Roushni Sarkar
Kolkata, 12 Jan 2022 19:32 IST
Directed by Sayantan Ghosal, the Hoichoi web-series lacks the elements of suspense and thrill that define a murder mystery.
Actor Ritwick Chakraborty has made his digital debut with the Hoichoi web-series Gora, directed by Sayantan Ghosal, in which he plays a detective who claims to specialize in cases of serial killers. That, however, is not Gora's only bizarre trait. The whimsical seeker of truth struggles to remember names and clues and has a terrible temper to boot.
Gora is assisted by Sarathi (Suhotra Mukhopadhyay), who puts up with his eccentricity and works as his reminder, too.
In the first season, a killer murders three authors successively using a pen as the weapon. Before the police seek Gora’s help, the latter gets hold of the most important clue about the cases, tracing some old social media scandal, as his instinct says he will soon be handling the case. His finding leaves everyone, including the police officer (Abhijit Guha) investigating the case, awestruck. However, when Gora begins his investigation, he amuses everyone by predicting the next murder.
With Sarathi's help, Gora taps several clues but in vain, until the criminal leads him closer to the truth by mistake, in an attempt to misguide Gora. Meanwhile, a young woman named Somelata (Ishaa Saha) visits Gora repeatedly, stating that her childhood problem of sleepwalking has resurfaced since she got married and shifted to her in-laws' residence. She also claims that the problem has nothing to do with psychiatric issues, but stems from someone trying to frame her for an impending murder.
More than the investigation itself, Chakraborty's consistent portrayal of the eccentric character Gora keeps the viewer hooked. The plot for the investigation involving the impending murder doesn’t generate a sense of anticipation or suspense at all, and the screenplay is too slow-moving and uneventful to help the audience keep track of the stages of investigation. Instead, the entertaining chemistry between Gora and Sarathi and the funny dialogues between the two catch the viewer’s attention which otherwise is likely to get diverted every now and then.
The character of the clueless and naïve police officer has been intentionally rendered to glorify Gora’s instinctive abilities to solve a complex case despite his confused attitude. Abhijit Guha's officer comes across as a comical prop in the entire plot. Indeed, it is Somelata who emerges as an intelligent and observant character towards the end of the series.
With his spontaneous and natural act, Suhotra Mukhopadhyay keeps up with Chakraborty's performance even as the latter dominates every frame.
Saha performs well as the curious yet adamant woman who refuses to give up on her own quest to know the truth despite Gora’s arrogant behaviour.
Binit Ranjan Maitra’s music and background score don’t seem to do enough when it comes to creating moments of anticipation and suspense.
Tuban’s cinematography and Rabi Ranjan Maitra’s editing also fail to deliver an engrossing cinematic experience.
Writer Sahana Datta deserves credit for the refreshing take on a detective and Chakraborty does justice to the character. Watch Gora simply to experience how the Shabdo (2013) and Nagarkirtan (2019) actor entertains the viewer consistently across eight episodes though the series itself fails to be an engaging murder mystery.
Gora is available on Hoichoi.