Rating:
2.5/5
Star
Cast:
Gulshan
Devaiah,
Drashti
Dhami,
Divya
Seth
Shah,
Rajesh
Khattar,
Zakir
Hussain,
Vithal
Patil,
Nivedita
Saraf,
Barkha
Bisht,
Sanjay
Gurbaxani,
Kiran
Srinivas,
Sparsh
Walia,
Abhijeet
Khandkekar,
Amit
Sadh
Director:
Aijaz
Khan
and
Pradeep
Sarkar
Duranga,
a
nine-episode
crime-thriller
web
series
with
a
runtime
of
around
33
minutes
each,
is
an
official
remake
of
the
2020
Korean
drama
series
Flower
of
Evil
and
is
directed
by
Aijaz
Khan.
In
the
series,
one-time
convicted
serial
killer
Bala
Banne's
(Zakir
Hussain)
progeny
appears
to
be
following
in
his
footsteps.
The
brother
and
sister
duo
may
have
parted
ways
in
childhood,
but
an
ongoing
series
of
murders
keep
linking
up
to
their
childhood
antecedents
-
so
their
current
lives
are
in
constant
upheaval.
The
series
details
the
lives
of
metal
artist
Sammit
Desai
(Gulshan
Devaiah)
and
his
family
-
his
wife,
a
crime
branch
cop
Ira
(Drashti
Dhami),
and
his
precocious
little
daughter
who
he
lovingly
refers
to
as
'caterpillar'.
Ira
begins
investigating
multiple
murders,
which
inevitably
lead
her
to
discover
shocking
revelations
about
her
husband's
twisted
past.
Sammit,
though
emotionally
dysfunctional,
is
the
ideal
family
man.
Not
only
is
he
a
great
cook,
he
also
takes
care
of
his
little
daughter's
needs
while
his
wife
is
busy
solving
crimes.
Their
love
story
may
have
been
unconventional.
Ira
is
the
pursuant
who
convinces
him
that
he
loves
her
and
conveniently
decides
that
it's
not
really
necessary
for
her
to
know
about
his
past.
It's
the
kind
of
contrived
set-up
that
only
a
lack
of
imagination
could
have
set
into
motion.
The
series
had
potential
-
if
you
go
by
the
kind
of
viewership
the
original
Flower
of
Evil
entertained.
But
the
adaptation
into
an
Indian,
pre-dominantly
Maharashtrian
milieu
doesn't
quite
work
up
interest.
The
narrative
flow
is
hampered
by
a
studied
unyielding
pace,
the
twists
are
many
but
they
just
seem
to
be
happening
with
a
deliberation
that
is
haphazardly
manufactured.
Episodes
lack
a
gravitating
tempo
and
the
background
score
only
comes
alive
when
the
narrative
needs
some
added
intrigue-push.
While
Duranga
is
pretty
much
faithful
to
its
origins,
its
narrative
craft
doesn't
appear
to
be
as
happening.
It's
difficult
to
subsume
Korean
culture
into
an
Indian
one
and
the
moral
threads
are
way
too
unhinged.
It's
hard
to
believe
in
a
cop
who
trusts
her
husband
so
much
that
she
is
willing
to
overlook
every
obvious
fault
-
and
that
too
when
the
impression
she
is
giving
is
that
of
an
upright
no-nonsense
officer
of
the
law.
Red
herrings
are
strewn
across
the
narrative
as
though
every
person
(other
than
the
cops
and
the
little
kid)
have
some
heinous
criminal
act
to
hide.
Too
much
of
the
narrative
runtime
is
taken
up
in
establishing
the
lead
actors'
expressions.
There's
really
no
pace
to
this
telling
and
the
actors
also
seem
rather
wide-eyed,
while
vigor,
vitality,
and
dynamism
are
missing
from
the
frames.
It's
as
though
the
makers
expected
this
series
to
do
well
anyway
-
so
not
much
effort
appears
to
have
been
expended
to
make
this
lethargic
telling
more
gripping.
Title:
Duranga
Duration:
9
episodes
33
mins
each
Platform:
Zee5.