‘Dhootha’ OTT Review

‘Dhootha’ OTT Review

Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Sathya Priya Bhavani Shankar, Prachi Desai, Tanikella Bharani, Tharun Bhacker, Anish Kuruvella, Rohini and others.

Producer: Sharrath Marar

Writer - Director: Vikram K Kumar

OTT Platform: Amazon Prime Video

‘Dhootha’ is one web series that kept the audience waiting for a long time. The teaser was launched long back but it took a lot of time before finally getting streamed. Naga Chaitanya is making his digital debut with this thriller series and ‘Manam’ fame Vikram Kumar has created and directed it. With good expectations, the series is out now and let us dive into the review straight away.

Story:

Sagar (Naga Chaitanya) is a journalist who prefers money over ethics. A series of unexpected events shake his entire world as people close to him start dying one after the other. He receives new articles about what’s about to happen before every tragedy. At the same time, a special investigation officer looks into these events which leads to a lot of issues. Who is behind all these murders? Will Sagar solve this mystery? What is the reason for all these tragedies? Start streaming the series to find all the answers.

Analysis:

People who started watching Vikram K Kumar’s films from ‘Ishq’ might think that he is a class director known for his love stories like ‘Hello’, ‘Thank You’ and different concept movies like ‘Manam’, ‘24’ and ‘Gang Leader’. But he made a movie with Madhavan titled ’13B’ back in 2009. It is an edge-of-the-seat mystery/horror thriller where a TV serial shows what happens to the hero’s family way before it happens in real life. How he protects his family and finds the reason behind it forms the crux of the story. Interestingly, his web series ‘Dhootha’ shares a striking resemblance with ‘13B’. Here the hero receives a newspaper clip that shows him what’s going to happen in the form of an article. He expanded the story as it is a web series and included more blood, brutality and expletives to appeal to the current set of OTT lovers. Where the series excels is the drama part as the proceedings always keeps you guessing right from the beginning.

The series starts off well and the first episode draws your attention instantly. the makers keep you hooked with twists at regular intervals. Since it is a web series, Vikram Kumar gives proper detailing and the investigation scenes are quite interesting as well. But Vikram Kumar faltered a bit when it comes to writing characters. Prachi Desai’s character couple have been better. Her role peters out as the series progresses. Also, the protagonist is shown as a very self-centered person right from the beginning and some scenes even make us question his moral compass. Change in such a character should be gradual but the drastic turn in his personality after the flashback is a bit unconvincing. Also, the role of Youtuber with yellow jacket leaves a lot to be desired. The story moves at a very slow pace till the flashback portions arrive. Though it doesn’t bore the viewers, things could have been a bit quicker. But there were some Vikram Kumar mark scenes that proves the brilliance of the director when it comes to investigation process. These scenes keeps the narration interesting to a large extent.

The flashback portion is well executed but the supernatural element leaves you with a mixed feeling. The end part looks a bit rushed as the last episode is all about tying the loose ends one after the other. Also, the characters in the flashback being linked to the characters in the present surprises the audience. What starts off as a thrilling drama with a lot of twists and turns becomes a supernatural revenge drama at the end. It doesn’t mean that ‘Dhootha’ is bad as it has a lot of good moments. The thrills and suspense keeps you engrossed. The actors did a fantastic job despite minor flaws in their characters. The technical aspects are great and the first three episodes and the last two episodes are quite engaging. ‘Dhootha’ is a decent thriller drama laced with interesting twists and compelling performances.

Performances:

Naga Chaitanya challenged himself with ‘Dhootha’ and passed with flying colours. This role is not a regular lover boy role or a commercial hero character, he plays a grey character and does very well. He does well in the emotional scenes as we can see the worry of a person trying to save his family very clearly. He carried the series and did a fantastic job whilst looking quite handsome.

Prachi Desai’s character is not well-written. She did not get a lot of scope to perform and people expect more from her role. Parvathy did a convincing job as the officer investigating the case. She fits perfectly while Priya Bhavani Shankar is decent as Chaitanya’s wife. Her character is not well explored. Many noted actors like Rohini, Anish Kuruvella and others were given small roles. Ravindra Vijay as the corrupt police officer did amazingly. Tharun Bhascker, Gautham and Tanikella Bharani made cameo appearances.

Technicians:

‘Dhootha’ is a well-made series. The visuals are perfect for this genre. The makers opted for a cloudy tone and night visuals which helped the series. The visuals keep you hooked and the slow-motion shots used for transitions are great. The production values are decent and the production design is brilliant. The editing could have been better as the episodes in the middle could have been a bit pacier. Also, the last episode was a bit rushed which leaves the viewers a bit disappointed.

Writer-director Vikram K Kumar did a decent job when it came to executing what he had written. He extracted good performances from the cast and the technical standards are quite good. But it is the writing that leaves a lot to be desired. We can see the shades of his previous works in this series. He left some characters in the middle. Though he tied all the loose ends at the end, it doesn’t convince you completely. The flashback episode makes it a regular revenge drama despite the supernatural element in it.

Verdict: ‘Dhootha’ - Decent Thriller Drama With Good Performances!