- Platform: Reel drama
- Release Date: 22/12/2022
- Cast: Tapan Das, Pranjal Saikia, Bibhuti Bhushan Hazarika, Monuj Borkotoky, Neetali Das, Diksha Khaund, Anupam Kaushik Borah, Srishti Sharma
- Director: Anupam Kaushik Borah
Rudraneel Uttarpurux for me was like the unforgettably tasty and soul-nourishing “Dal” that my mom would prepare when I was in school. I knew its taste, its aroma, and its gentle warmth all too well but every time she poured it on the sparkling white rice with a touch of “ghee” on top of it, the aroma and the expectation of the taste that was about to explode in my mouth filled my heart with unlimited joy and a sense of wish fulfillment that remains unequaled. Even though the “Dal” was always the same, it never lost its charm and the sheer happiness and content that every serving of it brought with it.
Rudraneel Uttarpurux was a cinematic equivalent of this slice of heaven that I now miss every day. I knew my way around the story, I knew the characters and I knew what to expect from the screenplay but the series was made with so much love, care, efficiency, and attention to detail that everything about it worked for me.
Well known story that still feels fresh: –
The story revolves around a successful businessman Padma Lochan Boruah (Pranjal Saikia) who is suspected to have been murdered by someone in his household. Before his death, Boruah had not only called the police and asked for their help. He had also engaged the service of detective Rudra Dowerah (Tapan Das) who arrives just in time to start his own investigation of the murder. As is always the case, the prime suspects are Boruah’s family members.
As Dowerah dwells deeper into the case, he realizes that each of the suspects had their own motive and resources to murder Boruah. It is only a matter of time before secrets from Boruah’s past bleed into the case and make the motives of the suspects murkier and even more difficult to understand and unravel. Will Dowerah be able to find the killer? Who is the killer and why did he/she kill Boruah? The audiences are taken on a tumultuous journey by director Anupam Kaushik Borah as he peels layer after layer from this delicious and juicy mystery that is ripe with love, betrayal, hatred, and a whole lot of other human emotions that make this world interesting and sometimes evil.
Dense screenplay that grows on you in subsequent viewings: –
The story of Rudraneel Uttarpurux is extremely dense and one needs to concentrate on every scene and every dialogue to be on the same page with the mystery and the proceedings. This is not the kind of series that you can skip forward and still not lose anything. The director shows you things in the beginning that he then references in the middle and the end to make a certain point. This happens throughout the narrative. Also, while the investigation is on, Anupam Kaushik Borah uses flashbacks efficiently to show us things that are being related by certain characters to the detective Rudra Dowerah. This not only makes the audiences a more active and engaged part of the investigation but also lets them take their call on who they think the murderer is. I was right about at least one character and then something happened at the end that caught me by surprise. Thus, the finale proved to be a lot more rewarding for me as I got more than what I was expecting. While the story may look simplistic and well-known, the characters and their specific motivations for doing what they are shown doing not only makes the story intriguing and investing but also very personal.
A very unique quality of this series is that it is a lot more dramatic and rewarding in its second viewing. When you see the series a second time, you know the intimate details about each and every character and you see them giving clues and visual cues to what is going on in their mind and what is their expectation from certain sequences very clearly albeit in a subtle way. Sometimes this happens in the background of the actual action too. I absolutely loved this aspect of Borah’s storytelling as it made the series a lot more re-watchable.
Structured narrative that is easily intelligible but highly captivating: –
Even with all its flashbacks, back and forth, and multiple tracks unfolding parallelly, Rudraneel Uttarpurux’s screenplay remains lucid, and intelligible and flows between the various aspects of the storytelling organically. Since one needs to remember what happened a few episodes ago to correlate with what was unfolding in the current episode, the director needed to ensure that the structure of the narrative was such that its various elements stuck with the audiences. Anupam Kaushik Borah is successful in doing that. It is also a fact that the narrative has rock-solid logic and believability supporting its forward surge and this helps keep the proceedings realistic, affecting, and memorable.
Memorable and effective dialogue: –
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that 90% of the series is about people talking. Thus, it was the dialogues of the series that had to grab the attention of the audiences and ensured that they were glued to the proceedings. One needed to write dialogues that were powerful, interesting, and absolutely critical to progressing the plot. I was delighted to note that Borah, who is also credited with writing the series, didn’t waste a single line of dialogue. The sensibility and aesthetics of all that is said are kept in sync with what we are used to these days and yet thoughts and emotions are put out using words and phrases that will stick with the viewers primarily because of how memorable they are and how wonderfully they are delivered.
Sensational performances from the ensemble cast: –
I will rate Tapan Das’s rendering of Rudra Dowerah right up there with Feluda, Byomkesh, Sonada, and even Holmes owing to how beautifully Das transforms into the character and the “Khati Axomia” swag that he brings to it. He hits the sweet spot between the right amount of unabashed heroism and subtility and he does so throughout the series. There isn’t a single scene where he goes unnecessarily over the top when it was incredibly easy for him to go overboard with a character of this nature. His restraint and brooding heroism go a long way toward making him the mainstay of this series.
The veteran actor, Pranjal Saikia is such a joy to behold that every word that he says works for me. He brings certain nuances to his essay that he has evidently cultivated throughout his illustrious career. He stamps his class throughout the narrative without ever forgetting to be Padma Lochan Boruah and not Pranjal Saikia.
Playing Padma Lochan Boruah’s son who is on the brink, Bibhuti Bhusan Hazarika is successful in bringing out the desperation, frustration, and trauma of a man who is in desperate need of his father’s consent to get a project underway. He is sold as a man who might have killed his father. His mannerisms are pitch-perfect to sell this diversion if at all it is a diversion.
It was only a week ago that I watched Monuj Borkotoky in Shadow Assassins and felt that in a longer essay he would be a lot more effective and here we are watching him in a role that is integral to the narrative of this series. This is probably the best that I have seen him perform. His innocent face adds an added layer of intrigue to the character that he turns out to be in the end. I loved the duality of it and also the confusion that he so bluntly puts out in a scene that is the high point of his performance here. Anupam Kaushik Borah delivers yet another restrained and worthy performance that is in strong keeping with the character and adds a lot to the narrative.
The strongest performances in the series come from the actresses led by the fiery Neetali Das. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal the best aspects of their performances without giving spoilers. I will only say that Neetali Das, in a scene, where she gets into an altercation with her father-in-law, toggles between the different shades of the same character so effectively that I was in awe of her essay. The same can be said about Diksha Khaund who is heartbreaking in a similar altercation that ends in a manner that left me sad. Srishti Sharma is a fascinating new talent to look forward to in the future. She stamps her class and documents her acting prowess in the scenes where she gets the chance to spread her wings.
Effective cinematography that captures the mood of the narrative: –
It would be wrong to not mention the cinematography of this series. I loved how the DOP, Chandra Kumar Das used close-ups and mid-range shots to let the audiences feel the emotions flowing through the characters in particular scenes. He understands the size of the screen that the series would be viewed on and envisions his shots to suit the screens to the fullest. This not only helped convey the emotions and aided the storytelling but also made the series a lot easier on the eye and breezy to sit through.
Wonderful direction: –
Everything good about Rudraneel Uttarpurux dials down to Anupam Kaushik Borah’s splendid direction of the series. He extracts wonderful performances from his ensemble cast. He uses the series’ runtime so judiciously that every second of it becomes essential viewing. This isn’t something that we see every day in Indian films and series. For a moody and temperamental whodunit thriller, Rudraneel Uttarpurux is extremely engaging and demands your attention throughout. Your attention is not only required to understand the mystery but also to soak in the quantum of emotional and dramatic weight that each of the characters is shown carrying. Borah’s dealing with the technicalities of the series is also on point and adds gusto to his direction as we go along.
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Final Words: –
This is the second time this year after Kolongpar that I have re-watched a series twice in a single day. I loved everything about Rudraneel Uttarpurux and feel that it is one of those rare series that will end up having a universal appeal. The story, performances, direction, and technicalities all gel up organically to give the audiences a compounded impact that will not only entertain them but will also make them ask for more. Assam finally has her own “Deductionist” and it will be a great idea to have a season of this series every year.
Rating: 4/5 (4 out of 5 Stars)
Views expressed in this article are that of the reviewer and do not in any way reflect EastMojo’s position.
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