of gunshots. The creators however have not mentioned on which particular incident the much-acclaimed series is based.
According to Daily Guardian, producer Siddharth Sengupta said that the show is inspired by a true incident and throws light on the dark realities of human existence. He also added that this story is one that one needs to see, believe and act accordingly. Siddhartha reveals that Undekhi also makes a powerful commentary about the dynamics of power in our society and our helplessness and subordination to it.
FAQs
Who is the villain in Undekhi?
After the release of the first season of SonyLIV’s crime-thriller series Undekhi, viewers and critics hailed Surya Sharma as a ‘strong villain’ and a ‘future superstar’. But, the actor himself never thought that the show would get such an overwhelming response from the audience.
Who is the Inspector in Undekhi?
Undekhi: Meet Dibyendu Bhattacharya who brilliantly plays the role of police officer Barun Ghosh.
Is The Undekhi Worth Seeing?
Despite being a bit long, it is a good watch. The story is good but there are some scenes where you will see that the story is being dragged unnecessarily. Useless intimate scenes have also been inserted into the show.
Conclusion
The series Undekhi is created by Siddharth Sengupta and features an ensemble cast including Dibyendu Bhattacharya as DCP Ghosh, Harsh Chhaya as Papaji, Ankur Rathi as Daman Atwal, Surya Sharma as Rinku, Shashwat Sayandeep Sengupta, Abhishek Chauhan as Rishi, Abhishek Chauhan as Rishi, Anchal. Singh as Teji Grewal, Ayan Zoya as Saloni, and Apeksha Porwal are in lead roles. The series is also produced under the banner of Applause Entertainment Limited and Edgestorm Ventures. Undekhi is directed by Ashish R. Shukla.