‘Black White And Gray Love Kills’ web-series review: A unique, gripping, compelling thriller that’s more than just a murder mystery

Cast: Mayur More, Deven Bhojani, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kamlesh Sawant, Palak Jaiswal

Director: Pushkar Sunil Mahabal

Language: Hindi

There’s a new web show in town titled Black White And Gray Love Kills. It begins with an ode to India and its absorbing culture. It soon morphs into a whodunnit with four murders and one accused. Either don’t get fooled by the name or be conned by the opening stretch. The visuals in the credits are as trippy as the moniker. It’s impossible not to be intrigued by the ensemble. You have Kamlesh Sawant as an investigating officer brining back the fresh memories of the Drishyam franchise. There’s Deven Bhojani, the down on his luck friend in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and the ever infallible and infuriating Dushyant from Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. We also have Tigmanshu Dhulia, who always carries a certain sense of swagger with him every time he takes up an acting assignment. And in between all the mess is Mayur More, the terrific chameleon-like central character. The one thing that makes a great murder mystery is the right form of restlessness, both in the story, the characters, and the people who watch them.

Black White And Gray Love Kills begins in the dark, which means the viewers will be in the dark too until all the cards are revealed. A single stretch of a scene includes an eye witness, a cigarette, a politician’s poster, a dead body, and of course, blood. All this pandemonium is juxtaposed with interviews of people related to the case and close to the victims. The creepy camerawork is reminiscent of the haunting Love Sex Aur Dhokha. A sudden death is An Action Hero redux. But we are not even halfway through. This is just the beginning. We have many more dots to connect.

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This isn’t just about fixing the mystery and finding the killer, director and writer Pushkar Sunil Mahabal along with Yogendra Oke aim at a social commentary about rape and women’s character too. Just like the recent Khauf, the narrative has more connotations than one. And just like Rang De Basanti, a foreign filmmaker comes to India to make a film. The 2006 saga was about awakening a generation and a bunch of callous students through the story and sacrifices of our freedom fighters. Here, it’s about digging deep into a murder case to extract the truth.

The most nifty aspect of Black White And Gray Love Kills is how it stays true to the essence of the blueprint of a skillful thriller. The series never takes sides, the filmmaker asks the most precise questions, the responses are just as prompt and practical, and the flashbacks are gripping from start to finish. One more film that comes to mind is Crazxy. Remember how exhausting and exhilarating the one shot tyre changing scene was? There’s an essence here too, which is followed by an expected yet unexpected brawl in the jungle. By now, you’re more curious to know what happened as opposed to who made it all happen.

And then there’s the twist that shows how truth is equally strange and bizarre. It blurs the line between fact and fiction. That’s what makes a series or a film stand out. And this one shows how love indeed kills, how life is stuck in a loop of black, white, and grey. But it’s also a reflection of how love make life live (no Aashiqui 2 puns here), how flimsiness can save the day for someone who never believed in god, and how some questions will never be answered.

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Black White And Gray Love Kills is streaming on Sony LIV