Sandigdha Review – A Creepy Show You Must Skip at Any Cost

BOTTOM LINE: A Creepy Show You Must Skip at Any Cost

Rating: 1/10

Skin and swear: No skin show but contains a few expletives

What Is the Story About?

A working couple in Mumbai, Siddhant and Prajakta, lead a happy-go-lucky life and have a happy marriage until the wife’s promotion as a global HR for her MNC changes their equation completely. Prajakta’s hectic work schedule extending until the midnight becomes a cause of concern for Siddhant. Siddhant’s growing suspicion about his wife’s fidelity adds to their woes, fueled by Prajakta’s close working equation with her boss. Prajakta’s and Siddhant’s arguments don’t appear to be ending any time soon. It eerily results in Prajakta’s murder. Siddhant eventually surrenders to cop Malhar at the nearest police station. Is there more to this than what-meets-the-eye?

Performances?

Rohan Bongale playing Siddhant is an absolute disaster in terms of performance – he’s one of the many reasons why you feel no sense of emotion in the character. There’s no sincerity in the effort and he seems to be more in a hurry to finish his sequence than making a genuine attempt to act/feel for the role. Akshata Gaigaware in the role of Prajakta is reasonably better and in the context of the show, very ‘bearable’ with her act. Rohit Bapat, the director who also plays the cop, looks the most comfortable, screen-friendly actor among the lead cast. Kshitij Pande, Yogesh Kotasthane don’t get much to do though.

Analysis

Sandigdha, as the title conveys, revolves around doubt and trust issues that spell doom for the relationship between two youngsters in a marriage. The show explores the thin line that separates one’s possessiveness from suspicion – the relevance of the theme is indeed universal. But, Sandigdha is not the show you may want to subject yourself to – where a wafer-thin plot deemed fit for a short film is painfully extended into a two-hour web series bereft of any sense or nuance. The filmmaking, the acting and the visual execution are worse than a short film – the maker Rohit Bapat should consider himself lucky for the show to have found takers in the first place.

The tone of Sandigdha is painfully problematic – it tries to empathise with an insecure husband who has just murdered his wife. It treats him like a saint, as if he had a genuine reason to spy on his wife and almost justifies his motive for a murder. While it’s completely okay to tell a story from the perspective of a criminal, there’s a great difference between conveying his perspective and glorifying it (which Sandigdha does). What’s even creepier is that the cop working on this case too becomes increasingly suspicious of his wife by the end of the investigation.

The visual backdrop of the series lacks any sort of authenticity. The interrogation room for the case shown in the series feels like a single-bedroom apartment and not a police station. It’s baffling that an SI at a police station would be persistently thinking, spending sleepless nights and working on the same case for many days, when the murderer has already surrendered.  The sequences where the cop imagines his wife making love with another man and even tries to frame Prajakta’s boss for the murder are cheap in taste. The constable, meanwhile, keeps feeding him philosophies about why it is better off to stay single.

The lack of resources for the show is glaringly apparent – but that’s no excuse to shoot a show so casually at a time when quality feature films are being made out of an iPhone. Unlike the protagonist, have no ‘Sandigdha’ about whether to watch or skip this. The answer remains quite obvious. ‘Stay away’.

Music and Other Departments?

The background score of the show feels largely repetitive and it’s quite obvious that not much thought went behind it. The cinematography makes the viewing experience so flimsy and pointless. The editing isn’t any great shakes either – the show is a snooze-fest that lasts way longer than it’s supposed to. While the theme of the show may be interesting or has scope to be developed into a drama, the poor writing doesn’t give much chance for it make any impact.

Highlights?

None

Drawbacks?

Poor performances

Tacky execution

Painfully long

Did I Enjoy It?

No

Will You Recommend It?

Not even to my worst enemy

Reviewed by Srivathsan Nadadhur