What Is the Story About?
The story follows a rational and head-strong Inspector Rishi Nandhan who is sent to Thaenkaadu forest from Chennai as the restricted forest area witnesses a string of murders one after the other, without much evidences but with the same modus operandi. While the people in the area believe its the work of the Vanaratchi – a deadly spirit who watches over the forest, Rishi’s scientific temperament pushes him to catch hold of the real perpetrators with the help of Sub-inspectors Ayyanar and Chitra. While the trio investigates the murders through logic and dismissing the legend, they are caught in a cobweb of personal troubles themselves. Will Rishi finally prove the serial murder case? Who is Vanaratchi? The 10 hour long series tackles all the questions one after the other.
Performances?
Naveen Chandra plays Inspector Rishi, the straight forward no-nonsense attitude of the character, his brooding presence and logical and level headed-ness with precision. The character doesn’t demand much of an explosive performance and the actor keeps it adequate.
Kanna Ravi‘s Ayyanar is a character who often doesn’t get along with Rishi, has a troubled marriage and a tumultous family life falling apart owing to his parents’ over-interference. The show manages to give a convincing arc to Sub Inspector Ayyanar and the actor does justice to the part.
However, the heart of the show is Malini Jeevarathnam‘s Chitra, a rightful balance between Rishi and Ayyanar whilst the course of investigation. She has a whole world on the other side to fight against, her queer identity and a serial murder case that consistently meets cold ends.
Analysis
Created, written and directed by J.S.Nandhini for Amazon Prime Video, Inspector Rishi is a genre blending supernatural horror-thriller that takes place in a restricted forest area in Tamil Nadu. It is also a police procedural that tackles a serial string of murders through rationality, superstitious beliefs, human greed and folklore horror.
Inspector Rishi opens with a spine-chilling mass-suicide that looks more like an occultist ritual in a dense forest. 20 years later, the region faces multiple mysterious deaths one after the other. Wrapped in a spider-woven cob-web-ish fibrous film, devoid of visible wounds, the killings appall the locals as well as the police. With dead-ends and no visible clue to kick-start legit investigations, Inspector Rishi is called upon from Chennai to lead the case.
Inspector Rishi, a one-eyed brooding man with his own nightmarish devils and past to fight against begins the investigation with sub-inspectors Chitra and Ayyanar. While the localites and even some in the police station believe the murders are an act of punishment from a deadly disgraced spirit called Vanaratchi, who infamously watches over the forest, level-headed Rishi asserts on tackling the case with logic and science.
While the first five episodes of sets up the premise of the show aptly and transports the audience to an eerie, secluded forest area where fiction takes over facts, the writing establishes the man v/s nature conundrum and simultaneously touches upon the paranormal. This eerieness and taut intrigue in the initial episodes lead the viewers to slowly pick up the puzzle pieces as the story progresses.
However, the remaining episodes meander cluelessly owing to the writing’s predictability. The creator-writer J.S. Nandhini opts for a been-there-done-that path and weighs down an incredibly interesting premise as the show ends. Although there are some conclusive twists, the prior mundane-ness waters the show down to an irreversible extent. Some of the dialogues are too expository and burdened with cliches.
However, Inspector Rishi is a pleasing and welcome addition to the Indian-investigative thrillers. Akin to some of the loved shows like Suzhal – The Vortex, Vandhandhi – The Fable Of Velonie, Dhootha, Inspector Rishi has a premise overwhelmed with intrigue aided by a good cast. But what makes Inspector Rishi different is how it blends the paranormal, man v/s nature and thriller elements to tackle superstitions and human elements of greed. All this while writing a character as representative as Chitra and establishing metaphors to convey her endurance and struggles. The metaphorical take on the struggles and life of queer people to that of the castaway demigod Vanaratchi is truly magnificent in every sense.
In short, Inspector Rishi is a well shot and decently directed show that doesn’t make or break grounds, but is definitely riveting enough. It takes convenient and predictable routes to make relevant points while weaving a story, world and atmospherics of intrigue. It drowns in predictability and is overly long, but can definitely make for a weekend watch, if secluded region-mysteries and thrillers are right up your alley.
Music and Other Departments?
Inspector Rishi’s score-game and sound is undeniably good. Ashwath does a very appreciable job in the show even when writing fiddles. The camera work in Inspector Rishi is a character in itself. Secluded region-mysteries’ success mostly lies in its world-building and cinematography and therefore Bargav Sridhar and team deserves a pat on their backs for holding the series up and above with their incredible lense and light-game. However, the show suffers from poorly aided editing and largely expository dialogues.
Highlights?
Story
Fusion of Folklore Horror & Police Procedural
Character arc of chitra & Vanaratchi
Cinematography & Sound
Drawbacks?
Contrived screenplay
Too many Expositions
Duration
Mundane middle episodes
Editing
VFX
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes
Inspector Rishi Series Review by Binged Bureau
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