Dahaad

Firstly, I am not the target audience here. I am a Telugu speaking person. I picked this web-series only because I am fan of crime / mystery/ thrillers.

I was a little skeptical if I should continue watching this show after the first episode. Glad, I decided to give it an other chance because the episodes 2 to 8 are intriguing. I wouldn't say the show is mind-boggling or out of the world but its definitely a good enough show especially if you are interested in this genre.

The plot is good (based on a real criminal) / actors suit the part (most of them slayed their performances) / locations are neat (very raw and realistic) / very rarely lagged - most of the episodes are crisp.

Other than good crime/ thriller / mystery / drama aspects, this show has some beautiful sub-plots showing all the bad stuff that's happening in our society.

The way we force our kids /especially women to get married as if there is nothing else for them to do in their life - The way we should support every individual / especially women to be independent in their life - The way we still discriminate people based on their caste but not their caliber - Normalizing having a freedom of seeing someone before getting married, especially of a women - How to subtly teach kids what is right and wrong when they do something bad in stead of beating / abusing them left right center - Treating male kid same as ones female kid - Normalizing having an attraction towards the colleagues at workplaces and the doesn't necessarily mean one should get into affairs which could affect an entire family / generation - Showing how a strong man can also be mentally affected and how we neglect it in our society.

There might be few other things I might have missed. However, on a final note, I liked my time watching this series. Will recommend.

Amongst many ordinary thriller web-series and movies with known star-casts, it is rare to get a true edge-of-the-seat thriller series that stands-out.

Dahaad is one of the rare good ones.

Surprised to see the low rating and reflects probably more on who all have watched thus far.

Whether casting, story, pace, dialogues or filming, all are top-notch and you will be pleasantly surprised when you finish the series. More importantly, it is not one of those stupid series which ends season 1 with many unanswered questions.

Good one for binge-watch and then feel satisfied that u did. Hope to see season 2 getting made and being in the similar league of Family Man.

Over the years, I've realized that that murder mysteries are usually either 1. Whodunnits: We, the audience, and the protagonist, together, find out who the bad guy is OR 2. Howcatchem (A term I didn't know existed): We know who the bad guy is from the very beginning, and HOW the protagonist finds out who it is in the ride we're on. #1 is tough, #2 is SO MUCH TOUGHER.

Most of the shows, especially the desi ones in the recent past, pick style #1 since it's relatively easier and overdo misleading the audience. Think Vadanthi, Aranyak, etc. I think it's very bold of a write to pick writing style #2, you've revealed who the 'bad guy' is, how do you keep the audience invested now? Think Dexter, Death Note, and dare I say, Drishyam?

Dahaad falls into the second category and (nitpicking aside) it is very well made suspense-thriller in comparison to recent content in this genre. All performances are top-notch, Sonakshi was trolled over the years but I'm glad she got a chance to play something she's not in the past. Vijay Varma and all the support cast - slow claps. I did hear that the Rajasthani accent was inconsistent throughout the show but I didn't catch it since the actual show was gripping.

In addition to the murder plot, there's a lot of social commentary on gender inequality, violence against women, casteism, and so on - without it getting preachy or in your face. Good cinematography; the intense sound design and music deserves a special mention.

We rarely get serial killer on the loose shows out of India and if we do, they're mostly backed by lackluster writing that assumes the audience is dumb. This...was different. GOOD different!

I fail to understand the low ratings... it may not be technically proficient but content is amazing.. very nicely crafted.. achievement is that even knowing the culprit you are still glued to it... Acting is of highest order.. be it Sinha or Varma or / and all sundry characters.. Sinha in particular has excelled.. she actually looks the part.. Varma as always is comes across as a very genuine actor.. the expressions and nuances he brings to his role is simply mind blowing.. not to forget Gulshan and Sohum... beautifully restrained... direction is superb.. so guys pls watch it and don't believe the cynics and naysayers.

The many low ratings you see here are the ones who haven't even seen the series and only giving 1 star because Sonakshi was there. IMDb should somehow bring a system where only verified veiwers can give their ratings .

Now talking about the series, it is not something new and unique. It's a simple cat and mouse chase between a serial killer and the cops. However , Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar know how to enhance the quality of such simple series . They make it interesting by placing a serial killer who is extremely tough to catch. He's smart and he knows how the police work. How the police , which include Sonakshi , Gulshan and Sohum manage to catch this killer is the main story of this series.

The killer is known from beginning but what makes the series interesting is how difficult he makes it for the cops to track him down . The first 6 episodes go into investigating who is committing the crimes and last ones go into the chase for the criminal .

What Reema has also added is a lot of social commentary on caste, class and marriages which never felt spoonfed or forced. It is very naturally mixed with the dialogues and screenplay and they show us how these social demons are being used by human demons to exploit women .

BGM is good especially the one that plays when the serial killer is in the frame . Sets are good as well.

Vijay Verma steals the show as the smart pyscho killer. What a talent he is !!! He literally dominates the whole show with his creepy nature . Even without lifting a hand on any woman , he manages to creep you out with his crimes. Gulshan as the senior cop and a broad minded father is amazing to watch . Sonakshi definitely does a much better job than what she has been doing so far. Sohum Shah displays a good range of his character from being a negative thinking guy to a positive minded person.

Negatives - from the 6th episode onwards i felt the series stretches a bit too much while trying to capture the killer. In doing so , they ruined the climax. They could have made a climax that was explosive because the pyscho killer was so difficult to get to but instead the makers realised the series is getting too long and decided to end it in a hurry .

Overall, definitely a must watch series. Don't go by negative ratings , watch it and then decide but don't expect anything unique or new .