Farzi - Season 1

Amazon Prime

Creators: Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Bhuvan Arora

A crime thriller about a gang that prints and circulates counterfeit money throughout India and a Special Task Force that is trying to bring them to justice. Both the sides have some very able actors, notably Shahid Kapoor - a small artist who has become a key player in the gang and Vijay Sethupathi - the head of the Special Task Force. Both of them are supported by other splendid actors like Bhuvan Arora (a favorite of mine since I saw him in Chaman Bahaar - kya baat hai Daddy!!), Kay Kay Menon, Amol Palekar among others. The cat and mouse game between the two sides should be enough to keep you glued to the series, but there is enough bonus material in the form of humorous one liners, an engaging soundtrack and of course as always a powerhouse performance by Vijay Sethupathi - who steals every scene that he is in. My only criticism would be that the story perhaps in tune to the high profile cast or Mumbai setting, is unnecessarily dramatic at places and doesn't flow as naturally as "The Family Man" which is by the same writers or some of the other thrillers by Prime that are based out of the South. The show's action, humor and cast hold it up though and don't let it become like a typical Bollywood no brainer. Overall, highly recommended show and can't wait for the next season, which sadly seems a long way away given the writers other commitments!

Woman Of The Dead (Totenfrau) - Season 1

Netflix

Creators: Benito Mueller, Wolfgang Mueller, Barbara Stepansky

Cast: Anna Maria Muhe, Yousef Sweid, Felix Klare

An Austrian thriller about a woman (Brunhilde Blume) whose husband is killed in a hit and run just outside their home and her quest for justice. As Blume looks for answers she finds out more and more about her small hillside community's deep, dark secrets and what follows is an intriguing battle between her, the Schonborn business family that controls the valley and the town police who are hand in glove with the Schonborns. Anna Maria does a very capable and believable job as Blume, the strong willed, determined but loving wife and mother. The supporting cast is also quite good. Typical of European thrillers, the plot is very taut, nothing superfluous anywhere and goes on at a steady, exciting pace. The ending sets up a second season which hints at a showdown between the Schonborn family matron and Blume, and I'm curious to see if / how they will maintain the excitement and suspense of the first season.

Thai Cave Rescue

Netflix

Creators: Kevin Tancharoen, Nattawut Poonpiriya

Cast: Papangkorn Lerkchaleampote, Pratya Patong

A series that describes the harrowing ordeal of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach who were trapped inside a water logged cave and were rescued against tremendous odds by the cooperation of the Thai government's rescue team with foreign divers and experts in various fields ranging from medicine and hydraulics to meteorology. The cast does a wonderful job of capturing the tension and the emotions without it ever becoming too melodramatic. It was so effective that despite knowing the outcome, as a viewer I never lost interest at any point. The chemistry amongst the team and their coach, the various members of the rescue team, everything was captured beautifully and I never saw the overacting which sometimes plagues Asian dramas. Overall, a very touching and inspirational portrayal of the entire rescue. The ending credits with the real team playing football was especially sweet!

Kaala Paani

Netflix

Creators: Sameer Saxena

Cast: Ashutosh Gowariker, Radhika Mehrotra, Sukant Goel

How to take an exciting, picturesque backdrop, filled with rich history and possibilities for thrilling storylines to give an utterly bland, predictable, slow moving bore of a series. Kaala Paani is a masterpiece of mistake after mistake as the cast and show runners combine to ruin what could have been a hard hitting story, with some insipid acting, poor story telling and glacial pacing. Set in the beautiful Andaman and Nicobar islands, it starts of relatively well, introducing the characters who arrive on the island and hints at an element of conflict between the natives and settlers against the backdrop of corporate greed and an impending pandemic. Sadly - the show starts to unravel as early as towards the end of the first episode. Mona Singh (Dr. Soudamani) who plays an interesting character seems to foresee the disaster and opts to kill herself off and is replaced by the perpetually confused Radhika Mehrotra (Dr. Ritu). We get an unnecesary love angle between 2 highly annoying characters who have zero chemistry and bring nothing to the story - Priyansh (Vinayak) and Arushi (Jyotsana). Competing with these 2 for the most annoying are the brother / sister pair of Aradhya (Vidisha) and Payash (Parth). Overall, there is no dearth of characters you are rooting against and sadly nothing / no one to cheer for - except whatever disease it is that is plaguing the community in the hope that the series comes to a swift end.