 "Netflix 'Mandala Murders' Review: Vaani Kapoor, Surveen Chawla starrer mumbo-jumbo that makes sense")
Directors: Gopi Puthran & Manan Rawat
Language: Hindi
Cast: Vaani Kapoor, Vaibhav Raj Gupta, Surveen Chawla, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Siddhanth Kapoor, Rahul Bagga, Raghubir Yadav and Monica Choudhary
Welcome to the world of Netflix’s Mandala Murders, where science meets mythology — a world that is compelling and full of suspense. The best thing about cinema changing and the digital platform is that despite having so many characters, each and every character plays a very important role, and most importantly, there is no hero or heroine. It’s time for Bollywood to come out of the star-struck dramas. The best thing is, though there are too many characters, it never feels overcrowded. It is indeed an engaging story with solid performances.
As tension builds in the small town of Charandaspur, where ancient prophecies blur the lines of modern realities, each symbol is like a puzzle that waits to be solved. Because each symbol decides who is going to be the next human to be sacrificed, as the superhuman ‘Y_ast_’ gets created by the Mandala cult by stitching together the best body parts of each of the human sacrifices. This Netflix series revolves around a secret cult led by Rukmini (Shriya Pilgaonkar). Created by Gopi Puthran and co-directed by him and Manan Rawat, Netflix’s Mandala Murders is hands down one of the sharpest spooky shows on the digital platform.
A story spanning over decades which begins in 1952, the best thing about Netflix’s _Mandala Murders_ is that never even once you will get bored and you can’t miss any of the scenes because all of them are linked to each other and weaved to perfection. In this series, the performances of each of the craftsmen are brilliant and ‘story is the hero’. Each and every character has a backstory and a secret wound that is cut so deep that time too cannot heal.
This Netflix’s series is based on a book ‘The Butcher of Benaras’ by Mahendra Jakhar. The series reimagines the book’s plot, shifting the focus from the Vatican and Bhrigu Samhita to a secret cult worshipping a god named Yast. The murders are linked to a cult called Ayastha Mandala.
The performances of each of the actors is mind-blowing. But the most powerful one is by Vaani Kapoor , who plays the role of a CID officer, Rhea Thomas. She comes on an important mission to Charandaspur to find the cause of a series of mysterious murders happening in this place and why one of the body parts of each of the victims goes missing.
As she digs deeper into the case, she finds that there is something more dangerous and luring than just the murders. There are some chilling scenes of vardan (blessing) where you have to sacrifice your thumb by putting it into a machine, as it chops off in return your wish will be fulfilled.
Those women who are following the cult also have a regular life, and they believe that what they are doing is for the good of the earth. Little do they know that the method that they are using is totally unethical, but they still believe that this prathaa (custom) of sacrificing humans is for a better place to live in. There is violence in the show, but there is a limit to the gruesomeness. Yet there is an unknown fear that is created as the women from the Mandala cult build up in the run-up to these acts of human slaughter.
Vikram Singh (Vaibhav Raj Gupta) is a local of Charandaspur and is a police officer, also has a backstory. He comes to his native place along with his father in search of his mother, who went missing twenty years back. He believes that there is a bigger mystery around it, and you need to watch it till the end to find out what it is. The spookiness and the terrifying scenes will keep you glued to the screen, and most importantly, each and every character of the show is well-written, layered, and nuanced. As I mentioned before, the writing is the hero, and the blend of sci-fi with mythology is what makes Mandala Murders different. Binge-watch it or just watch it at one go, the way I did, but don’t give it a miss.
Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)
Watch the trailer of Netflix and YRF’s Mandala Murders here:
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