Ajay Devgn and his peculiar performance is the only good thing in this uneven adaptation of ‘Luther’ which in Indian context looks like CID set against dark, intense and psychological cases.

Rudra is the official Indian adaptation of the UK crime-drama series ‘Luther’ by Neil Cross. Applause Entertainment acquired the rights to the series from BBC and the same is produced by BBC Studios India. The first season has 6 episodes of around 45-50 minutes each.  

While I haven’t watched Luther and only read its plot, Rudra is a scene by scene copy of the original. Luther must have fit well with an international backdrop where intense and psychological cases are easier to portray. Whereas, Rudra in the Indian context came off as a little too unbelievable.

Rudra invests all his time solving cases which involve weird and psycho killers. He entangles his life with the intense and intellectual crimes happening around him. This is what makes the entire series dark and which is why Rudra claims himself to be someone who is always at the edge of darkness. However, there is more use of the word “Andhera” in dialogues than in the actual plot. Using a dark color palette doesn’t really make the series so. Dark is a feeling, not something you press on the minds of the audience to believe. Having said this, the series is very well shot and the production design is excellent building the required mood and atmosphere. 

Rudraveer Singh or Rudra, the no-nonsense cop is a part of the Special Crimes Unit i.e., SCU. With supernatural abilities to solve cases conveniently, he is the smartest of all the officers. So smart that the other recruits look like clowns being made to solve a trigonometry problem. Of-course, just like how all the typical cops are written, he too is tragedy struck. His relationship with wife played by Esha Deol is on the verge of collapse. So clichéd!

While Ajay Devgn pulls of playing the serious cop role very well with his peculiar style, the rest of the casting is average. Only the character of Aliya Choksi is very well played by Rashi Khanna. Esha Deol is hardly given any room or layers with her character and is eventually killed off before she could brew. (Sorry for the spoiler). Apart from this, the casting of Atul Kulkarni and Ashwini Kalsekar goes terribly wrong. I have never really liked Atul Kulkarni’s acting. He over does it to another extent. Ashwini Kalsekar is too hard to fit in such a serious face. She is Rudra’s boss and has to be equally no-nonsense. But seeing her play the role makes you laugh every time. Such a terrible performance solely because of a role mis-fit.

The writing is average. The screenplay is nicely done but the dialogues poorly written. The characters aren’t layered enough. Maybe, the cards will unfold in the seasons to come. The original, Luther has been renewed for 5 seasons so far and another season is also in talks.

On the whole, Rudra is an uneven adaptation that has its highs and lows. Ajay Devgn and Rashi Khanna’s performance will keep you afloat till the last episode. Apart from this, there are also some gripping and chilling moments in a few cases that keep you on the edge. Rudra is watchable, if you have an appetite for consuming intense murder mysteries.

You can watch the trailer here: