***1/2/5
After Asur and Marzi, Voot Select has released another thriller to binge-watch while we remain locked up. The show is called the Raikar Case and boasts of an impressive cast.
The premise of the show is the death of 16-year-old Tarun Naik Raikar, played by Honey Kamboj. At first, the family asserts that the kid was depressed and committed suicide, however, later it is revealed that police suspects this to be a murder. The first episode of the seven-episode series goes in understanding various characters in the show and their relationship with the deceased. It also establishes how affluent and influential the Raikars are and the kind of arm twisting they are engaged with law enforcement.
In the case of a rich and powerful family is concerned, one of the biggest motives is said to be money. It was also true in case of the murder of Tarun, who in due course of time would be the sole inheritor of his father's share in their company as well as property. What is even more fascinating and adds more to your suspicion in the fact that prior to Tarun two more people from the very same family taken to heavenly abode and that too in the last one year.
Enters the smart filmy cop John Pereira played by Neil Bhoopalam, who from his entry scene is convinced that this is a murder and does not give in to any amount of arm twisting. During the course of his investigation one gets to know how each member of his family had the motive and the opportunity to kill Tarun.
The whodunit continues to take interesting twists episode after episode and you are left wondering if the killer is indeed a family member and also the motive behind Tarun’s death and the show ends with a shocking twist in the end.
Coming over to the performances, Ashvini Bhave and Atul Kulkarni stand out. They have been enthused with the most complex characters and they both pull it off with great finesse and ease.
Parul Gulati is great in some of the scenes. However, her chemistry with Neil Bhoopalam did not come out very well. As a matter of fact, the whole righteous cop act by Bhoopalam did not come out as effortlessly as it should have.
We had been waiting to see Kunal Karan Kapoor for a while now. During this series, we wish there was more meat to his character. He had some really great scenes around the climax which he manages to ace but overall we think an actor of his calibre could have been better utilised.
One actor that took us completely by surprise is Lalit Prabhakar who is playing the role of short-tempered and vindictive Eklavya. Even as he enters the frame for the first time, he has evil written all over him. I feel there will be a whole lot more of him to see in the coming season of Raikar Case.
Coming to the downsides, the show takes a very linear approach and at times the pace seemed a little stretched. In addition to this, there is no real insight to Tarun or why we should be sorry for his death. Think if there was a little backstory where one could connect with him, his death and thus the search for killer would have had a far greater impact.
Summing it up: The show is a good murder mystery and if you enjoy the genre then this is a great series to binge-watch.
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