A complex story-line very intriguingly translated into this thriller series helmed by Tigmanshu Dhulia is edgy and definitely an enjoyable binge.

Based on a book titled ‘Six Suspects’ by Vikas Swarup, The Great Indian Murder revolves around the lives and motives of 6 people who are suspected to have killed Vicky Rai, a spoilt businessman, and son of an affluential politician. The storyline is complex and filled with many-many characters and subplots. However, writer-director Tigmanshu Dhulia along with the other makers have very neatly penned the screenplay and also executed the same very smoothly.

Vikas Swarup is known for his first book, ‘Q&A’ which was turned into an Oscar-winning film, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. ‘Six Suspects’ is his second novel. Vikas’s writing is known to cover India’s social issues and dark sides of the country and he does the same in this story. Vicky Rai, who is killed is a person who has done all sorts of high-intensity crimes right from rape, murders to killing animals, etc. The entire country wants him dead and when acquitted, is killed by one of the six suspects although all have a motive to do so. Whose bullet was it? That’s what is being deciphered as the writer takes you down and dirty in the lanes of Slums, Indian Politics, Journalism, and Investigation Systems.

The series is fantastically directed and with absolute ease. And this can be done only by a seasoned director like Tigmanshu. To manage around two dozen primary characters and the so many secondary characters floating in and out at any given point in time is beyond comprehension. And not only is he able to manage them but also extract such organic performances from every single one.

The series has been marketed on the shoulders of Pratik Gandhi and Richa Chadda and they have performed to expectations. However, more than their performance standing out, the others in this huge ensemble perform much more extraordinarily. For instance, Shashank Arora, Mani PR, Sharib Hashmi, Ashutosh Rana, Gunnet Singh, Himanshi Choudhary perform exceptionally.

On the whole, there are two ways to perceive this series. At times, it can feel that there is so much going on and so many issues being put forth, that you keep losing touch with the original story and it is very hard to stay focused. On the other hand, this series is an exceptional work of screenplay, character and certainly entertains as it has the peculiar Tigmanshu Dhulia style of filmmaking. He keeps it intriguing, dramatic, and enjoyable.

Spoiler Alert! Out of the six suspects, only 4 are dealt with in this season. The remaining 2 will come into the picture in the second season. Also, the series doesn’t get closure in this season. A few characters do but so many tabs have been opened that a lot of them have been left hanging on the cliff. If you are someone who needs closure or doesn’t really enjoy sappy endings, this series might not be for you. The Great Indian Murder, Season 1 has 9 episodes averaging around 45 minutes each and is produced by Ajay Devgn and Priti Sinha under a joint banner ADF & RLE Media. It is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar since 4^th February.

You can watch the trailer here.