The Great Indian Murder Review: Pratik Gandhi and Richa Chadha starrer is captivating, but in bits

When it was announced that Pratik Gandhi and Richa Chadha are coming together for Tigmanshu Dhulia ’s web series, fans were over the moon with joy. Even before the trailer was shared, many predicted that the murder mystery titled The Great Indian Murder will be gripping and worth the watch, because of the team involved. Well, the series has finally premiered on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar and we have a review ready for you, based on the show’s first impression, to help you decide if the nine long episodes are worth your weekend. Read on!

Adapted by Vikas Swarup's novel Six Suspects and co-produced by Ajay Devgn , the show begins with the police finding two dead bodies in a car, which is owned by Vicky Rai, businessman and son of Chhattisgarh’s Home Minister Jagganath Rai. After three long years, he finally returns home from jail thanks to his father’s money and connections. He decides to throw a lavish party at his Delhi farmhouse for ‘closure’ and while he gives a speech about taking a bullet for his loved ones, Vicky gets shot. While he has many enemies who have reasons to finish him, the two suspects caught by the police at the party are a local thief named Munna and Eketi, who is from a tribal village in Andaman. Their back-stories are well thought of and quite interesting, but the fact that they were carrying a gun each does not help their case.

The first two episodes solely focus on Vicky and his father Jagganath and give us a rough idea of what they are capable of. We see a glimpse here and there of Richa, who has portrayed the role of DCP Sudha Bhardwaj, whereas CBI officer Suraj Yadav, portrayed by Pratik, joins us at the end of season 2. The two have exceeded our expectations with their power packed performances and manage to leave us in awe with their charisma each time they come on screen as Suraj and Sudha. But we have to point out that Richa’s slaps were more believable in Fukrey!

Coming to Vicky, played by Jatin Goswami-- the actor has done a wonderful job. From his devilish laugh to the way he walks and talks, everything about him will make you hate him, which only goes to prove how well the role has been portrayed. His on-screen father Jagganath aka Ashutosh Rana also left us impressed with the way he switched from a desperate father to a vengeful politician in seconds! Munna and Eketi, portrayed by Shashank Arora and Mani PR, fit their characters perfectly. Along the way, you even start feeling sorry for how they got involved in the whole murder mystery.

So the performances will not disappoint you, that’s for sure. But the story-line? Well, it is intriguing for sure and Tigmanshu Dhulia has surely gone out of his way to experiment with something new. But the show takes time to pick up. It seems extremely lengthy and some scenes feel unnecessarily stretched out. The jump between flashbacks and the present don’t help either. In fact, some moments will leave you scratching your head because one second we are focusing on Vicky Rai’s party and then we are shown a new character, whose introduction is given over the course of the next few episodes. Also, the funny music in a few serious scenes just does not fit.

Final verdict- If you can look past the first two episodes, which feel devastatingly slow and long, go watch The Great Indian Murder because the performances and stories are definitely worth your time. But if you don’t have the patience for that, you can consider giving this one a miss.