The Jengaburu Curse review: Nila Madhab Panda’s show sparks the desire to bring about a change

3/5

Story:

Pooja is back in Odisha after learning that her father might be dead. She takes a flight and takes a break from her London job to seek her father. She has no idea what awaits her ahead.

Review:

When you enter the world of The Jengaburu Curse, you would instantly think about National Geographic. With ants and birds co-existing in nature, this one begins slowly but does get interesting.

The show is scenic and straight out of examples for portraits. From sunset, oceans to mountains, the series is picture-perfect.

Bondria, inspired from the Bonda tribe in Odisha, is where it all begins. They live in an area called Jengaburu Hill, which can be cursed if a dragon is disturbed. From Jengaburu, the show moves to Keonjhar.

The first episode, Homecoming, starts in a mysterious form. It switches from a remote village - Jengaburu - to London. The latter is where we meet the female lead, Faria Abdullah. In the role of Priya, she is convincing. The episode shows her transition from life in London to the remote area of her home in Odisha. Despite it, she fits right in. The episode ends on a cliffhanger.

Nassar is introduced as Ravichandran Rao soon after. His first scene is with her and the two share an unspoken bond. He is very much in his element in all of scenes. The actor has a surprise on the show.

The music in the series tends to dramatize scenes much more than is a part of the scene. It often does not work on the show and the chase sequence is one such example. Despite it being an intense scene, the execution is with soft music, which works against the scene.

Aarya Bhatt as Banerjee, is introduced as an instant villain, thanks to the music. He is the perfect example of the corporate leech we have all heard of.

R. Badree, in the role of Srinivas, has the same appeal as Banerjee. He, though, is more villainous in his role. Looks definitely add to that.

Melanie Grey in the role of Monica aka Beatrice is seen in glimpses and is a big mystery. She keeps you guessing till the very end, which proves just how important her character is to the story.

Sudev Nair as IAS officer Dhruv Kannan is impressive in some scenes. Him finally facing his demons is one of the most powerful scenes. Unfortunately, that is overshadowed by a commercial dialogue at the end.

Deipak Sampat as the wanted criminal (Naxal leader) Kadey is introduced in the first episode but only through a photo. He is finally introduced in the second season and somehow, is in the limelight. Of course, many parts of the show since depend on him.

Srikant Verma in the role of ACP Padhi is perfect as an arrogant cop. His graph is constant throughout the series.

Makrand Deshpande in the role of Doctor Panigrahi is still convincing but his talent is underutilized. While there isn't much to him initially, it gets better as the show comes to an end.

Sukumar Tudu as Ram Kumar plays an important police officer. He is stable in his graph too.

Richard Bhakti Klein as Special Officer Henry Stout enters the series much late. He is seen in episode six and in his brief role, he is fairly good.

Maninee De Mishra is seen in a special appearance. In the role of Latta, she plays an important and mysterious role. Her connect with Faria’s Priya is one of the best things on the show.

The second episode, Missing People, delves deeper into the tension in the jungle due to the disparity. Episode three, Dying or Disappearing, gets you closer to the mystery of the show.

The real journey of the show begins in episode four, Where Do They Exist. Episode five, Billion Dollar Curse?, is about the horrors the show explores.

Episode six, Final Delivery, finally shows the internal war between supposed science and mankind. It is what makes the show so interesting.

The finale episode, episode 7, is about The Red Mountain aka Jengaburu Hills. It brings everything together for the perfect end. At the same time, it leaves you with a hint of the second season of the show.

Major part of the series talks about the naxals. The other half focuses on the horrors. It is, however, the gruesome scenes in the show that make this one a perfect watch.

One mystery factor is introduced and things around it tend to give you jumpscares one-after-another. Even though the show goes on a slower pace than expected, the mystery changes but does not die, right up to the last scene.

Verdict:

The Jengaburu Curse is not for the weak hearted. It is not the best made show out there but shares a message that needs to be out there. Even though the series could get better in terms of execution, it is a good watch and keeps the intrigue factor alive.