I'm from Kolkata. I'm Bengali.
Now with that out of the way, let's delve in deeper, keeping the language, the locations and the popular regional actors aside.
The vampire lore, though age-old and weathered, feels fresh and looks delectable in this series thanks to enough fun (original?) elements sprinkled in throughout to charm and entertain. Funny with thrills; neither too dark nor too deep. The leads have been well written, with contrasting personalities and purposes. Good/evil, hero/villain lines have been blurred out, and it's not about taking sides with this one. The narrative manages to keep the turn of events quite interesting - nothing forced, nothing bland. The visuals look great too.
The "love story" has been given a fresh perspective. It's 'woke' and it mostly works for me. Rumi complements Roy in an 'opposites attract' kind of way, hence the lack of chemistry between the actors works in their favour. Loved the interactions between Rumi and Roy's parents. Loved how David and Meera also complement the Roys.
The Rumi-Kartick angle would surely turn heads, but I found it both relevant and relatable.
Tanya Maniktala looks ravishingly beautiful as Rumi (her eyes do most of the work though). Shantanu Maheshwari as the meek and likeable Roy plays his part really well. But it's Sikandar Kher who takes the cake. There's this uncut jaggedness about Kartick which he pulls off so well. Loved his scenes with the veteran actor Anjan Dutt. Revathi as Luna is a breath of fresh air.
I'd probably have done away with a few plot points. Didn't really care for some of the costume choices. The music's not that great either.
The season finale has set the stage for something bigger and probably better. Let's see whether we get there.
Now with that out of the way, let's delve in deeper, keeping the language, the locations and the popular regional actors aside.
The vampire lore, though age-old and weathered, feels fresh and looks delectable in this series thanks to enough fun (original?) elements sprinkled in throughout to charm and entertain. Funny with thrills; neither too dark nor too deep. The leads have been well written, with contrasting personalities and purposes. Good/evil, hero/villain lines have been blurred out, and it's not about taking sides with this one. The narrative manages to keep the turn of events quite interesting - nothing forced, nothing bland. The visuals look great too.
The "love story" has been given a fresh perspective. It's 'woke' and it mostly works for me. Rumi complements Roy in an 'opposites attract' kind of way, hence the lack of chemistry between the actors works in their favour. Loved the interactions between Rumi and Roy's parents. Loved how David and Meera also complement the Roys.
The Rumi-Kartick angle would surely turn heads, but I found it both relevant and relatable.
Tanya Maniktala looks ravishingly beautiful as Rumi (her eyes do most of the work though). Shantanu Maheshwari as the meek and likeable Roy plays his part really well. But it's Sikandar Kher who takes the cake. There's this uncut jaggedness about Kartick which he pulls off so well. Loved his scenes with the veteran actor Anjan Dutt. Revathi as Luna is a breath of fresh air.
I'd probably have done away with a few plot points. Didn't really care for some of the costume choices. The music's not that great either.
The season finale has set the stage for something bigger and probably better. Let's see whether we get there.