Worming their way into mindscape

Ever wondered what is kankhajura and why should a series be named after it? Well, it’s an insect called centipede (with many legs), which finds its place insidiously and can worm up its way right into your brain. Our lead character, Aashu (Roshan Mathew), possesses the same ability. Seemingly innocuous, even a victim, he can curl up right into the mindscape of all he chooses to, much to their detriment of course.

Advertisement

It’s a rather interesting premise where one moment he is an informant and at another point a convict. But let you be told that the series is an adaptation of an Israeli series ‘Magpie’, a highly intelligent bird with complex cognitive abilities, including planning. It invariably picks up on bright and shiny things. And let us confess, we have not seen the award-winning original. In case you have, maybe the surprise twists here will not be as exciting. But for those not clued in to the original, the story adapted by director Chandan Arora and co-writer Upendra Sidhaye has enough sting and venom to keep you invested all the way from start to finish.

In scene one, we meet Aashu in a jail owning up to a murder; only, the same man has been murdered by another culprit. Soon, we learn of his uncanny talent of making others do things at his bidding. Mohit Raina, the second lead, makes his entry. He happens to be Aashu’s brother, Max. And the story takes a twisted turn, often harking back in time which is where ghosts of a tormented past lie.

The now rich brother Max, a budding developer, and his cronies don’t want Aashu anywhere around and are inimical to his very presence. ‘Why’ is a loaded question and the answer is as intricate.

Aashu suffers from an obsessive fixation for his brother and would do anything to earn his approval. Soon, skeletons begin to tumble. Past traumas which tantamount to deadly bullying haunt Aashu and are further exacerbated by the present. Expectedly, revenge is round the corner. In the toxicity of the relationship between the brothers lies the drama. On the surface, it seems to be a battle between David and more than one Goliath. Can a jail convict get the better of his well-placed adversaries?

Right from the very first scene, Roshan Mathew, the noted Malayalam actor, also seen in Richie Mehta’s ‘Poacher’, owns the series. His is an author-backed role and he makes the most of it, at once a traumatised person and one who inflicts harm on others. He carries both the shades, the stammering loser and conniving aggressor, exceptionally well. Of course, at times, there is an unnecessary build-up of his wily qualities. Often it’s spelt out too. In the beginning, the police officer for whom he works tells us how dangerous he can be. The mind games he plays first with his brother’s allies and then with Max himself have the necessary craftiness and craft.

Raina, as his elder brother, is more reticent but no less effective. The ambiguity of his character is what makes his Max interesting and Raina rises to his part. To begin with, you see his onscreen wife Sarah Jane’s character as the moral centre of the series, where everyone else is morally skewed. She not only empathises with Aashu’s predicament, but can clearly see through what all he has been subjected to by her husband and friends.

The plot spawns in other directions like the underhand dealings of builders and the seamier side of development projects, not only those involved in its creation but also dwellers. Usha Nadkarni as the devious mausi who rules the colony like a gang queen is excellent. Hawala transactions and more too make space in what is essentially a psychological story.

Cinematography by Rajeev Rai and Vinod Illampally makes Goa come alive. Not as a touristy picturesque place, but a lived-in space. The backdrop is well as it should be, a facilitator taking the story forward by making us dwell at the right crevices, nooks and crannies and not just the lush green, rain-kissed locales.

Though a second season is very much a possibility, the eight-episode series does not leave you on tenterhooks and does offer closure and redemption.

In a land where bhai-bhai bonding is epitomised with virtuous broad-strokes, clearly the complexity and toxicity of this ‘Karan Arjun’ is a refreshing departure. It might be too much to handle for those who swear by familial ties.

A scene or two involving Max’s associates is a bit too repugnant as well. But there is no denying the gripping power of the psychological thriller, made all the more riveting by Mathew’s central act. He gets a complete grip of the behavioural anomalies of Aashu. Indeed, as the promos told us, “it’s fragile, it’s fatal”. He walks the thin line with felicity. If he is vulnerable and resilient, the series is sharp and thrilling.