Search: The Naina Murder Case Review: This webseries joins JioHotstar with the appalling finding of a substantial teenager’s corpse fitted in the car of a minister. The case then dives into an ocean of political and emotional high tides where morality competes against justice. The series, directed by Rohan Sippy, is an Indian adaptation for the much-acclaimed Nordic noir The Killing but attempts to render an Indian feel through social and emotional tones.
Central to the narrative is ACP Sanyukta Das (Konkona Sen Sharma), a battle-hardened cop having some fractured relationships in her personal life. The transfer was meant to save her marriage, but instead, Naina’s murder comes in an inexplicable way to lure her from that decision. Now, along with the new recruit Jai Kanwal (Surya Sharma), she has to deal with conspiracies and truths hiding among class divides, alleged teenage woes, and vices. Each clue leads them to more suspects-from classmates to honest politicians-where now it is getting murkier and murkier.
This series belongs to Konkona Sen Sharma. As Sanyukta, she is strong, fragile, and morally troubled. That dimension does a lot for an otherwise cliched murder mystery. Surya Sharma provides good support, while Shiv Panditt and Dhruv Sehgal lend credibility to the political subplot. The rest of the time, the narrative has too many characters and stretches the mystery too thin that it all collapses. The writing by Radhika Anand and Shreya Karunakaram leans toward some clichés now and then; most notably in painting Naina’s teenage life with the same strokes one has seen on shows like Class and Big Girls Don’t Cry.
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Compelling and layered performance from Konkona Engaging first half, and atmospheric cinematography
Authentic Indian noir tone with emotional subtext
Overcrowded subplots and way too many suspects
Stereotypical characterization of teenage rebellion
An open-ended exhaustive slow-burn climax
Search: The Naina Murder Case is an ambitious adaptation of a blend involving crime, politics, and human emotions. At some points, the narration seems to lose its focus; yet, it is worth a watch because of the pure brilliance of Konkona Sen Sharma. A gripping yet imperfect whodunit that keeps you guessing till the very end.
Rating: 2.5/5-Watch it for Konkona, but stay for the suspense.