A Simple Murder - Passable fun!

Bharath Vijayakumar

Just like its title, A Simple Murder is relatively simple for a black comedy that has multiple threads. This has worked in both ways for this series. While on one hand we hardly experience the turmoil that the primary characters go through, the compact nature of the episodes and the rather simple treatment makes this an easy watch. While we aren't sucked into the proceedings, it also turns out to be a harmless watch.

Manish's (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) marriage with Richa ( Priya Anand) is on the rocks. Manish is trying to make it work or atleast wants it to while all that Richa wants is money. A mix up ends up in Manish having a chance to make huge money but that means he has to kill someone. This murder assignment is what links a whole lot of characters in this black comedy where each character (save an inspector and a young couple on the run) we meet is crooked.

The problem with this series is that not all the punches land on target. The quirkiness isn't consistently good and so are the actors. In a make believe mad world like this which is inhabited by eccentric characters, everything needs to be spot on. Manish doesn't think twice before trying to kill someone nor is he shown to be guilty later on. If things were left as such we might not have bothered but then there is this scene which explains his troubled childhood and he breaks down.This inconsistency makes it difficult to buy into his characterisation. Similarly the writing is convenient and characters bump into each other at the drop of a hat. Even this is alright as this is a very crisp series but the jokes don't always hit the spot. There are definitely good ones like the one where a Pandit refers to Czech Republic as Sage Republic, Richa equating her relationship with Manish and her boss to Paper Masala Dosa and Masala Dosa and that scene inside the ATM when during the bargain at gunpoint the transaction limit of the ATM becomes the negotiation point.

Bottomline:

With just 7 episodes and each one clocking just about 30 minutes, A Simple Murder is an easy watch. The laughs are scattered and the quirkiness doesn't always work but this one does provide some passable fun!

Rating: 2.75/5

P.S. Streaming in SonyLiv