Newsense Review: Directed by Sriprawin Kumar and written by Priyadarshini Ram, the latest Telugu drama series takes a look at the media industry and goes on behind the scenes. It is produced by T.G. Vishwa Prasad and Raviteja Dhamaka, while the music is given by Suresh Bobblli. There are 6 episodes in total with a runtime of about 25-30 minutes.
The ensemble cast of the series includes Navdeep as Shiva, Bindu Madhavi as Neela, Mahima Srinivas as Suvarchala, Shelly Nabu Kumar, Nanda Gopal, Ramesh Konambhotla, Charan Kurugonda, Purna Chandra as Eliyas, Gnaneshwar Devanapalli as Nagappa, Katta Anthony as Ayappa and many others.
-Newsense Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers-
Set in the year 2003, in the town of Madanapalle, the series intends to raise questions about the role of media in our society, such as the authenticity of the news, and the impact of sensationalism. It shows how Print media had such a strong impact on the public that everything that was reported was taken in as hard fact, at that time. Simultaenously the emerging electronic media’s sensationalism slowly takes over as the new form of getting the latest news.
The good thing about this series is that every episode is not an hour long, while the bad thing about it is that nothing really happens in those 6 episodes. What the creators want to show is how the people in power and corruption affect the employees of the Press Club. Essentially, they just want to make money & whoever pays them to publish something regardless of its authenticity, they do so by presenting it as hard-core journalism.
Well, it’s an age-old tale and nothing new that people already don’t know about. But yes, considering the time period it is based in, the power that journalists had in the 90s and early 2000s – is the only factor that is accurate. Apart from it they just keep on showing how ordinary civilians come to the press club for help but always go back empty-handed, as it doesn’t benefit the club monetarily. Everything is decided on the fact that the people in power should gain or not get affected by it in any way.
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If you are looking for a good guy in the show, then let me tell you there’s none. Almost everyone falls into the grey area and nobody is devoid of blood stains on their hands. Even the main protagonist, Shiva, who looks acts like a saviour for everyone but in reality, is as corrupt as others. His rough upbringing and how the world treated him from the start shaped his worldview. Now he realizes that siding with powerful men is how he can live a good life.
However, there are moments when he feels guilty for taking advantage of people in need, but as long as he is not killing them with his own hand, he can sleep like a baby at night. What I don’t understand is if everyone is in on the crime then from where does the conflict come? Throughout the episodes, we don’t see any character development in Shiva that would make us root for him. Nor does any other character gets introduced that would challenge his core ideology.
There is one contrary character who is at crossroads with how Press Club works but they just need to find the one thing that he wants and he will be on their side, for sure. More frustratingly, the show ends right at a crucial moment without even revealing what even happened exactly. I don’t really get why the creators feel the need to make seasons for something that could be concluded in one go.
I would appreciate one good show with any number of episodes it might have. Stretching the story without any reason just fails the whole thing & usually doesn’t garner enough attention to even continue the next part.
Newsense Review: Final Thoughts
Honestly, it was all a waste of time. If you are a fan of the actors and intrigued by the plot which never really unfolds, then wait till the next season arrives. You will certainly not miss anything and most probably get to see the interesting parts, that were lacking in it.
Newsense is available for streaming on Aha.