Vadhandhi: The Mystery of Mani Review – A well rounded series with few hiccups!

Bharath Vijayakumar

In Andrew Louis' Vadhandhi (season 2), Sasikumar plays an upright cop. But that is usually the norm right. What stands out is here the calm demeanour of the character. In fact, Sasikumar's calm and subtle portrayal as the investigating cop is the USP of the series. You can broadly call the series as an investigative thriller, but the focus of Andrew Louis isn't to have us on the edge of the seat with the 'what next?' question. While we are obviously invested with the 'whodunit' plot, Andrew lays a lot of emphasis in us getting to know the primary characters and their life. Take for instance, the character played Anagha. She plays an IPS officer to whom Sasikumar reports. Maybe that alone would have sufficed if a 'thriller' was the sole motive of Andrew. But we get to know about her, her husband and their relationship. She also plays a Malayali. Such attributes given to the character not only adds a lot of weightage to the character, but it gives the series a certain well roundedness. And this importance, given not only to the lead, but to a majority of the primary characters is what sets Vadhandhi apart.

The plot kicks off in the very first episode and SI Moosa Raaza (Sasikumar) is given the task of identifying an unknown corpse. Ramar (Vivek Prasanna from the previous season) joins in. From the title as well as from the previous season, you would know the basic theme of Vadhandhi. It is about the hero trying to find out the truth, when the society at large and the system along with it is happy to go with the general consensus among the public, which is largely based on rumour/gossip/hearsay. ‘Truth walks. Lie flies’ is what the S.J. Suryah character said in the first season. Sasikumar gets a similar line here. ‘Lies are like wild bushes that grow uncontrolled. Truth is like a diamond that needs to be dug deep to be found out’. Apart from this, both the seasons are also particular about how the society at large is regressive.

I really liked the pacing of Vadhandhi. It is neither languid nor rapid. The scenes are allowed to breathe. There is a tinge of humour as well. Though there are twists piled up right through, this isn’t a series where each episode is merely leading up to end with a twist. It is the final two episodes that were kind of a mixed bag for me. The last episode in particular felt rushed. Maybe the topic it handles is sensitive and the makers did not want to spend too much time on it. But when Sasikumar sums the up the message or the intent of this season with how individuals are not allowed to live life based on their individuality, it comes across more like an end card that is sometimes employed on films and carries a one-line message than an organic takeaway from the series. There is also a very interesting angle as to how a believer is actually very progressive. So, when such words come out from such a character, I would have liked it to be more emphasized.

Bottomline:

Vadhandhi season 2 is well made with some credible performances. Sasikumar's calm and subtle portrayal as the investigating cop is the USP of the series. The twists work as well. While the series is nicely paced (neither languid nor rapid), the closure feels rushed.

Rating:3/5