Dhootha Review by StudyBizz

Dhootha Web Series Review: Dhootha, Naga Chaitanya’s maiden Web series in Telugu directed by Vikram K Kumar is out on Amazon Prime OTT Platform. How is the web series? Did it impress the audience? How did Naga Chaitanya perform? Let’s learn now.

Right from Top actors to young protagonists everyone these days is willing to experiment with Web Series, trying their luck on OTT platforms. Now Naga Chaitanya has joined this list. He played a key role in the supernatural web series called ‘Dhootha’ directed by Vikram K Kumar.

Story of Dhootha:

Sagar Varma Avadhuri (Naga Chaitanya) is a prominent journalist. He takes charge as the Chief Editor of the newly launched Samachar magazine. His assistant, Amrita (Prachi Desai), and another senior journalist Chandramurthy (V. Jaya Prakash) will also join the job on the same day. After finishing the program, they stop at a hotel while going home with his wife Priya (Priya Bhavani Shankar), daughter Anjali, and pet dog ‘A’.

Sagar comes across a newspaper cutting in that hotel. It states Sagar’s dog ‘A’ dies in a road accident. Soon after he read it, Sagar’s car is hit by a lorry and the dog in it dies. Since then, some tragedy has continued. Eventually, he finds soon his daughter Anjali, Sagar’s other family members, and friends, along with him are dying due to some reason.

Sagar encounters an old newspaper article clipping foretelling how they are going to die. (Dhootha review) How did journalist Sagar’s life take a turn in such circumstances? What decision did Sagar take to save the family? What is the connection between freedom fighter Satyamurthy (Pashupati) and the editor of ‘Doota’ magazine after Swaraj with these murders? How DCP Kranti Shinoy (Parvathy Thiruvattu) solves these cases. You have to watch the series to know!

Analysis

Vikram K Kumar has a different style as a director. Every story he chooses is slightly different. If you watch Vikram K Kumar’s movies from ’13B’ to ‘Manam’… there is an interesting element in the story. It could be fate or some unseen force. It is the story that influences the characters in it. This makes even complex stories and narratives very easy for the audience to understand. Moreover, the audience gets connected to it better. (Dhootha review)

Vikram K Kumar has been 100 percent successful in making ‘Dhootha’ engaging. Starting the story with a scene where Sagar takes over as the editor of Samachar magazine, the director does not take much time to get to the point. The story starts with Sagar’s car getting into an accident and a paper clip showing the death of the dog in it continues till the last run.

New characters keep coming. Some characters die. The suspense of what will happen to the characters will keep the audience engaged for a long time while watching the series. The director took some time to get into Sagar’s field to find out why this is happening to him. .(Dhootha review) At least by the fifth episode, the viewer who is watching the series will get some clarity on why the series of murders are happening. However, it must be said that there are very few cases where the story until then feels boring. After watching the first episode, the viewer who steps into the world of ‘Doota’ will not want to go back.

The story is interesting, interlinking every character who gets killed to Sagar, the protagonist. What are the conditions that cause them to die? It is a bit difficult for the viewer who watches thriller movies to recognize that. Every scene is interesting as Sagar discovers the reason behind the serial murders. At the same time, some messages are coming in the form of paper cuttings, and that interest is doubled as it happens as it is. .(Dhootha review) But, here is a small problem. Don’t over pull anything. (Dhootha review) Being a series, Vikram K Kumar seems to have taken that edge and stretched some scenes in the name of detailing. Since the beginning of the series, the viewer’s attention has been diverted to many characters, hiding the reason behind the things happening around Sagar. As soon as the character of reporter Kiran comes, one thing comes out. Until then, the audience was well engaged in the story. However, ‘Doota’ takes a horror turn after Kiran’s role.

There are good scenes in directing the audience’s attention towards the ghost and engaging them there as well. However, on the one hand, while thinking that he is a devil, on the other hand, he also created the intention that someone other than the devil is doing all this. The actual link to these murders is not even found in the sixth episode. But even that knot was not fully opened and engaged till the last episode. The flashback scenes in this sequence again feel a bit laggy. (Dhootha review) A lot of movies are inspired in the story. Shades of ‘Film by Aravind’, ‘Drishyam 2’ and ‘Murari’ are seen in ‘Doota’. At the end, the suspense is raised as to what decision Sagarvarma will take to put a full stop to the series of murders. The respective scenes are made interesting. At the end, DCP Kranti Kiran was seen getting ready to investigate another case and it was said that there will be another season.

As for who did it…

Until now the protagonist Naga Chaitanya has tried many genres. He has done many roles from lover boy to mass hero. Unlike all of them, Sagar Varma appeared in ‘Doota’. There are shades of grey. Convincing all of them, Setled acted. It is not visible anywhere. Being a web series, ‘F’ words keep rolling out of the mouth. Most of the characters have foul language. (Dhootha review) Parvathy Thiruvattu as DCP Kranthi, Priya Bhavani Shankar as Sagar’s wife and Prachi Desai as PA did justice to their roles. Ravindra Vijay’s character tried a slightly different diction in the role of SSI Ajay Ghosh. Each character is interlinked to Sagarpatra so that no character is forgotten. Tanikella Bharani, Pashupati, Raja Vijay, Tarun Bhaskar and other characters shine brightly.

How is it technically?

Music: Ishaan Chhabra’s background music elevates the characters and scenes. The theme of ‘Doota’ also haunts the series. Venkatesh Dondapati’s dialogues are good. ‘Isn’t it important for us to have power over those in power’, ‘It is not how many pages we have written. Conversations like ‘Journalism is how many truths we put out’ are good. .(Dhootha review) Intellipadi can be watched if the writers reduce the profanity in the web series.

Cinematography: Mikolaj Saigula’s cinematography deserves special mention for this series. Because the whole of ‘Doota’ takes place in the rain. The reason for that is also told in the first episode itself. An announcement by the Meteorological Department is seen on TV that rains will continue for six days due to a severe cyclone. Usually shooting in the rain beyond a scene or two is a bit difficult. The actors and costumes all get wet. Which character got wet in the rain? Which character is not wet? It is also a little difficult to remember. But, they made sure that everything was detailed according to the scene.

Editing: Naveen Nooli Editing is ok. It seems that the director has given respect to the vision and left the length. (Dhootha review) All eight episodes are about 40 minutes each. The total duration of the series is 5 hours and 46 minutes.

Production: Northstar Entertainment has not compromised on the series in terms of production. All the necessary actors and technical elements for the story and the role have been prepared. The cost for the series will appear on the screen. The VFX scenes would have been done better.

Direction: Finally, we have to talk about the director and writer Vikram K Kumar.. ‘Dhoota’ is not only a supernatural thriller but also an underlying message. While pointing out the corruption in the media, he touched on how the politicians are using the media for their needs. In a way, Vikram is a satirical arrow on the current magazines and channels in society. He showed the good and bad in the fields of politics, the police system, and the media. Although new characters are coming in every episode, they have taken it without going out of the box from the intended point. Shown on the same screen. In the end, the interest was increased by saying another season.

Can you watch it with your family?
can see But, as mentioned above, the profanity is a bit troublesome..(Dhootha review) There are one or two intimate scenes as well. You can forward such scenes as you would be watching on OTT. Also, the murders are brutal. Which are a bit awkward. Better not watch with very young children.

Strengths

+ Story, Narratives

+ Naga Chaitanya, Other Actors

+ Direction, Technical Team Performance

Weaknesses

– Stretched scenes here and there

– Length

Finally: Thrilling ‘Dhootha’..(Dhootha review)

Note: This review is from the perspective of the reviewer. This is the reviewer’s personal opinion only!