Dr Khusi Pattanayak
Anyone who is familiar with Vishal Bhardwaj’s body of work knows about his impressive adaptation of Shakespearean masterpiece for Indian screen: Maqbool (2003), Omkara (2006) and Haider (2014). His collaboration with Ruskin Bond was equally successful: The Blue Umbrella (2005) and 7 Khoon Maaf (2011).
So, when Bhardwaj decided to bring Agatha Christie to Indian audience the expectations and anticipation both rode high. And that probably was a rookie mistake to make as a film buff; and hence the disappointment.
Charlie Chopra & The Mystery of Solang Valley (Hindi, 2023) is based on Agatha Christie’s novel The Sittaford Mystery (or The Murder at Hazelmoor for US readers). We have Charulata Chopra aka Charlie, an amateur detective, trying to solve the mystery of who killed Brigadier Meharbaan Singh Rawat. Numerous red herrings later she successfully identifies the killer and brings a moral closure to the case (not legal).
Charlie Chopra & The Mystery of Solang Valley remains fairly close to the essence of the original work, but loses its charm when it tries to unnecessarily stretch the screenplay and keep the momentum unusually slow for a whodunit.
The series has all the hallmarks of a typical Bhardwaj offering beginning with a stellar star cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Neena Gupta, Gulshan Grover, Ratna Pathak Shah, Wamiqa Gabbi, Priyanshu Painyuli, Paoli Dam, Lara Dutta, Chandan Roy Sanyal et al. The best of the best. A treat for all fans.
Wamiqa Gabbi’s Charlie, the desi version of Miss Emily Trefus is, is an absolute delight. She has displayed great promise in her last few outings and this one is no different. Interestingly, she is also playing a significant role in Bhardwaj’s next Khufiya. It remains unclear on why or how the creative decision was made, but one gets to see the entire Shah-Pathak clan for the first time in this series. Other than Naseer and Ratna, we also have Vivaan, Imaaduddin, and Heeba in prominent roles (though not necessarily in the same frame).
Manali makes for the perfect shooting location. Drenched in snow and enigma, it provides a mystic, and eerie ambience that is integral to the story. The costumes and background score along with Rekha Bhardwaj’s haunting voice provides a flavourful visual and aural experience, but the element of curiosity remains largely missing.
A major portion of Charlie Chopra & The Mystery of Solang Valley goes by without making much efforts to generate interest about the actual murder. Rather we are made to deal with incompetent police, TRP obsessed media, illicit relationships, viral videos, age-related problems, and refugee crisis. The leads to the potential suspects are random and forced. The ending of each episode remains abrupt.
Unfortunately, the quirkiness of the scenes and characters are devoid of quickness of execution. The dark humour and references to Teesri Manzil (1966), Begum Akhtar, and a remixed version of ‘Dhan Te Nan’ (Kaminey, 2009) in a scene featuring Chandan Roy Sanyal (who also featured in the original song) piques temporary interest, but not sufficient to hold attention.
The web-series will have a season 2, which is welcoming given the dearth of female detectives in Indian popular culture scenario. But next time the makers need a tighter and edgier script to keep the ball rolling.
Charlie Chopra & The Mystery of Solang Valley remains mostly lack lustre. But if you are a SonyLiv subscriber (where the series is streaming) then you may consider watching the The Sittaford Mystery episode from Miss Marple series instead.
(The author is an internationally published writer & corporate communication specialist. Views are personal)
