Undefined ordeal
After the success of Kark Rogue, Zee5 released Judgement Day, another bilingual original web series in Bengali and Hindi languages. Judgement Day, streaming on the Zee5 platform, is a revenge drama produced by Rupa Datta under Camellia Productions.
Story
Two good-looking siblings. The younger one gets raped, tortured and dumped. Elder one gets into revenge mode with the help of an Asst Commissioner of Police. Does this look familiar? This very plot has been tried and tested in almost all Indian languages across small and big screens. Now, this is again tested in the form of Judgement Day season 1.
To throw some element of interest there is Pink like set up (remember the dashing Tapsee and inimitable Amitabh?). Young Hiya Mitra (Madhumita Sarkar) is a rock band singer who parties hard and hangs out with friends when not singing. She lands up in Kolkata with her boyfriend Mac (Arpan Ghoshal) and gets into trouble on a fateful day after getting administered with a date rape drug.
As a result, she gets raped and brutally assaulted. Unfortunately, Hiya cannot recollect any of the incidents that lead to her current traumatic state and it is the turn of Diya (Sohini Sarkar), the elder sister who is a lawyer by profession to take up the mantle along with ACP Javed Khan (Abhishek Singh) to find out the rapists and punish them in court of law.
Performances
Though all actors put up every effort to enliven the characters, none get recognized because of poor characterization and amateurish handling of characters. Abhishek Singh is wasted in a role that cannot bring the best out of him. Sohini Sarkar also suffers the same fate and her performance is passable. Madhumita has shown some kind of brilliance and she is the only saving grace among all actors.
Positives
Songs that appear at intermittent phases are well picturized and good to watch, keeping aside the placement of these songs. Background score by Indrajit Dey is good in bits and pieces. The title track sung and composed by Rupam Islam of Fossils Band and written by Archan Chakraborti is the pick of all the tracks.
Negatives
Selection of oft repeated story itself is a wrong choice. In a bid to give new look to this old story, songs that are forcibly placed pop up at regular intervals like a sore thumb in this so called spine chilling revenge drama. These songs and spells of flash back scenes drag the story aimlessly.
Award winning director Ayan Chakraborti fails to sustain the interest of audience as intensity that is underlying in the theme gets hijacked and unwanted interludes that test patience takes front seat making Judgement Day an ordeal to watch.
Worth it?
If you can suppress the urge to hit the remote, Judgement Day can be watched without drawing any comparisons and with nil expectations.
