Poacher is a crime drama series directed by richie mehta, the same director who directed the emmy nominated season1 of delhi crime.
I had high hopes from the series, and I have not been disappointed. The series benefits hugely from the immaculate performances of the lead. Nimisha sajayan is haunted by the guilt of her father's wrongdoings. She is his shadow, only in a different direction, passionate and determined. In many sequences, she internalises the guilt which makes her fiery in her investigation. She only has empathy for the mute and the cute. Roshan mathew is guilty in front of his wife, not being able to give time at home and look at his kid growing up. He never lets it get into his investigation. Possessing a cool head, he is always clear. Dibyendu bhattacharya is as real as it gets. He too, has wife issues and a cancer threat, but refuses to be bogged down by it. The rest of the cast is stupendous, I wished kani kusruti had more of a character. She went missing midway.
But performances can only take you this far if your writing isn't substantial. The series excels in its writing. The attention to detail is something to marvel at. The procedural that they have set up, with its many leads and many dead ends is one of the most beautiful things to see. This is a procedure, where leads lead to dead ends, rivalry between states ensues, non-compliance is as common as cattle. The characters are detailed, the poaching scenes are detailed too to the point where it is painful to watch. It also helps that the series uses various shots of animals looking over the jungle to overlook the investigation. It seems as if the camera relies more on the animals than the forest officials to officiate the forest.
The series is technically on point. The camera follows people into official buildings, always keeping a sight of the investigation. The color palette uses dark colours to amplify the grave danger the territory is in. The music, especially the intro music is spectacular. The background music is mysterious and does enough to make us feel the tension. The dialogues are excellent as well. The tension-building in the last 2 episodes is spellbounding.
But in some episodes, the messaging goes overboard in the dialogues, why elephants are necessary, why they should be saved, these become recurring themes in the dialogues, a misfit to otherwise a highly intelligent series. Also some episodes mainly 2 and 6, if I remember looked a bit stretched to me.
But this is a series to be applauded for its intention as well as the craft. The craft never overtakes the storytelling prowess. Richie mehta presents a solid police procedural with a solid cause at the core. Definitely watch this!
I had high hopes from the series, and I have not been disappointed. The series benefits hugely from the immaculate performances of the lead. Nimisha sajayan is haunted by the guilt of her father's wrongdoings. She is his shadow, only in a different direction, passionate and determined. In many sequences, she internalises the guilt which makes her fiery in her investigation. She only has empathy for the mute and the cute. Roshan mathew is guilty in front of his wife, not being able to give time at home and look at his kid growing up. He never lets it get into his investigation. Possessing a cool head, he is always clear. Dibyendu bhattacharya is as real as it gets. He too, has wife issues and a cancer threat, but refuses to be bogged down by it. The rest of the cast is stupendous, I wished kani kusruti had more of a character. She went missing midway.
But performances can only take you this far if your writing isn't substantial. The series excels in its writing. The attention to detail is something to marvel at. The procedural that they have set up, with its many leads and many dead ends is one of the most beautiful things to see. This is a procedure, where leads lead to dead ends, rivalry between states ensues, non-compliance is as common as cattle. The characters are detailed, the poaching scenes are detailed too to the point where it is painful to watch. It also helps that the series uses various shots of animals looking over the jungle to overlook the investigation. It seems as if the camera relies more on the animals than the forest officials to officiate the forest.
The series is technically on point. The camera follows people into official buildings, always keeping a sight of the investigation. The color palette uses dark colours to amplify the grave danger the territory is in. The music, especially the intro music is spectacular. The background music is mysterious and does enough to make us feel the tension. The dialogues are excellent as well. The tension-building in the last 2 episodes is spellbounding.
But in some episodes, the messaging goes overboard in the dialogues, why elephants are necessary, why they should be saved, these become recurring themes in the dialogues, a misfit to otherwise a highly intelligent series. Also some episodes mainly 2 and 6, if I remember looked a bit stretched to me.
But this is a series to be applauded for its intention as well as the craft. The craft never overtakes the storytelling prowess. Richie mehta presents a solid police procedural with a solid cause at the core. Definitely watch this!