Murder by the Sea Anjan Dutta Ananya Chakraborty Deliver Punches
While episode 1 starts on a high, it meanders off to boredom soon after. The protagonist is depicted so idiotically that I got a headache after watching her over 8 long boring episodes. The climax was no shocker and anyone can guess it if they have watched quite a few detective series in the past. Most of the characters are unnecessary to the plot, with too many stupid backstories that do not seem to converge in the end. SKIP THIS iONE and better re-watch some good old series like EKEN BABU on HOCIHOI.An influx of murder mysteries has recently assailed several OTT platforms, and Murder by the Sea is yet another addition to the thriller/crime genre series on Hoichoi. Following the success of Murder in the Hills (2021), Dutt returns with another mystery, setting a familiar premise that takes the story forward. However, from the beginning, the narration creates a few challenges. This is most visible in the character development of the protagonist, Arpita, herself, who, for the lack of better words, gets into one antic after another, and does certain things that seems quite inappropriate and quite annoyingly intrusive. These not only put her in danger, but also people around her. With this challenge, the viewer finds it difficult to relate to Arpita’s character, which is key to the plot development.
In other places, Dutt seems to oversimplify as well as overemphasize certain points, which later come in handy. But the visuals aren’t strong enough to support the narrative, especially near the end, where being verbose takes away from the shock of a visual narrative, resulting in a limp and predictable climax.
Strong performances from Arjun Chakrabarty and Trina Saha keeps the pace going. Arjun as the troubled son has a rather volatile chemistry with Trina Saha’s Rina, which is good to watch, while Sujan Neel Mukherjee’s Barun is pragmatic and his friction with Rupankar’s Arun adds to the intrigue. Paayel Sarkar’s Bimala, however, seems slightly overdone and stereotypical, straight down to the burgundy lipstick and hair. Anjan Dutt as Arpita’s husband gets into scrapes, thanks to his wife’s urging, and the viewers are rightly sympathetic, but also kept entertained.
However, the story itself is quite lengthy and could have done with better edits and a better ending, especially because the plot often turns towards senseless violence that’s designed more to thrill than add anything to the narrative.
The cinematography banks on the familiarity of certain scenes in Puri, especially in the first part of the story. Music by Neel Dutt is pleasant, Somlata’s voice crooning the title track sounds seductive and sets the tone of the drama.
Overall, though a decent watch, a crisper and more visual narrative with less focus on establishing Arpita’s character, could have made it a better watch.