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Avika Gor-starrer Vadhuvu is now available for streaming on Hotstar. The show is based on the Bengali web series Indu and is directed by Poluru Krishna. Let’s see how it is.

Story:

Anjuri Indu’s (Avika Gor) marriage gets canceled as her sister elopes with her fiance. Indu and her family are disturbed by this incident. After a year, Indu marries Anand (Nandu). Even this time, the marriage is not a smooth sailing affair as someone tries to stop the wedding in one way or the other. The situation stays the same even after Indu goes to her in-laws’ house. What experiences did Indu face in her in-laws’ house is what the series is about.

Plus Points:

The best part about Vadhuvu is that it has many mysterious characters. One can sense something is wrong with the in-laws of Indu due to their odd behavior. But as we don’t know what the characters are up to, we get invested in the show to know the answers

After a long time, Avika Gor got an author-backed role. As a person who tries to unravel the mysteries, Avika Gor did a very impressive job. The way she emotes in crucial scenes is brilliant. The surprise package of Vadhuvu is Ali Reza. He gets the lion’s share of the screen time and utilizes the opportunity to the full extent.

Nandu is good in his role, and it seems his character will have more prominence in the second installment. The makers made good usage of the background score to create a tense atmosphere. The dark texture is the icing on the cake. The rest of the cast are decent in their respective roles.

Minus Points:

The way the show starts is not good, and the first episode isn’t designed well. It is primarily because of the poorly written dialogues. The scenes, which were supposed to be serious, lacked the desired impact. The character establishments could have been done in a better manner.

The pacing could have been better. Despite the short runtime, Vadhuvu feels stretched at times due to a few redundant scenes. Though the director tried to maintain suspense throughout, there were no wow moments to take the show to the next level.

In the end, we are left with not one but many cliffhangers. While the idea is to make audiences eagerly wait for the second season, it is frustrating at the same time as everything is reserved for part 2. It would have been great had the makers made at least a few revelations in the first part.

Technical Aspects:

Sriram Maddury’s background score and Ram K Mahesh’s cinematography go hand in hand, creating the right mood for this suspense thriller. The production values are good. More care should have been taken regarding dialogues and editing.

Director Poluru Krishna did a decent job with Vadhuvu. The characterisations are interesting, but the slow pacing hinders the impact to an extent. Hence, the show manages to impress in parts but not as a whole. The climax is also not satisfactory.

Verdict:

On the whole, Vadhuvu is a passable show with a bunch of mysterious characters. Avika Gor and Ali Reza performed well, and there were a few interesting moments. However, the series falls short of being a satisfactory suspense thriller due to slow pacing and repetitive scenes. The start and end aren’t good, and there are many unsolved questions. If you are okay with these flaws, you can give Vadhuvu a try.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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