Undekhi Season 3 Review: Engaging, Gripping, Fun, and Fulfilling as You Would Expect
Starring: Surya Sharma, Harsh Chhaya, Ankur Rathee, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Anchal Singh, Nandish Singh Sandhu, Varun Badola
Director: Ashish R. Shukla
Streaming Platform: SonyLiv
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars)
Undekhi Season 3 has a more edgy tone this time. The Atwal family wants revenge. The story delves deeper into this, especially Papaji’s anarchy, revealing many new and buried secrets. The Atwal family has such deep secrets hidden in Manali that they have worked to hide an empire of crime. Like its previous season, in Undekhi Season 3 too, the characters play bloody games to fulfill selfish desires. The world of Undekhi Season 3 is as engaging, gripping, fun, and fulfilling as you would expect. This is no small feat for a series. This is a crime thriller set in Manali, Himachal. Surinder Singh Atwal is a powerful businessman and drug lord. He is known as Papaji. DSP Ghosh (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) who has come from Bengal to investigate, even calls him Mr. Papaji. Clever.
Undekhi Season 3 Review: The Story Plot
In season 1, the story starts like this Atwal’s son Daman (Ankur Rathi) gets married to a girl named Teji (Aanchal G. Singh). The celebration is going on at night. Two dancers are dancing on the stage. Drunk Atwal shoots a girl in the head. The visual gets captured on camera, and it happens that it hits the audience every time. It hits even by the time the third season arrives. But, what happens in the story after this murder makes “Undekhi” a series to be enjoyed unexpectedly. And what happens is that – Papaji does not regret even a bit for killing that dancer. He remains lying on the bed with impunity. Till the end. Then there is the character of Rinku Atwal (Surya Sharma). He is a giant. Like the bull that fought Bhallaladeva. His sharp scary eyes are like bullets and his single-shade personality is continuous. He is Papaji’s nephew or adopted son, or whatever. But whatever he is, nothing can happen to Papaji as long as Rinku is there.
DCP Ghosh also feels this thing again and again in the next three seasons’ 28 episodes. Many people come into this story and die one by one but nothing happens to Papaji. DSP Ghosh, who is a cool-headed, soft-natured, smart, gentle police officer, has been transformed into a very charming character by Dibyendu Bhattacharya. He is like Rocky Balboa, who is greater than his opponent and wins because he can take as many punches as his opponent would get tired of hitting without getting tired. At one point in the third season, when Ghosh loses again and all the devils win by playing devious tricks, he even tells his team’s disappointed, sad officer Raashi (Lavina Tandon) that there is a dialogue in the boxing movie Rocky – It’s not over until it’s over. So it’s not over yet. There is still strength to take more punches.
The third season begins with Rinku (Surya Sharma), who is looking for Samarth (Nandish Singh Sandhu) to take revenge and restart his illegal drug business. Amidst all this, the video of Papaji (Harsh Chhaya) killing the dancer at the wedding party has become public. This is the only evidence, after which the case has been reopened. DCP Ghosh (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) gets new hope from this. He wants justice for the dead girl and wants to put an end to the Atwal family. But will Rinku be able to save his Papaji when all the evidence is out? He cannot trust anyone as everyone has their own selfish interests. Papaji’s son Daman (Ankur Rathi) and daughter-in-law Teji (Anchal Ji Singh) are looking for an investor for the resort. Both want to shift abroad for a better life. Meanwhile, Teji’s friend Saloni (Ann Zoya) from the videography team, who is the only surviving witness, also wants revenge. But will she be successful? To get answers to these and many such questions, you will have to watch this eight-episode series.
Undekhi Season 3 Review and Analysis
In Season 3 too, the series successfully maintains the same charm for which “Undekhi” is known. Towards the end, a big twist comes in this story, which is decisive. Now after this, there will be no exchange, dice-turning, or tricks. This story will be something different from “Undekhi Season 4“. What do we see in Season 3? First of all, the legacy characters of this series are shown. What they are doing. Harsh Chaya’s character of the evil Papaji is found to be equally consistent in his meanness. In the opening scene, he insists on scotch. If he is not given it, he gets naked in front of the women of the house. Undoubtedly, this is the best performance of Harsh Chaya’s life. We can see the amazing shades of Harsh in Papaji’s psyche, through his panic-filled emotions and his struggles. Certainly, he can hold on to the black of this series firmly even in the third season. No one will notice, but the physical labor that he does throughout the series in an uncomfortable posture, take after taking – bent waist, spine bent like a bow, body sinking inwards, bent neck, constantly stretched joker-like smile, constantly stretched forehead wrinkles – must have been very painful.
On the other hand, a cold war is going on between Rinku and Teji. They openly threaten each other. Shivangi Singh’s casting as Muskaan, Rinku’s wife, is perfect. She is like a statue. Like a real girl. Looking at her, it seems that she is Rinku’s own, not an actor. Full of energy like him. Animalistic. One who can control her lover. Whom he cannot even scold. She is Rinku’s own. She even abuses his sister. In one scene, she says – “One day I will have to shoot that Teji.” And then Rinku silences her. This feeling is common among the women of this house. Like the men, they are also insensitive. They are not affected by abuses, indecencies, or murders. Daman (Ankur Rathi), who has donned a foreign attire, has changed. His superficiality is gone. His beard has grown. Now it is very difficult to please him. He has no interest in his father’s drug business. He has no special affection for his wife either. He is now one and a half steps away from the saffron-clad Raju of “Guide”. But perhaps that is not all. Perhaps he is also a coward. Perhaps he is selfish. Perhaps he is indifferent.
The biggest twist in the story is that a new player has come to Manali, who is entering Rinku’s drug business. Now what will Rinku do and how does that player want to destroy Papaji, and why, this is the biggest curiosity. In this context, the dialogues of Jai Bansal and Sumit Bishnoi in colloquial language come. Where Lucky says in a scene – “Paaji, that mistake turned out to be correct. Someone has entered our business. He is distributing cheap pills”. On this Rinku says – “There is only one cheap thing in our business, that is the life of the person. You tell me his name.”
However, the irritating thing in the series is the language. Especially the dialogues in which there is one word in Punjabi and the rest in Hindi. Due to this, the speaker sounds like a fake Punjabi. And the linguistic authenticity of the series is lost. There is another irritating thing. This concept that Teji will go and stand outside any window and the curtain will be removed and the people sitting inside will not see her, is very expensive, the burden of which has been put on the audience. This was spent a lot on the films of the ’70s-80s. It does not work now. Teji even passes through Rinku’s guards without any fear, effort, or physical discomfort. DOP Marzi Pagdiwala’s camera makes beautiful and panoramic use of the valleys, gorges, and mountains of Manali and Himachal. Cinematography and Saurabh Prabhudesai’s editing find some space for experimentation and poetry in this traditional filmmaking series, which looks good.
For example, a scene when Rajveer Malhotra (Barun Badola) makes a grand entry at the end of episode 1. When DSP Ghosh and Manali’s monster Papaji are immersed in a glass of alcohol in Kolkata, listening to Bengali songs, a sensational video comes on their phone and a mysterious character emerges in the frame. The camera is rolling from behind his back. Wearing a white coat, in the frame of a dark room with low light sources, he takes a puff and takes out the cigarette from his lips. Then extinguishes it. The third frame comes on his face. But the smoke he exhaled covered his face. Drama is created. After the revelation of his face, the credits roll. Similarly, there is a beautiful metaphorical scene when Rinku moves forward by placing her shoe on the fallen yellow flowers from the broken pots, and that flower is none other than herself, which is understood after the secret of her connection with this house is revealed.
Director Ashish Shukla presents the story of “Undekhi 3″ in a very neutral manner. There is a very “touching” scene when a policeman from Ghosh’s team is killed. His death is a very planned one. The very next moment, drums are being played at the gate of Atwal’s house and the Dholli sings – “Bari barsi khatan gaya si, khat ke le aanda tel – pangra tan sajda, papaji jaan to bach gaye jail“. There is no funnier moment than this in all three seasons. And there is no bigger irony than this. There is no bigger tragedy than this. In this moment, the director fills the audience with disgust about the influential people, goons, criminals, and devils. That too while making them laugh. This is the brilliance of “Undekhi“. But then there is a moment in episode 7 when Rinku, Teji, and DSP Ghosh are all fighting someone together and a very heroic background score plays. This background score makes it seem that for the makers the distinction between good and bad has ended. This is just a glamorized stunt scene. It is an action sequence. There Ghosh and Rinku, who are arch-enemies, stand behind a wall and they have run out of bullets. Both of them become a team here.
While the series continues to be a cat-and-mouse game, director Ashish R. Shukla has turned it into a gripping drama with the introduction of some new characters. The character of Rajiv Malhotra (Varun Badola) wants to expand his illegal business in Himachal Pradesh. But this also brings new challenges. Deepika (Shruti Menon) is Rajiv’s right hand. She is his manager and is very ruthless. While watching the series, sometimes it becomes difficult to keep track of the characters, their situation, and their selfishness. The murder case always takes time to investigate, which also makes it seem after a point that justice is not going to be served. However, the natural beauty of Manali makes this crime thriller beautiful. Harsh Chhaya has won hearts as the extremely rude and drunkard Papaji in Undekhi Season 3. He is the soul of the series. Although his actions are repetitive, he still shines in every scene with his attitude. Surya Sharma is in the role of Rinku and he looks impressive.
This time the audience will also see his emotional side, especially when he is with his wife Muskaan (Shivangi Singh). Dibyendu Bhattacharya has performed well as a hardworking officer trying to close the case. Satinder (Rahul Bagga) and Rashi (Lavina Tandon) have also given good support as other investigating officers in Ghosh’s team. Varun Badola’s strong performance makes this crime thriller interesting. The director has unnecessarily wasted Ankur Rathi and Aanchal Ji Singh in the roles of Daman and Teji. While watching the series, it is felt that some characters could have got a little less screen time. However, the story and especially Papaji’s mysterious past keep you glued to the screen.
Undekhi Season 3 Review: The Last Words
If you have watched the last two seasons of the ‘Undekhi‘ series, then you might like Undekhi Season 3. The suspense and excitement have been maintained from start to finish and it is entertaining. Good and bad are two sides of the same coin, duality, this may have been the thought in the maker’s mind. He may not have judged Rinku and Ghosh as good and bad. Then what is the meaning of the whole story? The meaning is to chill. Seriousness. This is just an anecdote, a story, entertainment. It is a game about thieves and police. The most satisfying moments are the realization of the truth by the wicked. Be it Lucky, Rinku or Papaji. Or to some extent Ghosh and Teji as well. You are surprised when a fool like Rinku says in the middle of the series – “Everyone’s deeds are taken care of, Lucky”. And you become aware of the truth of the wicked for the first time and feel relieved.
Undekhi Season 3 Review: Engaging, Gripping, Fun, and Fulfilling as You Would Expect - Filmyhype
Director: Ashish R. Shukla
Date Created: 2024-05-10 18:55
3.5
Pros
- Engaging
- Gripping Performances
Cons
- Sometime Feels Streached
