‘Shodha’ series review: Pawan Kumar, Siri Ravikumar starrer smartly reimagines the original

Shodha, the latest Kannada original series on ZEE5, is an adaptation of the English play Catch Me If You Can. There have been several cinematic versions of the story, the latest one being Khoj, the Hindi web series starring Sharib Hashmi and Anupriya Goenka.

Now, in the era of innumerable originals, a remake is naturally frowned upon. A faithful retelling isn’t enough to impress the binge-watching audience craving for freshness. Shodha succeeds in doing something different with the material, as it almost achieves its own identity.

Rohith (Pawan Kumar), a brainy lawyer in Kodagu, approaches the police to file a complaint about his missing wife, Meera. The investigating officer (Arun Sagar) faces a roadblock when Rohith lands up in the hospital after a car crash. He suffers a brain injury, but the consequence of it stumps everyone around Rohith. When he wakes up after the treatment, Rohith remembers everyone, including his daughter and sister-in-law (Anusha Ranganath), but fails to recognise his wife (Siri Ravikumar), who has returned after disappearing from his life briefly.

Sunil Mysuru (Orchestra Mysuru fame) has directed the six-episode series based on the story of Suhas Navarathna. Pawan, known for gripping thrillers Lucia and U-Turn, is credited as the script doctor. The three form a competent team to tighten the screenplay, omitting the shortcomings of Khoj.

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Suhas’ story gives ample opportunities to form a complex narrative structure. Pawan’s contribution as a script doctor is evident as we witness his trademark writing signature of challenging the audience’s intelligence. In the last couple of episodes, aided by Anil Anirudh’s smart editing, Shodha surprises as we watch the same set of events from a different perspective. While Khoj has a one-note protagonist, Shodha keeps you guessing about the intentions of its hero right till the end.

Arun Sagar in ‘Shodha’
| Photo Credit:
ZEE5 Kannada/YouTube

Pawan portrays a flawed man with conviction. You want to hate his character for his crooked plan, but you feel sympathetic to his confessions. In fast-paced thrillers, it helps when actors ease into their characters from the start. Siri (watch out for a surprise!) and Arun Sagar do just that.

In a mini-series, character development is a challenge. With every episode under 20 minutes, the backstories are often presented in a choppy manner. Shodha suffers from the same problem. With so much to express, characters talk as though every line is memorised. The abrupt shifts in the scenes are somewhat balanced by Rahul Roy’s cinematography, which captures moments of silence and the despondent feelings of the characters, apart from showing the majestic backdrop. Arjun Ramu’s variety of background scores elevates small yet vital scenes.

With Shodha, Kannada cinema takes baby steps in the web series space. It acts as proof for other OTT platforms to invest in the right talent for full-fledged series.

Shodha is currently streaming on Zee5