Rating: 2.5/5
The web series ‘Candy’ began streaming on Voot Select recently. The series is directed by Ashish R Shukla and is based on a story by Agrim Joshi and Debojit Das Purkayastha.
Story
In the fictional town of Rudrakund, a young high school student named Mehul Awasthi (Mihir Ahuja) is murdered while another, Kalki Rawat (Riddhi Kumar) has gone missing sending the public into a state of shock and fear.
DSP Ratna Sankhwar (Richa Chadha) is on the case which grabs the attention of local MLA Money Ranaut (Manu Rishi Chadha) and school teacher Jayant Parekh (Ronit Roy).
The next day, Kalki shows up at Jayant’s house claiming that there’s a demon called ‘Masaan’ who is responsible for the murder. She describes him as a being with horns and bright red eyes.
Through further investigation, Jayant finds out that there is a drug racket in the town run by the MLA’s son Vayu Ranaut (Nakul Roshan Sahdev). He’s been selling drugs disguised as candy to the students of the school.
During the autopsy of Mehul’s body, a knife head with the initials of Kalki’s father, Naresh Rawat (Pawan Kumar Singh) is found inside, making him the prime suspect.
He’s promptly arrested but the public is calling for his blood as a just punishment for his crimes. With the information that girls that were attacked by ‘Masaan’ have been branded with a mark on their neck, more girls come forward claiming that they were assaulted by the very same creature.
Meanwhile, Ratna is investigating the activity of Vayu as she has suspicions that he’s the real culprit. However, when the townsfolk storm the police station and drag Naresh out to the streets and burn him alive, Ratna is targeted with majority of the blame and is immediately suspended.
This drives her to the truth even more and she agrees to work with Jayant in order to get to the bottom of this mystery. As they get closer to finding the answers, more and more people are murdered, with someone trying to clear their tracks.
After the ‘Masaan’ attacks Kalki and Jayant’s wife at their house, he is visited by the school principal Mr. Thomas (Gopal Datt) and Father Marcus (Vijaykant Kohli) inform Jayant that they caught a glimpse of the monster.
Performances
Even with the reliable performances of Ronit Roy and Richa Chadha, it doesn’t do enough to raise the overall quality of the series. Some of the acting is quite over the top while some performers can also be accused of being a little wooden.
Manu Rishi Chadha does well as the sleazy MLA and gives it all despite the complicated portrayal of his character.
Nakul Roshan Sahdev as the eccentric Vayu Ranaut seems to be trying a little too hard and hamming up the part at every opportunity.
Positives
The major twist at the end is an extremely inspired decision, with the audience having the mat ripped right from under them.
The shots of the hillside scenery is captured brilliantly, showcasing a peaceful atmosphere hiding the horrific underbelly of the town.
The performance of Ronit Roy and Richa Chadha in the lead roles is what’s expected from such esteemed actors and they truly give it their all.
Negatives
Far too many plot points are involved with almost immediate resolution, causing the series to drag ahead on many occasions.
The subject of rape and drugs abuse is not necessarily portrayed in a polished manner, with a very vague run-through of the events and effects of these particular incidents.
The background score doesn’t add much to the intensity of the situations, failing to evoke the right emotions from the audience.
Worth it?
‘Candy’ is a convoluted story that finds it difficult to grab the attention of the viewers, and ends up suffering due to the haphazard flow of the entire plot.
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