JD Chakravarthy is a very well-known name in the film industry, who entertained audiences with a variety of films and his unique acting. While he hasn’t been very active in the industry for the past couple of decades, he does entertain the audience with new kinds of content every once in a while. He has now come up with a new web series, titled Dayaa, which is now streaming on Hotstar. Let’s see how it has turned out to be.
Story:
Dayaa is a freezer van driver who has a pregnant wife Alivelu, for whom he works very hard. Their lives are simple and happy, even though they have to struggle to make ends meet. While everything seems to be going well, Dayaa’s life is turned upside down when he finds a dead body inside his van one day. Whose dead body is it, why was the person killed, and what’s the story behind the murder forms the rest of the story.
On-Screen Performances:
JD Chakravarthy proves his mettle in the story, by displaying a wide array of emotions throughout the series. He reminds the audience of how fine an actor he is and makes them feel that they need to see more of him. He never misses the mark in any scene, is extraordinary, and takes the audience on the journey that his character goes through, with such ease and charm that very few actors manage.
Eesha Rebba is good in her role, but she isn’t seen much in this first season. However, it is very well hinted that she will have a more significant role in the second season.
Nanda Gopal is excellent in his role and gives a major breakthrough performance in the film. Ramya Nambessan is another actor that has done her job quite well, perfectly embodying a journalist who always fights for the truth, no matter what.
Vishnu Priya and Josh Ravi are good in their roles and give a good performance. The rest of the supporting cast is also good enough in their roles.
Off-Screen Talents:
Writer-director Pavan Sadineni has truly excelled at making sure that every character that he has written in this story is well-written, well-fleshed out, and well-presented. Dayaa boasts of some truly well-written characters seen in recent times. While his characters are great, Pavan fell short when it came to the pacing of the show after the establishment of the portion. While the latter half of the show is pretty good, it is the first half that is a major letdown, with the pacing being extremely slow, as nothing much takes place. Had this been taken care of, the show would have been a much better one. The show must have gone some more trimming to make it interesting especially in the initial episodes.
The background score by Shravan Bharadwaj is well suited for the proceedings and the tone of the series and adds to the drama and tension. The cinematography is good as well.
The production values are up to the mark, but the editing could have been much better.
Plus Points:
- JD Chakravarthy performance
- Second half of the series
Minus Points:
- Pacing
- Editing
Verdict: On the whole, Dayaa is a OK watch which suffers with snail pace narration and engages just partly. A better editing with trims here and there could have made it more interesting.
Telugubulletin.com Rating : 2.5/5