Until 2020, there was a concerted effort by Netflix's Indian arm, or perhaps I should say the Hindi arm, to tell stories set in the horror genre. While Bollywood's relationship with horror had been rather rocky, the streaming platform started off strong with Ghoul. With the ever-reliable Radhika Apte at the helm, the miniseries was a rather interesting take on John W. Campbell Jr.'s "Who Goes There?" Then came Betaal, which, unlike many people, I quite enjoyed.
The idea of the British returning to haunt us like zombies is an interesting concept, and it featured committed performances from Vineet Kumar Singh, Aahana Kumra, and Manjiri Pupala. Then came Typewriter, which looked promising because it had Sujoy Ghosh at the helm, but it was simply a boring mess. In Ghost Stories, let's face it, only the Dibakar Banerjee segment stood out; the rest was garbage. Leila was a comeback, but negative press ruined its chances of renewal. And Kaali Khuhi was the final nail in the coffin. Now, after five long years, Mandala Murders arrives to resurrect the genre.
Creator: Gopi Puthran
Stars: Vaani Kapoor, Vaibhav Raj Gupta, Surveen Chawla
Mandala Murders, by Gopi Puthran and Manan Rawat, is an adaptation of Mahendra Jakhar's The Butcher of Benares, written by Avinash Dwivedi, Gabe Gabriel, Chirag Garg, Anurag Goswami, Matt Graham, and Puthran. The plot takes place in a fictional version of Varanasi called Charandaspur, home to a cult called the Aayastis.
Their goal is to obtain a boon from their deity, Yast, with the help of a complex device if they are willing to part with their thumb. But, apparently, that's not the real price they have to pay to seek help from the supernatural; it's something far more heinous, and it's being extracted to give Yast a human vehicle. So, in the 1950s, the people of Charandaspur banded together and shut down Aayasthal. 75 years later, suspended cop Vikram returns to the city with his father, Vishwanath, to search for his mother, Vasudha, who went missing when his younger brother, Pawan, died in a car accident.
However, as soon as he arrives, we learn that the Aayastis are back in business and are claiming lives left, right and center. While Vikram gets help from his old friend, Pramod, and a CIB officer, Rea, the investigation into the serial murders faces harsh scrutiny from Kavita's (Vikram's comatose girlfriend) elder sister, a politician named Ananya. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a classic, and the mistake everyone makes in adapting it is believing that the complexity lies in the plot, not the emotions. The whole point of that story is for humans to play god, and for a monster to prove itself more human than humans. If you don't get that part right, it doesn't matter how many times you jump between time periods, how intricate your story's universe is, or how many broken characters there are; it's not going to work. And that's the biggest mistake of Mandala Murders' writers.
They get so hung up on vague world-building and convoluted character work that they literally fail to bring Frankenstein's monster to life. They try to talk about environmentalism, witch hunts (and their roots in misogyny), greed, ambition, corruption, nihilism, grief, and death through the lens of science fiction and horror. I can certainly appreciate the effort to turn the "holiest city in the world" into a canvas for what's devouring the country from within. I like that there's a Darr-esque subplot hidden in all this mess. I think Vikram, Rea, and Ananya are compelling characters. It's just that everything jumped from the page to the screen too quickly. This required a lot of preparation time, especially the dialogue, before even a single scene was shot.
Visually, Mandala Murders looks good. Clearly, a lot of thought has gone into the production design, art direction, props, costumes, set design, lighting, locations, special effects, and visual effects, and it shows. The Aayastis' lair, their "currency," their totems, and the device they use to grant buffs are all highly detailed. The body horror aspect is really good. I mean, the first thing that really hits home is a human turned into a starfish. Yes, the torso is gone, and the guy's limbs are sewn onto his head! It's twisted, and as a horror fan, I love it.
The overall tone of the series is pretty consistent. Puthran and Rawat treat their story with the utmost sincerity. There's no wry humor or winks at the camera, and I appreciate that, especially now that Bollywood is trying to bring the next Star Trek movie to both the big and small screens. But I guess they feared that the mystery-solving and supernatural shenanigans would scare away those traumatized by previous Netflix horror projects, and tried to keep them hooked with action scenes. I won't sugarcoat it: the action is terrible. I understand what they were going for, but like the script, the stunt choreography and the actors involved needed a lot more polish. I know everyone will blame the camera and the editing, but when the source material is bad, there's nothing the cinematographers and editors can do to save it.
As for the acting in Mandala Murders, everyone is brilliant. Vaibhav Raj Gupta's character development is so depressing that, at a certain point, I felt they should end his suffering. But just because Gupta injects Vikram with so much pathos, it's interesting to see him reach new depths of sadness. Vaani Kapoor is excellent. It's so strange that the term stoicism has always been associated with male characters, but yes, female characters can be stoic too. She's so reserved most of the time, which is why her occasional bursts of emotion are so powerful.
There's a moment in the final episode where Vaani portrays this mix of revenge and compassion as she kills the show's "villain," and it's beautifully done. Surveen Chawla is brilliant. It's truly amazing to watch her play these complex, flawed characters project after project; she's on a dream run. Yogendra Vikram Singh, Rahul Bagga, Siddhanth Kapoor, Sharat Sonu, Monica Chaudhary, and the rest of the supporting cast are top-notch. The extended cameos by Jameel Khan (a Gullak reunion), Shriya Pilgaonkar, Manu Rishi Chadha, Raghubir Yadav, Rahul Singh, Sunny Hinduja, Anang Desai, and Aaditi Pohankar are incredible.
I won't say I had a great time watching Mandala Murders. The pacing is poor. The narrative is unnecessarily convoluted. There are a ton of plot holes. But as a horror fan who grew up watching films like Aahat, Ssshhhh…Koi Hai, Mano Ya Na Mano, and Vikraal aur Gabraal, I will always support sincere attempts to revitalize the Indian branch of this genre. In the current sociopolitical climate, I understand how difficult it must have been to show Hindus and Muslims living side by side in a fictional version of Varanasi, while also depicting a sect that, well, closely resembles the ones we have in real life, some of which even have a strong social media presence and representation in the administration.
I can only hope things improve so that storytellers like Gopi Puthran and Manan Rawat can say whatever they want without fear of criticism or hacks. The series has a lot of room for improvement, and given the solid cast, I think it should be renewed so we can get to know Yast better, who offers a rather interesting take on Frankenstein. A bit raw, but interesting. If you think this is a recommendation, please watch Mandala Murders on Netflix. By the way, if you want to see a really good, modern take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I highly recommend watching Laura Moss's Birth/Rebirth. You'll thank me later.
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