The Jengaburu Curse review: Nila Madhab Panda's show mixes an ingenious theme with an almost invariable plot

Cast: Faria Abdullah, M Nasser, Sudev Nair, Makrand Deshpande, Deepak Sampat, Indraneel Bhattacharya

Director: Nila Madhab Panda

Language: Hindi

Nila Madhab Panda‘s The Jengaburu Curse has been described as India’s first cli-fi series. Google must be tired of answering what it means. It says- “A genre of fiction that deals with the impacts of climate change and global warming.” Currently streaming on SonyLIV, the series talks about a man who has gone missing under mysterious circumstances and his daughter travels from London to Odisha to unravel the mystery surrounding his disappearance. This sub plot is now done but definitely not dusted. Of course, there’s going to be a lot more than what meets the eye, and in this case, the nature.

Cinematographer Paulo Perez captures multiple long shots of the village the protagonists hail from, mainly to establish the genre of the series. And because the genre is thriller, there are those perpetual close-up shots intended to make viewers squirm with discomfort. The story is about Professor Das, and ask people about him around him, he would seem a vigilante, someone against mining that leads to the destruction of the beast called nature. This could be, as stated above, one major reason why there are repetitive long shots of different locales in the show. The camerawork is speaking on behalf of its protagonist, the hero who cannot be seen, only understood.

There are two stories rolled into one. One talks about a daughter’s quest to find her father, the other is about vigilantism and how greed turns into a curse. The show has sprawling camerawork and stunning visuals, and it dares to put its messaging out without reeking of pretentiousness. But the overdose of one sub plot weighs it down. It’s now up to the viewers to take their pick, either they can be dazzled by the ingenious treatment of one part of the narrative and embrace the show for half of its inventiveness, or dismiss the other part ultimately dissing the show altogether. That would be the show’s real curse. Time to wait and watch!

The Jengaburu Curse is now streaming on SonyLIV