Review: 'Rudra' is an entertaining whodunit that loses some mileage with non-mystery angles

An official remake of the British psychological drama, Luther, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness stars Ajay Devgn taking over from the phenomenal Idris Elba as DCP Rudraveer Singh, who is on a hunt to solve the trickiest of murder cases while he continues to juggle his personal life and the problems that come with it.

Having seen three episodes, here's what I thought of the Disney+ Hotstar Special-

The Plot

As mentioned earlier, DCP Rudraveer Singh aka Rudra (Ajay Devgn) is the best that SCU has when it comes to solving murder mysteries - not only because he is a great cop but also because he has a 'criminal mind.' He gets into the psyche of the killer in order to catch hold of him. But this has come at the cost of his personal life as his marriage has fallen apart and his wife Shaila (Esha Deol Takthani) is dating someone else. How Rudra manages to tackle the two aspects and how successful he gets in the process is what Rudra: The Edge of Darkness is all about.

The Good

Straight off the bat, the format adaptation is done brilliantly by the makers here. So, I have seen the original Luther as well but even then I tried to keep an open mind going into Rudra and the many changes it would enable. While it has taken over the idea of an investigator befriending a genius psychopath, Rudra adopts an episodic concept of solving one mystery after the other in multiple episodes. This is a smart call as not only do you get the freshness of dealing with a new mystery in every episode but it keeps your attention glued anticipating what will happen next.

It cannot be an Ajay Devgn vehicle without his signature swagger, whistleworthy dialogues and everything that he brings to the table. I have to admit I was a tad worried that because the show has taken a superstar like him, they will resort to only fan service but that is not the case. It is fantastic, how the makers have made sure the dialoguebaazi is there and will have you chuckle and whistle at times but it isn't overly used making sure the crux doesn't get hampered by.

Further appreciation to the casting department led by Kavish Sinha. Apart from the principal cast and all the fine actors roped in, the casting of the murderers is a fine job where you manage to strike the balance of relatively unknown actors doing a great job at the same time getting their chance to shine in the fascinating role given to them. And, finally, special props to the cinematography by Sanjay K. Memane and his entire team for keeping the mood very somber throughout the show.

The Not-So-Good

Even though the character of Rashi Khanna's Aliyah Choksi is a job well done but the many decisions, steps she takes while trying to get to Rudra are puzzling to say the least. One might argue that given she is a psychopath, you have to expect the unexpected but even if that is the case, her decisions don't really add too much to the story and instead just become a bit annoying.

The storyline involving Rudra and his wife Shaila is borderline predictable and extremely undercooked. With this story, Rudra tries to go the Family Man way of a man juggling his personal and professional life with the wife being involved with someone else but it isn't half as interesting and in fact, at several points, kills the mood that the respective episode has set with the mystery.

The Performances

It can safely be said that this is a fine OTT debut from superstar Ajay Devgn. As mentioned earlier, his signature dialoguebaazi and swagger is as prevalent as you would expect it to be but he manages to underplay Rudra extremely well too in the more emotional and vulnerable moments. Devgn keeps it subtle whenever needed and holds the entire series on his back in the most efficient manner. Remember the days when he underplayed characters like those in Raincoat and Apaharan? WE see shades of that Devgn coming back.

From the other cast members, Raashi Khanna as Aliyah Choksi is fantastic especially with her switching moods, Atul Kulkarni and Ashwini Kalsekar do a fine job with whatever they are provided but special mention to actor Vikram Singh Chauhan, who plays one of the killers in an episode (not a spoiler). He does a terrific job playing a disturbed killer who is the puppet of his own father.

The Verdict

In the end, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness is an entertaining whodunit that loses mileage with the non-murder mystery angles but grabs your attention enough to keep you hooked on. 

Rating - *** (3/5)