November Story review: Tamannaah’s show is a slow-burning, effective crime thriller with a shaky ending

November Story

Director: Indhu Subramanian

Cast: Tamannaah Bhatia, Pasupathy, GM Kumar, Vivek Prasanna and Aruldoss

It is very essential for any crime thriller or murder mystery to work wholesomely; they need to have a solid payoff. Tamannaah Bhatia’s November Story, an extremely well written, slow-burning thriller, has pretty much everything to stand out, but it does get let down by a slightly underwhelming payoff. Nevertheless, it’s a show that deserves a lot of praise, especially for the writing which succeeds in keeping one hooked right from the first episode. In spite of the disappointing end, there’s so much to like in the show and how it builds some solid cliffhangers in each episode.

Tamannaah plays Anu, the daughter of India’s best crime novelist, Ganesan. Anu works as an ethical hacker while trying to look after her father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. She is also trying to sell a house without the knowledge of her father. One day, Anu finds a woman (she had briefly encountered the same evening in a train) killed in the house she’s been trying to sell. Her father becomes the prime suspect in that murder. As the doting daughter, Anu has to prove her father’s innocence and at the same also find out who actually killed that woman.

November Story unravels slowly, and its pace is an issue at times. But what keeps one engaged is the gripping screenplay that beautifully weaves together a web of incidents to produce something worthwhile. While the show is a murder mystery on the surface, it also tries to lighten the mood with some comical moments which take place in the police investigation. At times, some investigation scenes spoil the mood of the show but it’s understandable if it was done to keep the narrative not too serious all the time. Some scenes featuring Aruldoss as the investigating police inspector are downright funny but equally silly otherwise. You start to wonder why even bring in a comedy element in a show that rests heavily on building suspense with twists and turns.

Tamannaah plays her part well to a large extent but there are moments when she feels clueless. But this is definitely one of her better performances. Pasupathy, who handpicks his role with precision, is one of the best casting choices and the show takes off from the minute he enters the frame. He plays Yaesu, a coroner with some shades of grey. Vivek Prasanna and GM Prabhu add a lot of weight to the narration as the supporting cast.

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Vidhu Ayyanna’s cinematography is top notch, and some visuals are truly haunting. The writing, for the most part of the show, is highly competent and one can’t find fault with until the climax which is needlessly long drawn.

November Story, despite its flaws, is an excellent show that I wish encourages more web series to get made in Tamil.