In a major surprise for digital viewers, homegrown streaming giant SonyLIV dropped the pilot episode of its much-talked-about murder mystery series, ‘Charlie Chopra‘. The first episode of the Vishal Bhardwaj directed series began streaming on SonyLIV last evening, without any notice or forewarning from the platform. Imagine the shock and surprise then, when SonyLIV subscribers visited the app and found Charlie Chopra Episode 1 smack on the home page of the app.
Interestingly, releasing pilot episodes of flagship shows is common practice in the west. For viewers in India, it’s perhaps the first time that any series has released its pilot episode for viewers’ viewing pleasure, with no release date forthcoming for the rest of the series. Even more intriguingly, SonyLIV has invited viewers to share their suggestions for a suitable title for the murder mystery series, which they can share on a designated link after watching Charlie Chopra Episode 1.
For those who don’t know, Charlie Chopra is a whodunit, adapted from Agatha Christie’s popular novel, ‘The Sittaford Mystery’. It is Vishal Bhardwaj’s first Agatha Christie adaptation, which will also mark his OTT debut. Film buffs will know that Vishal Bhardwaj is the unparalleled master of adaptations of classics, having adapted several works of William Shakespeare for the big screen.
The series was initially titled ‘Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley’, but looks like the makers have changed their mind on the title. Wamiqa Gabbi plays the titular detective Charlie Chopra, besides an impressive ensemble cast featuring Priyanshu Painyuli, Naseeruddin Shah, Neena Gupta, Ratna Pathak Shah, Gulshan Grover, Lara Dutta, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Vivaan Shah, Imaad Shah, Paoli Dam, amongst others.
The series is written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. Anjum Rajabali and Jyotsna Hariharan are co-writers on the show. Vishal Bhardwaj has also produced the series, under his banner Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures
Well, now that Charlie Chopra Episode 1 is out on SonyLIV, we took the opportunity to watch it. And here we are with our first impressions for the pilot episode of Charlie Chopra.
The episode opens with Naseeruddin Shah’s somewhat eccentric character performing a seance in snowy Solang, in order to summon a spirit. We are treated to a sight for sore eyes – we glimpse most of the stellar cast, in the opening sequence itself. The spirit prophecies a death, and right on cue, Brigadier Rawat is found bludgeoned to death in distant Manali. Which leads us to the entry of Wamiqa Gabbi as a stereotypical, over-the-top Punjabi, and a detective to boot.
The first episode of Charlie Chopra is atmospheric and enigmatic enough to hold our attention to the end. The characters are delightful, and the setting is suitably suspenseful. Every character is a suspect, in the best tradition of Agatha Christie novels. The episode ends on an enchanting twist, keeping interest alive for subsequent episodes.
Going by the pilot episode of Charlie Chopra, SonyLIV and Vishal Bhardwaj clearly have a winner on their hands. Let’s see if the remaining episodes of the series deliver the goods promised by the pilot.