Live Telecast is a horror series directed by Venkat Prabhu and starring Kajal Aggarwal, Anandhi and Vaibhav Reddy, alongside other cast members.
Live Telecast made me feel that director Venkat Prabhu’s idea of an independent and modern woman is smoking copious amounts of cigarettes and not giving a damn about the people around them. This is telling for the series spanning 7 episodes because the premise of the series seems to be as old as time – something that would’ve been interesting a few years ago, but right now it just seems rather silly.
Live Telecast follows the crew of a supernatural reality show called Dark Tales. The show is headed by Jenny, a woman who cares about nothing other than ratings and TRP. However, when she falls into trouble one day, she decides that the only way out of the rut is to capture a ghost live. We all know how that might work out.
The main problem with Live Telecast is that it is boring. The story and the characters are half baked and their problem unoriginal. There are no spooks because whatever happens on-screen seems like a joke. It feels like India still hasn’t come out of the notion that blue eyes and white skin are oh-so-frightening – if anything, it’s laugh-worthy.
Another problem with the series is that the characters have no weightage to them. It’s just so dull and no one seems to have any personality whatsoever that might make you root for them. There’s an extended sequence in the first episode where everyone introduces themselves to the camera (yes, really) and you forget who they are the moment they’re done. Truth be told, these people aren’t interesting, and when you’re not interested in the people, then why should you care about what happens to them?
Prabhu really wanted to bring back the charms of old horror movies, but it is to be remembered that those worked during the time. Right now, we are exposed to a myriad of horror shows and movies that stay with you long after you’re done with them. The writing lacks any depth and direction and feels all over the place. The emotions and the drama factor lack tremendously. It feels like watching a bunch of spoilt and unimpressive people get haunted by the most unimpressive ghost. There’s no thrill in that.
Live Telecast plays a piece of very emotional music when Jenny tries to defend herself for showcasing a demonic (?) force raping a woman in her show. Although I do feel that the series wanted to convey the sentiment that doing this for TRP is bad, this scene right here gives off major mixed signals. You understand that whatever Jenny has done till now is extremely problematic, but you’re somehow still expected to care about her. And it’s not like she feels remorse or anything – she thinks that people don’t understand good TV. With characters who are this dense, how do you feel attached to the show?
The scares are, as expected, extremely cliched. There’s not one single scene that evokes a sense of dread or foreboding. Live Telecast is a mix of different horrors and thrillers we have seen over the years and the cocktail is extremely hard to swallow. For the most part, you laugh at the idiocy that is taking place on-screen.
The cast, however, does a decent job at showcasing the characters. Kajal Aggarwal, Anandhi, Vaibhav Reddy all do a good job and makes this a somewhat decent watch. The cinematography is also fine, but isn’t anything to swoon over.
Summing up: Live Telecast
Live Telecast is a hotchpotch of movies that we have seen before and is so all over the place that it’s confusing. The scares are lacklustre and evoke only laughter. It’s hardly a one time watch, but it’s better to just give it a skip.
Live Telecast is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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