‘Brinda’ directed by newcomer Surya Vangala, is a murder mystery series, but one that aspires to be more than the regular cop-versus-killer tale. Brinda played by Trisha is a newly appointed SI at a police station in Telangana, who decides to solve a man’s mysterious death, despite not receiving any backup from her superiors.
Cut to the past. Two siblings are seen happily playing with each other, but there are signs of impending doom, which becomes evident when the duo return home. The local priest claims that Chinni (the sister) has to be sacrificed to appease the goddess of the forest.
There are some scenes that expose Surya’s inexperience as a debutant director. Though he cleverly establishes Brinda's feisty nature, the filmmaker initially places a newbie like her so casually at crime scenes, making the viewing experience, quite unconvincing.
However, he manages to overcome those shortcomings by building a strong backstory, thanks to some really smart writing. He employs small twists at unexpected places to keep the interest of the audience.
What stands out in ‘Brinda’ is how the makers have effectively explored the chain of deaths being investigated by Trisha's character, while also attempting to unravel the dangers of zealotry.
Superstition as a theme has often been explored in movies. But in ‘Brinda’, the makers have put in a lot of thought on how to sensitively portray the subject, just like how it was exposed in the hit Tamil series ‘Ayaali’.
Trisha who was last seen in ‘Leo’ has made her OTT debut with the series. It is also her first attempt as a cop. The actor, known mostly for playing girl-next-door characters gets out of her comfort zone in ‘Brinda’. Though she initially struggles to get under the skin of the character, she soon finds her footing and delivers a good performance. Ravindra Vijay, as her colleague, also does an exceptional job, though it is Anand Sami, who steals the limelight with his nuanced performance as a villain.
The actors who play the younger version of Anand Sami and Indrajith's characters Thakur and Sathya, respectively, have done a good job. In fact, it is the backstory of these characters that is the major draw of the series. The anguish of the children have been captured beautifully in the work that explores crime and superstitions in equal measure.
(The series is currently streaming on SonyLiv)
