Kumudini Bhavan Review: Directed by Arkadeep Mallika Nath, the Bengali mystery-drama (কুমুদিনী ভবন) series stars Ushasi Ray, Ambarish Bhattacharya, Anashua Majumdar, Rishav Basu, Arunima Haldar and Keya Chakraborty, alongside others. The series has 7 episodes, each with a runtime of around 25 minutes.
Kumudini Bhavan Plot
When Durba, a well-liked member of a women’s hostel, turns up dead out of the blue, Hochi Sarkar, is assigned to the case in order to find out what happened. He further finds a confidant in a new joiner with an interest in solving crimes. The two join hands in order to find the killer, but, unfortunately, the more they dig into it, the more skeletons tumble out of the closet. Will Hochi and Anushree be able to solve this complicated crime?
– Kumudini Bhavan Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Kumudini Bhavan Review
The mystery at the start of Kumudini Bhavan is quite interesting and leaves you asking questions and scratching your head. The way the series of events unfold is also quite arresting. The series holds on to this interest for a greater part of the runtime and doesn’t give away the murderer in the first episode, thankfully. However, the series does give indications of who might have a stake in the matter, although your suspects might just become a non-issue earlier than expected.
What I found the most infuriating about Kumudini Bhavan, however, is that the police are shown as these bumbling fools who need a civilian to come to simple conclusions. The problem isn’t the mystery, which is quite an easy-breezy watch, by the way. The problem is that the series doesn’t even deem the justice system to be able to understand how Bluetooth speakers work. Plus, every time poor Hochi Sarkar, saddled with that name, comes on-screen, a funny background score starts to play because… he’s a bumbling fool of an officer, of course.
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Is it necessary to always have something funny in shows such as this? It doesn’t help anything – it’s neither funny nor does it help with the mystery or its seriousness. In order to showcase Anushree as this superhuman, they juxtapose her wit and quick thinking with Hochi’s idiocy. I don’t know why that was a choice or was necessary – many smart people can exist together and be serious at the same time, but I guess that’s not a thing in this universe.
Moreover, my other issue with the characters is the chemistry between Anushree and Hochi – for some reason, she abuses him like no one’s business. It’s so weird to watch. I mean, sure, you can be frustrated with his badly written character, who is only there for the gags, but can you speak like that with someone whom you hardly know? I failed to understand the why for a better part of the runtime, and, if anything, it made me sympathetic towards Hochi even more.
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That being said, as mentioned previously, Kumudini Bhavan is an easy-breezy, fun little murder mystery that is quite entertaining and keeps things flowing without wasting too much time. It works well for such a simple show where everyone is a bully, and the ending twist is really fun and makes it a worthy finale. Ushasi Ray and Anushua Majumdar play two people who make for a great cat-and-mouse team. Both play their parts very well and are believable in their roles. Ray, who was in Gora 2 recently, is quite the spunky detective and a force to be reckoned with in the series and probably the only one who has some detective skills.
The Sonar Kella reference is also quite fun and will take fans back to the good old times of great storytelling without divulging into bullying. The exposition dump towards the end is both expected and annoying but helps give a reason to everything and why things played out in the manner in which they did. It’s a very cliched backstory, but at least we don’t lose sleep over the why and how.
Kumudini Bhavan Review: Final Thoughts
All in all, this little murder mystery is a fun, easy watch for those who wish for a little suspense in their lives. It’s not something that will change the trajectory of your life, but it’s quite entertaining and will keep you guessing till the last episode for the most part. The backstories are good, and you do feel some sort of way for these people by the end of everything. Either way, if you don’t go too deep, this will be a nice time.
Kumudini Bhavan is streaming on Hoichoi.
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