Kankhajura Cast/Actors: Mohit Raina, Roshan Mathew, Sarah Jane Dias, Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, Mahesh Shetty, Kurangi Vijayshri Nagraj, Ninad Kamat, Heeba Shah, Usha Nadkarni & Others
Kankhajura Director: Chandan Arora
Kankhajura Release Date: 30th May, 2025
Kankhajura Available On: Sony LIV
Kankhajura Released/Available In Languages: Hindi
Kankhajura Number Of Episodes: 8
Kankhajura Episode Duration: 35 Minutes (Approx. Each Episode)
Kankhajura Critic Review:
The centipede is a multi-legged, predatory anthropod. Writer-director Chandan Arora substitutes Israeli title Magpie (prisoner-turned-police informant) with the Hindi word for centipede to narrate an Indianised version of the drama series.
Set in Goa, Ashu Gaonkar (Roshan Mathew) is the bechara of the party where he’s out of jail after serving a sentence for murder while older brother Max (Mohit Raina with dimples) is well settled with pretty wife Nisha (Sarah Jane Dias), daughter Ira (Kurangi Vijayshri Nagraj) and friends-turned-colleagues Shardul (Mahesh Shetty) and Pedro (Ninad Kamat). Max and co have just landed the biggest construction contract of their lives which will change the landscape of Goa. Ashu weakly attempts to re-enter their lives but Max shuts the door on him. Here’s some money, stay out, lead your own life.
Before you can begin to feel sorry for Ashu, his twisted, manipulative mind which is not beyond sudden spurts of violence, gives him a dangerous dimension. Using his seeming innocence to prise a confession or two from prime suspects is DSP Leena Naik (Heeba Shah).
But Ashu is not the sole damaged goods. Along with dialogue writers Sandeep Jain and Upendra Sidhaye, Chandan Arora makes an edgy, discomfiting show where the veneer of niceness worn all around gradually peels away. Each time a mask slips, sympathies also shift. Turn by turn, the concealed secrets of comfortably settled ones surface to add to the growing feeling of unease.
Ashu clearly dotes on Max, yearns acceptance. But he’s also irrevocably disturbed at what was done to him in his vulnerable years. It’s payback time. The best way is to meddle with the cosy equations between old friends. Only, his manipulations also hurt those who haven’t harmed him. Like Amay turned Amy (Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju), the transgender.
There are swift character sketches. Shardul is a karate guy, all he wants is the custody of his daughter. Pedro is calm, the legal brain. Max, the suave natural captain, with deceptions cleverly hidden from those close to him.
A construction project that must come through whatever the cost. The police, a politician, family, friends, the law, violence and business malpractices, come in and out. A sparkling garnish comes from Mrs Deshmukh (Usha Nadkarni), the godmother of the colony Max must clear for his project to take off.
Although there are early portions where timelines are confusing, in the high-stake gamble of life, it’s interesting who wins and who ultimately goes behind bars.
Most of all, it is a disturbing truth that stays, the frightening truth of what goes on between siblings and friends in their formative years, the magnitude of the damage cruel and permanent.
Roshan Mathew carries the show as stuttering Ashu, the clown of the party. Bits of Ashu’s earlier years are also well performed by Vyom Vyas. The casting is appropriate as all the actors make their contribution.
Kankhajura – Watch Or Not?: If you like twisted mind games and general edginess that make a statement on flawed human beings, sit back and enjoy it.
Kankhajura Review Score Rating: 3 out of 5 (i.e. 3/5)
Kankhajura Official Trailer:
Credits: Sony LIV
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