Disney+ Hotstar’s Rudra: The Edge of Darkness is a well-cast and handsomely directed thriller series led by Ajay Devgn.
He plays a grim, slick and urban version of his various supercop roles, from Gangaajal to Singham. Devgn is still dragging criminals by their collars from inside a car, but the cars aren’t flying this time.
The Rajesh Mapuskar-directed series is a mostly faithful remake of the popular BBC crime series Luther. Idris Elba plays the eponymous British detective whose criminal ways of thinking and penchant for bending rules help him track down the most perverted criminals under less than an hour of television. Rudra’s episodes are just as long and closely follow the map set by Luther creator Neil Cross.
The major change lies in how Devgn plays the titular character. While Elba’s John Luther was a volatile and loud man, Devgn’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Rudraveer Singh is sombre. Devgn is terrific in roles where he just lets his quiet masculinity do the talking; Company, Omkara, and the recently released Gangubai Kathiawadi being just a few examples.
As Rudra, Devgn is smouldering. He doesn’t use five expressions when he can work with one, and this suits the role just fine. There’s a moment in episode one where his wife Shaila (Esha Deol Takhtan) announces that she’s “met someone”. Devgn barely moves a muscle in his face, and yet he beautifully conveys the shift in emotions.
But Devgn is a bit awkward in the scenes where he has to loudly express heartbreak-related anguish. He’s just too macho for this.
The six episodes track Rudra’s tempestuous personal life, involving his estranged wife and her new Good Boy lover Rajiv (Satyadeep Mishra), while he chases some dastardly criminals, at least two of whom are psychosexually deviant and one may have been sexually abused by his father.
The sexual current in the series is augmented by the sizzling chemistry between Rudra and master criminal Aliyah (Raashii Khanna). Their slow-burning chemistry is the heart of the series. Devgn and Khanna are extremely good together, and that’s one of two reasons I will want to watch the second season when it arrives.
The other reason is the filmmaking on display. Rudra: The Edge of Darkness feels more Western than the first season of Luther. It’s incredibly stylish. Mapuskar’s direction is very controlled. There are no fancy cuts or unnecessary special effects. Scenes move at a brisk pace.
(The editing is by Antara Lahiri). Cinematographer Sanjay K Memane’s lens casts an oppressive gloom over the series, best experienced in the opening shot of episode one. The first five minutes of the series feel as if it could be from a Batman movie. Tapas Relia’s background score is just fine. Ananya Birla does a fine job with the opening theme.
Most of the actors are in great form, with Devgn and Khanna being the scene-stealers. Atul Kulkarni, Ashwini Kalsekar, Ashish Vidyarthi and Tarun Gahlot are at their professional best as Rudra’s colleagues. Satyadeep Mishra is really good as the slightly soft, unproblematic boyfriend who will always feel threatened by Rudra’s machismo.
The most terrific supporting performances come from the actors playing baddies. KC Shankar who’s been on a roll with back-to-back memorable performances in Rocket Boys, Loop Lapeta and Mithya is fabulous here as a blood-chugging superstar painter. Hemant Kher is great in a really sad and scary role. Post-Sacred Games Luke Kenny is predictably creepy.
I have just two issues with Rudra: The Edge of Darkness.
One is that the writers (screenwriters Ishan Trivedi, Abbas Dalal and Hussain Dalal; dialogue writers Jay Sheela Bansal, Chirag Mahabal and Gagan Singh Sethi) don’t really Indianise the material. Rudra’s story could be happening in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata. Apart from Marathi-speaking cops, nothing else signals the changed location.
That aside, there’s simply isn’t any cultural flavour emanating from the series, which isn’t something you could say with the other OTT crime biggies such as Sacred Games, Pataal Lok or the recently released The Great Indian Murder.
My second issue is how women and their bodies are constantly put on the line for masculine games through all of season one. The female body count of the series is spectacular. But this isn’t the Indian creators’ fault. This comes from Luther itself. I hope with season two, the writers take up the challenge of making something better than Luther and not just settle with a safe, faithful adaptation.
Rudra: The Edge of Darkness
Diretor: Rajesh Mapuskar
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Raashi Khanna, Esha Deol Takhtani and others