Search The Naina Murder Case review: A murder mystery that’s just enough to scroll on the side with!

As intriguing as this idea sounds - Konkona Sen Sharma leads a police procedural murder mystery, the show leaves only that much suspense to your imagination! 

Honestly, with the constant bombardment of new content and the limited time we have to consume it amidst everything else in life, it's only natural to crave something light-hearted. Something easy, something casual, something you can just put on without having to dedicate your full emotional bandwidth to it. And I think that’s pretty much the case with most people out there! But unfortunately, the streaming space in India hasn’t really cracked the code for successful casual shows. And no, I’m not talking about sitcoms, even mystery dramas, where solving a crime can be thrilling yet easy to follow, are hard to find. Search: The Naina Murder Case falls into that category of OTT shows that want to be a breathable, casual crime show - intriguing but non-taxing, yet largely end up being just enough for second-screen viewing.

Like every other police procedural, this one too begins with a murder. The show opens with Naina, seen running through the jungle, only to be killed by an unknown killer. And that’s where ACP Sanyukta (Konkona Sen Sharma) enters, an all-rounder crime cell officer who’s on the verge of quitting her job and moving to Ahmedabad. Her replacement is ACP Jai Kanwal (Surya Sharma), an uptight, know-it-all male officer. As Sanyukta is handed the case by her senior, her last one before she leaves, Jai becomes a supporting character in his own first murder mystery, often making things harder for Sanyukta, who just wants to close the case for her and Naina’s parents sake. Among the suspects are a youth party leader Tushar (Shiv Panditt), whose campaign car becomes the crime scene, her rich college friends, an ex-boyfriend, her father's second hand man and a mentor-turned-teacher who might be more involved than he appears.

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Spread across six episodes, the show lays out a springboard of suspects, with threads only working in favor of forceful conspiracy theories. It moves at a decent pace but never goes beyond “just enough.” For instance Sanyukta’s personal life as a single mother with a rebellious 16-year-old daughter that could’ve added an emotionally heavier layer is just a random addition. Jai, on the other hand, plays the token man-child who exists just so that Sanyukta can prove him wrong, conveniently dropping crucial clues only when needed. The narrative works like a process of elimination, removing suspects one by one, through hardly convincing theories by Jai or Sanyukta. It almost feels like the show borrows Sanyukta’s personality of being guarded, withholding, and only revealing what’s convenient. Plot threads appear and disappear as needed like a jealous ex-boyfriend teaming up with equally jealous friends, a mentor exploiting his student, a political subplot about a youth leader developing a women’s safety app, all feel like random detours than plausible scenarios. 

Directed by Rohan Sippy, known for films like BluffmasterandKuch Na Kaho, the show carries his familiar tone of spoon-feeding social commentary with a slight mysterious edge. Now, this could’ve worked if the investment required from the viewer was meant to be minimal, perfect to half-watch while scrolling. But as the season ends without resolving anything, it becomes clear that it’s building towards future seasons. And that’s where it starts to lose you. Expecting you to stay invested in a show whose writing gives such low-hanging fruits that the idea of returning for another season for a payoff feels like too much to ask, especially when the first one barely convinces you of its own stakes. Even someone as reliable as Konkona Sen Sharma can’t salvage the show’s blandness. She brings presence and nuance into a template-like show rigid to follow cliches, but there isn't enough to work with. 

I get that the intent was to create something accessible and light enough to have a breezy time watching it, but when it’s a murder investigation like this, there needs to be some real stakes in the game more than just a guessing game of “who’s the killer.” 

Search The Naina Murder Case is currently streaming on JioHotstar! 

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