Andhera Series Review:

It’s commendable that a lot of filmmakers, especially on OTT, are finding ways to talk about mental health in their genre-driven stories. Andhera, the latest original by Prime Video, is an admirable addition to the list. Created by Gaurav Desai, and working with a broad appearance of a police procedural thriller, the series largely centres around a few people struggling to battle their inner demons even as they fight the external conflicts. 

Cast: Karanvir Malhotra, Priya Bapat, Surveen Chawla, Prajakta Koli, Pranay Pachauri

Directed by: Raaghav Dar

Created by: Gaurav Desai

Streaming on: Prime Video

Mental health is not the only theme being explored here, though. The writers, ambitious in their attempt, dabble at many ideas, creating an intriguing cocktail of many moods and genres — the supernatural, sci-fi, gory horror, dystopia to name a few. There is also a clear hunger for creating a cinematic imagery here, particularly in the early episodes. The show begins with a fascinating peek into one of the main characters — surreal and mysterious, it hooks you right in.

For the first few episodes, Andhera manages to successfully maintain a level of intrigue about where it’s headed. The characters integral to this vast universe keep growing bigger, without losing your emotional investment. However, the number of questions keep rising and you don’t get satisfactory answers, not any soon at least. The narrative walks like a slow-burn drama with the physique of a pacey thriller, and this collage keeps you befuddled despite all the standalone innovative elements. 

There is an elaborate sequence in episode 2 where Jay (Karanvir Malhotra in an underwhelming performance) and Rumi (a passable Prajakta Koli) visit Bani’s house. It turns the tables on you, creating an immersive atmosphere where you find yourself sucked in its dark, haunting energy. The series works the best when it is confident in its slow-burn pacing, and actively chooses that meditative pace over quick turns or jumpscares. 

But there is a line between immersive and indulgent, and Andhera progressively crosses it with each episode. The premise keeps on building up, without letting the steam off once in a while. It’s an impressive conceit - concocting a universe where the elements of modern medicine and corporate evil become one inhumane force to exploit the struggling common populace. The series sets high goals for itself, but doesn’t have the stamina to keep up with them. The loose ends are far too many to count by the time the stakes get considerably high, and the audience’s patience has run out too thin. For a series consisting of 8 episodes timed at roughly 50 minutes each, it can get a little exhausting.

Andhera is ambitious in its idea, but also somewhat limited by its production values. Towards the latter half of the show, a character mentions how an air of paranormal always bustles through Mumbai — but in the playout, the city never emerges as a haunting character of its own. The VFX work is impressive though, and so is the cinematography. Among all the cast members, Priya Bapat as Kalpana emerges as the most impactful. Kalpana continued to be haunted by her past even as she stands unhazed in her present, and Priya Bapat channels Kalpana’s inner turmoil effectively. Besides Jay, Kalpana is also the most well-etched character in a show that is otherwise brimming with too many figures fighting for screentime and better character writing.

After a point, as the narrative keeps widening its horizon and shifting goalposts, the symbolic depiction of depression becomes too verbose and overstated. That’s the thing about metaphors — they have to be laid out in a subtle way; the less verbose they are, the greater impact they can make. Unfortunately, the parallels drawn between a dark state of mind and literal darkness, albeit admirable, begin to grate after a point. It wants to be a show about heavy ideas, but it also can’t help but spoonfeed us about its thematic nobility. In another of weak decisions, the writers decide to weave in a perfunctory love story arc between two characters who could have bonded just as well in their shared trauma, without necessarily making it anything else. The cliches in Andhera hurt more than other shows, because the makers have clearly entered uncharted waters, and yet don’t have the courage to stay in there throughout. 

What stays with you amidst all the chaos is these little moments nonetheless where the show focuses on a character’s psychological struggles. The idea of how easy is it for darkness to spread around How guilt and remorse often stay with you, despite years of moving on and/or escape. Everyone in this world has their inner demons to deal with — some demons, they fight, others they run away from, but the demon is always there, manifesting in the most unexpected of forms. And above all, what if inner chaos manifests into a scary external presence? These ideas stay with you, and despite all its shortcoming and flaws, it’s hard to dismiss Andhera in its entirety. An ambitious failure means somebody is trying, and that can never be a bad thing.