What Is the Story About?
In the shadowy corners of modern-day Mumbai, a young woman named Bani vanishes after being consumed by a terrifying, living darkness. The bizarre case lands on the desk of Inspector Kalpana Kadam, a sharp cop wrestling with her own past. At the same time, Jay, a troubled medical student, is tormented by horrific visions of the same dark entity. He soon realizes his nightmares are mysteriously connected to Bani’s disappearance and to his own brother, a doctor who now lies in a coma.
Finding it impossible to explain his supernatural experiences, Jay teams up with Rumi, a paranormal podcaster, and a few other allies who share his terrifying visions. Together, they begin to investigate the darkness, a force that seems to feed on human trauma and fear. Their parallel investigations, one by the police and one by this makeshift team of believers, start to uncover a pattern. They realize that Bani was not the first victim and that the threat is far greater than they imagined.
What begins as a supernatural ghost hunt soon spirals into a sprawling conspiracy. The trail leads the investigators to a powerful pharmaceutical company and a mysterious wellness clinic that promises to heal emotional pain. They discover a sinister plot involving illegal human experiments, advanced technology designed to manipulate consciousness, and a power-hungry CEO with a god complex. The horror of a creeping shadow evolves into the horror of corporate greed and twisted science, forcing the heroes to question the nature of reality itself as they fight to stop the darkness from consuming their city.
Performances?
A show this ambitious needs a strong cast to keep it grounded, and thankfully, Andhera has one. The series is held together by its three main leads. Priya Bapat is fantastic as the tough but weary cop, Kalpana, providing a much-needed anchor of stability in a sea of chaos. Opposite her, Karanvir Malhotra does a convincing job as Jay, the haunted medical student. He effectively shows us a man teetering on the edge of reality without overdoing it. But the real bright spot is often Prajakta Koli as the paranormal podcaster, Rumi. She brings a warmth and charm to the show that cuts through the otherwise bleak atmosphere.
The supporting cast is filled with talent, but they are often let down by the complicated script. Surveen Chawla delivers a layered and mysterious performance as the head of a wellness clinic, but her character’s motivations become muddled as the plot spirals into sci-fi territory. Similarly, Vatsal Sheth is introduced as an interesting and dangerous figure, but his arc completely fizzles out, leaving him feeling like a missed opportunity. The actors are clearly committed, but they often seem to be working with roles that were not fully fleshed out on paper.
Overall, the performances in Andhera are not the problem; in fact, they are one of its biggest strengths. The entire cast, from the leads to the smaller roles filled by actors like Parvin Dabas, brings a level of professionalism and sincerity to the screen. The issue is that their solid work is often in service of a story that is more focused on its big, confusing ideas than on its people. The actors do their best to make it all feel real, even when the script is pulling them in too many different directions.
Analysis
Andhera is a fascinating and deeply frustrating show. It is the perfect example of a series with a brilliant, high-concept idea that gets completely lost and crushed under the weight of its own ambition. To understand it, you have to see it as a cautionary tale. It’s a story about what happens when creators have a fantastic premise but can’t resist the temptation to throw every other idea they have into the same pot. The result is a compelling, confusing, and ultimately disappointing mess.
The show starts with a concept that is genuinely inspired. It takes the internal, invisible struggles of mental health, depression, trauma, anxiety, and loneliness and makes them a literal, physical monster. The “darkness,” or andhera, is a supernatural entity that feeds on human pain. This is a powerful and modern take on horror. For the first few episodes, the show leans into this psychological dread. It reminded us of Dune: Prophecy where a similar concept is used.
It creates a genuinely unsettling atmosphere where the real horror isn’t a jump scare but the terrifying thought that your own sadness could become a monster that consumes you. This is the show Andhera should have been: a slow-burn, character-driven exploration of the demons we carry inside us.
But then, about halfway through, the show seems to suffer a crisis of confidence. It abandons its smart, psychological premise and pivots hard into a generic and overstuffed sci-fi conspiracy thriller. It’s as if the writers were afraid their quiet horror story wasn’t exciting enough, so they threw in every cliché they could think of. Suddenly, the story is no longer about personal trauma; it’s about an evil pharmaceutical company, a god-complex CEO chasing immortality, illegal human experiments, emotion-sucking machines, and even a comic book that explains the villain’s origin.
This narrative shift is a disaster for two main reasons. First, it completely trivializes the serious mental health themes it started with. The profound metaphor of darkness as depression is tossed aside for cheap, sci-fi gobbledygook. What began as a thoughtful exploration of human suffering becomes a gimmick to kickstart a convoluted plot. Second, the story becomes impossible to follow. With so many plotlines jostling for attention, none of them are given the space to develop properly. The narrative becomes a tangled web of half-baked ideas that lead nowhere, testing the audience’s patience until it finally breaks.
This “kitchen sink” approach to storytelling ultimately hurts the characters the most. In the beginning, we are introduced to people defined by their trauma and their relationships. But as the sci-fi conspiracy takes over, their personal journeys are forgotten. Interesting supporting characters, like the mysterious Darius, are built up only to be reduced to minor henchmen with no satisfying conclusion. Even the main heroes find their emotional arcs sidelined in favor of explaining the next piece of sci-fi nonsense. The actors all do a commendable job with what they are given, but they are fighting a losing battle against a script that is more interested in its confusing plot than its people.
In the end, Andhera is a show with a brilliant mind but no focus. It has the DNA of a truly special psychological horror series, but it buries it under layers of unnecessary and uninspired sci-fi clutter. It’s a perfect case study in how a great idea is not enough. You also need the discipline and clarity to tell that one great idea well. The show wanted to be everything at once, and in doing so, it ended up being not much of anything at all.
Music and Other Departments?
From a technical standpoint, Andhera is a show with a very strong sense of style. The cinematography is one of its biggest assets, painting Mumbai in shadows and dark, moody colors that create a fantastic urban horror atmosphere. You really feel the unease seeping through the screen. This is backed up by a truly effective musical score. The haunting music does a lot of the heavy lifting, building a constant sense of dread that keeps you on edge. The visual effects, especially when showing the inner turmoil of the characters, are also creative and well-handled. The whole world of the show looks and sounds exactly right for a scary story.
However, all this great technical work is often let down by the show’s core foundation: its writing and editing. No matter how cool a scene looks, it can’t be saved from confusing or clunky dialogue. The editing also lacks the precision needed for such a complex story, often making the jump between plotlines feel jarring and messy rather than seamless. It adds to the feeling that the show is trying to do too much at once without a clear focus.
In short, the technical team built a beautiful, atmospheric world, but the messy script and choppy editing keep you from ever fully losing yourself in it.
Highlights?
Concept
Performances
Environment building
Drawbacks?
Rushed screenplay
Lacks cohesiveness
Did I Enjoy It?
In parts
Will You Recommend It?
Only to the hardcore fans of the horror
Andhera Web Series Review by Binged Bureau