Benaqaab review: Tanaaz Irani's series underutilizes her acting skills

2.5/5

Story:

A senior reporter Anushka Sheshadri is murdered under mysterious circumstances. Many people are a suspect in the case and you just cannot figure out what happened till the last minute.

Review:

Benaqaab, a ShemarooMe original series which released in Hindi as well, is one of those series that can be made into a short film. However, it somehow adds some elements of suspense and confusion to try and leave the audiences baffled. Unfortunately, the series doesn't handle that too brilliantly either.

The show begins in a sensual way. The music helps the scene, if the series aims to be sensual, which it barely does. How the scene moves to media channels is funny as it is interesting. While the music works perfectly, the way the scene was switched is hilarious.

Tanaaz as Shehnaaz Shroff has a good character and she even acts well but the camera angles do not support her story as much as expected. She is a mysterious character who will make you suspect her in every frame.

The media functioning is shown well in the beginning of the series. It starts the debate whether media is democratic or just a mouthpiece for certain sections of the society, in a rather powerful manner. The makers deserve to be lauded for bringing that matter forward in a good way.

The camera angles in most scenes make you lose interest in the scene. The mediocre acting by most actors does not help the series either.

The mystery behind the show is solved in the second episode itself. It makes you wonder what was the need for an entire series. The story turns interesting mid-way but the point remains, did the series need to be stretched so far? There is a twist nobody could see coming (most of the people might not). It changes the story slightly but not as much to stretch the series for nine long episodes.

The makers manage to bring thrill into the series by muting conversations and adding suspensful music. The series also adds many twists one-after-another. Moreso, at one point, it will remind you of CID and ACP Pradhyuman.

After nine episodes, the mystery is finally solved but it isn't anything out-of-the-ordinary or shocking, like the makers probably thought. By that point actually, you know pretty well that it is just the scenario you imagined that is replaying on screen. What you would not imagine is the last scene which is on point in entertainment factor.

Verdict:

Benaqaab appears to be nothing but a drag of a story. The pace of the show is slower than a tortoise and the storyline which almost immediately ends as it begins, barely manages to keep you gripped. You might want to let this series go.