'Brinda' OTT Review

'Brinda' OTT Review

Cast: Trisha Krishnan, Indrajith Sukumaran, Jaya Prakash, Ravindra Vijay, Amani, Rakendu Mouli, Anand Sami and others.

Music: Shakthi Kanth Karthick

Cinematographer: Dinesh K Babu

Editor: Anwar Ali

Producer: Kolla Ashish

Writer - Director: Surya Manoj Vangala

OTT Platform: Sony Liv

Senior star actress Trisha Krishnan has stuck to Tamil movies over the past few years. 'Nayaki' was her last straight Telugu film and it was back in 2016. She is making a return to the Telugu silver screen with 'Vishwambhara' but she has arrived with a thriller web series named 'Brinda'. Streaming on Sony LIV, the trailer generated decent hype on this series. Let us see if this project worked out or not.

Story:

Brinda (Trisha) is an SI in Hyderabad who suffers from Insomnia. She is very intelligent and focused but is often looked down upon by male officers. The police find a dead body and many assume that it is a suicide but Brinda says it is a murder. The forensic expert agrees with her and despite her superior's order, she starts investigating the case along with her team. Brinda uncovers some shocking facts and rest of the series is focused on how she finds the killer and what his backstory is.

Analysis:

The OTT platforms have given a golden chance for filmmakers to dwell deeper into each character in a story and emphasize more on each layer they want to showcase. While more detailing leads to boredom and the story not moving forward, there are some web-series that become successful in making sure that the detailing is done along with maintaining the pace of the screenplay. 'Brinda' is an example of it as it manages to keep the audience engaged for most of the series despite having 8 episodes and each of them being over 40 minutes long.

The series starts off on an interesting note. It shows the situation in the village and lays a perfect platform for the story to move forward. Trisha's character is established quite well through small actions and the story shifts towards investigation swiftly. The crime investigation is surely compelling as the director ably showcased the issues Brinda faces everyday along with moving forward with the murder case. The dark tone and music too help the narration quite a lot. The suspense is maintained throughout the series and we get twists that keep you on the edge of the seats for most of the time.

Along with the story, the makers discussed topics like superstitions and their ill effects on people, bad parenting and discrimination faced by women at work. They are not at all preachy but underlyingly deliver the message required. The writers and director should be commended for that. Despite the good pace, one wonders that the series could have ended a bit earlier as there were a few unnecessary scenes that extended the runtime. The shortcomings include lack of logic in some parts along with excessive gore at places which makes it unsuitable for family viewing.

Many times, we see the procedural dramas getting predictable but 'Brinda' proves to be different. Aided by good actors and even better technicians, this web series offers you thrills, twists and drama. If you like this genre and don't mind a few boring scenes in the latter half of the series along with hard-hitting scenes, you can definitely take a look at this series this weekend.

Performances:

Trisha did a fine job as the police officer fighting her own demons. She gave a controlled performance and her subtle expressions worked out too. Trisha doesn't have the toughness to pull off the strong police act but she covers it up with her intense acting. She said a lot even without speaking a lot in this series. She chose a perfect script for her OTT debut and did complete justice.

Ravindra Vijay fits the part of Sarathi who works alongside Trisha in the case. He was good and Anand Sami is amazing as he gets the chance to showcase a variety of emotions in his role. He delivers a wonderful performance. Amani is decent while Rakendu Mouli excels in the role given to him. Jaya Prakash is decent as the father and the rest of the actors who were a part of this series delivered their best.

Technicians:

The cinematography is a big asset as the grim tone used throughout the series massively helped. The camera work is very good and a few closeups are haunting. The music by Shakti Kanth Karthick too adds more intensity to this thriller. He keeps the audience hooked during a lot of scenes. The editing is quite good as none of the episodes bore you. Despite that, a few scenes could've been edited out.

The production values are adequate and director Surya Manoj Vangala came up with a strong script and brought it ably on the screens too. The emotional depth is missing in a few scenes and the violence is a bit too much at times. Had he taken care of some logics and speeded up a few portions, the result would have been even better.

Verdict: 'Brinda' - An Engaging Thriller With Good Performances!