CAST: Ajay Devgn, Esha Deol, Raashii khanna, Atul Kulkarni.Ashwini Kalsekar, Ashish Vidyarthi, Tarun Gahlot Satyadeep Dubey,
DIRECTED BY Rajesh Mapuskar
BLUF: In the crime-ridden streets of Mumbai, journeying through the maze of psychopathic minds is brilliant super-cop Rudra Veer Singh.Estranged with his wife, he is dealing with personal issues of anger, disappointment and distrust.
Obsessed with him is a prodigy who is a suspect in her parents murder. Without proof, Rudra cannot convict her but she supports and covers for Rudra in his other intense cases. An adaptation of Series Luther, Ajay Devgn aces his web debut with this six part intense psycho crime thriller.
THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES
Rudra- the edge of Darkness is the Indian version of the Emmy Award nominated psychological crime thriller television series Luther, which featured Idris Alba as Luther in its original version.
Ajay Devgn plays the brooding Luther – called Rudra in the Indian adaptation and Raashii Khanna plays Aliyah ( Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan in the OG) the murderer who is a brilliant,child prodigy, who has a complicated relationship with Rudra.
Esha Deol makes a comeback as Shaira, Rudra’s estranged wife ( Kamasutra actress Indira Verma played this in the OG) who has moved on and fallen in love with another man Rajiv (Satyadeep Mishra) and wants to separate from Rudra.
Rudra is like Luther in the OG, dedicated, obsessed, quite violent and bordering on being effected by the crimes he investigates.
In the very first episode (just like in the OG) , Rudra investigates a murder case of a couple found dead by their daughter.
He suspects Aliyah of murdering her parents but is unable to arrest her due to lack of evidence. As Aliyah grows more obsessed with Rudra, he relents and asks for her help in understanding some of the criminal cases he investigates.
In the second episode, a sniper targets cops all over Mumbai and Rudra must track him down. The sniper, suffering from war PTSD is egged on by his father to commit the brutal crimes. Rudra stages a television interview, insulting the sniper and drawing him out at great personal risk
In the third episode, a serial killer kidnaps mothers every decade and drains them of their blood.
Things become complicated when the blood chugging superstar painter ( a brilliant KC Shankar , earlier seen in Rocket Boys) accuses Rudra of having attacked him, making it difficult for the cops to continue the case through legal means. Rudra continues to communicate with Aliyah, and forms an unusual friendship with her. Aliyah decides to help Rudra in his personal life by getting Rajiv beaten up to drive Shaira back to Rudra.
In Episode 4, a serial killer targets women who are alone at night. He takes a piece of jewelry from each of them and gives one of their lockets to his unknowing wife, as a birthday gift. He escalates rapidly, and Rudra’s team is forced to enlist the help of the killer’s wife, in order to track him down
In Episode 5, an art dealer’s wife is taken hostage, and the kidnappers demand a set of valuable diamonds in exchange for her life. The husband goes to the police for help, because his wife has swallowed the diamonds, and he fears that if this is revealed, the kidnappers will kill her to get them. Events spin rapidly out of control when it is revealed that Rudra’s colleague DCP Gautam (Atul Kulkarni here and Steve Mackintosh in the OG)) had knowledge of the robbery and allowed it to go ahead in exchange for a portion of the profits. Gautam kills his criminal contact to cover his trail and then the kidnapper (Luke Kenny) himself. He flees, finally killing Shaira in an attempt to draw Rudra out, and frames Rudra for the crime.
Rudra, framed for Shaira’s murder, chooses to run from the police until he can prove his innocence. His boss, played by Ashwini Kalsekar is brilliant in her portrayal, has strong regrets for having taken Luther back from suspension, despite having received advice not to. Rudra plots to take revenge on Gautam with the assistance of Aliyah and Rajeev. The season ends here in both the OG and the Indian version.
IN THE KNOW
Devgn is perfectly cast. No one else couldve Idrised this like him. Understated in his emo scenes, the highlight of his performance is the sheer screen presence, sometimes barely flexing his face muscles but conveying the exact emotion perfectly.
Devgn is a powerful actor and he lays that argument to rest forever.
Aliyah and Rudra chemistry sizzles and stays on slow burn through the six episodes.
Raashii Khanna delivers perfectly.
Esha Doel looks a little out of sync as a tad bit over dramatic for living room content. She may need to recalibrate.
The direction is pro. The setting is Indian yet very urban. The scenes are well augmented into the narrative with pace, the BG score perfectly accentuates the thrill, and the scenes are fluidly adapted.
Atul Kulkarni, Ashwini Kalsekar, Ashish Vidyarthi and Tarun Gahlot are very appropriately cast as Rudra’s colleagues. Satyadeep Mishra is a perfect casting call as Rajiv who is boyishly soft and unproblematic – the exact opposite of Rudra’s masculine darkness.
Overall a perfect Indian adaptation of our beloved Luther.
And now we look forward to the next 4 more seasons. Applause Peeps, bring it on.
