Inspector Rishi Review: Mysterious Thriller Gets Its Notes Right

– No Spoilers –

When a man ends up cocooned in a giant spider web on a tree, Crime Branch Inspector Rishi Nandhan is called in to investigate. He, along with sub-inspectors Ayyanar Murthy and Chitra Lokesh, get into the serial murders that plague the forests and the surrounding villages. Confused about the surprising turn of events the more they look into it, the three officers realise that their case has more supernatural elements than they had initially thought.

You’d expect this 10-episode-long series, featuring some supernatural beings in its trailer, to not be gripping, considering the track record of Hindi supernatural horror shows. However, Prime Video’s latest is surprisingly effective and with the personal lives of our three main players weaving in and out, it makes for a thrilling watch, minus a few hiccups, of course.

The latest crop of eco-thrillers has been quite mellow, with the stories not being balanced on the mystery vs the exposition side. Most have been a bit too long or difficult to keep up with and as a layman who wants to be entertained above all else, audiences need something that will force them to stick to the story at hand. And, in that respect, Inspector Rishi makes an undeniable mark, at least for me.

Both horror and crime fans will be able to enjoy this ride thoroughly because, for a great part of the runtime, both of these genres run simultaneously. No-nonsense cop Rishi takes this serial murder case like any other – for him, the answer is humans up to mischief. However, audiences are told that there might be more to this story, there just might be a higher power who is out to get those who are trying to harm the forest.

Now, since we are shown these implications from the first moment, I did end up wondering how the series will twist the narrative in a way that will surprise us. And although the twist that arrives in the last episode is somewhat expected, it still manages to leave us feeling shocked in a way.

The series does a great job of making us care for the personal and interpersonal relationship of the primary characters and although we don’t sit with them for hours on end, we do get a lot. Thus, when problems crop up here and there, we are compelled to want to know what happens next. Every episode ends on a shocking cliffhanger and makes things more mysterious for us and Rishi and we all have to wonder what comes next – who is causing such a surprising mayhem? Is it human greed or something much bigger than all of us? The answer is a bit of both and I think it does leave us satisfied in the end.

The supernatural aspect of the show is done well and is satisfying till the end. The only reason it works is that we don’t see a giant CGI monster with claws for arms or whatever and the subtle, shadowy figure lurking behind the trees is just fantastic to hold that mystery. Plus, the series showcases how superstitions can play with the best of people’s minds and create chaos like no other. It’s interesting how much people believe in these things even now and the series makes good use of these superstitious beliefs and ideologies.

Underneath this tension of whether or not a deity is responsible for a bunch of murders, we also see the environmental constraints of our ruthless and thoughtless decisions when it comes to nature. It’s quite subtle and at first, I thought that we might get drowned in the supernatural aspect so as not to focus on the environment at all. But the series brings that in in due time as well and makes a good and memorable case of it.

That doesn’t mean that all is great in this show. In 2024, the last thing that we’d expect to come from a show released on Amazon is bad CGI but the special effects in this show are so hilariously horrible that it takes you right out of the experience. I was also forced to wonder about the point of some of it because it felt like they were forcing some of these CGI scenes down our throats for no apparent reason.

Other than that, some convoluted plot points and descriptions feel a bit forced and sometimes silly, but the series at least tries to answer everything instead of leaving us on a giant cliffhanger so I guess I am going to take what I can get.

Coming to the characters, all the characters were memorable in their own way. While Rishi is the protagonist and his story is the most thought-out, it doesn’t mean that Ayyanar and Chitra are simply pawns in this game. If anything, the series goes to painstaking lengths to make these characters whole as well and although I thought Chitra’s character trajectory was a bit rushed considering the depths of her character, Ayyanar’s story was simple enough and was handled well. Naveen Chandra is great in the series and makes for a mysterious protagonist with a dark secret.

Inspector Rishi Review: Final Thoughts

I kind of wondered why the creators decided to name the series Inspector Rishi because it gives it a vibe of someone named Rishi getting into something dramatic or comic. Either way, it’s an enjoyable watch for those who like their eco-thrillers to have a dash of supernatural and leaves you wondering whether or not the demigod might just be real. But, we thankfully get the answer to what is happening with the serial murders and get reminded to take care of our environment and forests. The alternative doesn’t look that safe!

Inspector Rishi is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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