Vadandhi Review: SJ Suryah's maiden web series is an engaging whodunit that is slow-paced, but full of twists and turns

3/5

Story: When a young woman is found dead at a shooting spot, she is mistaken for an actress. As investigation begins, the cops unearth a web of deceit and lies, along with the clues provided by a writer

Review: Vadandhi (Rumour - The Fable of Velonie) is yet another engaging whodunit from the creators of the gripping crime thriller Suzhal, Pushkar and Creator. This time around, the eight-part series is created, written and directed by Andrew Louis and unravels a series of web and deceit.

A young woman, barely aged 19-20 is mysteriously found dead in the middle of a shooting spot in the outskirts of Kanyakumari. When she is mistaken for the lead actress of the film, a promising upcoming star, rumour mills start doing the rounds. As a bolt from the blue, the actress herself calls the film crew and states that she is alive, the spotlight turns on the young woman at the mortuary. Who is she? How did she end up in the shooting spot? And most importantly, who is Velonie?

The man roped in to dig into the case is none other than SJ Suryah himself. And the actor as Sub Inspector Vivek fits into the role like a glove. As SI Vivek begins his investigation into the crime, a series of lies and deceits are unearthed. Suspicion falls on a number of people, including writer KI Sebastian (Nassar), who is captivated by her charm and calls her poetry and Sanjeev (Avinash Raghudevan) and Ashwin Kumar (Santhosh).  As you delve deep into the plot, the makers reveal that Velonie's single mother Ruby (played by Laila), who runs a mansion called Eraniel, is not on great terms with her daughter. They break into frequent quarrels and we get to know that Velonie is engaged to (Vignesh) Kumaran Thangarajan without her interest.

Right from the beginning, the director tries to put the spotlight on the male gaze and how women are objectified and are easily put into certain brackets because of the way they dress and carry themselves. A case in point is when a worker in a mortuary says looking at the body of Velonie, "She has a pretty face. Sad she had to die young." Soon, the sketch artist rebukes him and asks, "So if someone not so pretty dies, that isn't sad?"

Throughout the investigation, Velonie is constantly talked about for the way she looks. For instance, Ramar (Vivek Prasanna), tells Vivek during the course of the investigation that Velonie's beauty went to waste since she died so young. Even as Vivek gives him a nasty glare, the audience gets the message. And this includes the media houses and editor Sethuraman (Hareesh Peradi) who decide to sensationalise the news and cash in on the gossip and her looks.There is a force-fitted scene where a bunch of IT employees discussing Velonie and her character.

Vadandhi might not have many edge-of-the-seat moments like it did in Suzhal, but the web of lies keep you hooked to the story nevertheless. SJ Suryah owns his role as SI Vivek and has come up with a measured and nuanced portrayal of the character. Laila too plays her role in a subtle manner, and so are the supporting characters Nassar, Vivek Prasanna to name a few. However, the stars of the show are SJ Suryah and Sanjana, who plays the charming Velonie. She takes to her role like fish to water and it seems like it was tailor-made for her.

The cinematography and background music are quite impressive, too. The drawback however, is the duration of the episodes which are at times unnecessarily stretched way too long.

Verdict: A gripping crime thriller that keeps you hooked until the last minute