"Left, you live; right, you die...", says a mysterious, seductive voice in the background, while a girl swipes right on Abhay's photo on the Finger dating app and that's how
Abhay Episode 3 begins. By now we have got the hint that the episode is somehow linked to a dating app!
Well, in the last couple of years, dating apps have become quite popular in India, especially among the young millennials. Most of them use these apps for casual dating while some others even end up getting into relationships, following a few chats. But is it really that easy to find a perfect match online? What if when someone misuses such dating apps for crime? Haven't there been cases of online-turned-offline dates gone horribly wrong? What if your 'Perfect Match' is, in fact, a serial killer? Such scepticism is often laughed off, but unfortunately for several men, it actually became a tragic reality. One such gruesome case was the
Jaipur Tinder murder case that had hogged the national headlines last year. A young man, after being honey-trapped, was brutally murdered by his Tinder date and her two accomplices. They then mutilated the victim's body and putting the pieces inside a suitcase, dumped it on the Delhi-Jaipur highway.
Further investigations revealed that the trio were serial offenders and had used the same modus operandi to dupe several other men too - the wicked woman, Priya Seth, would honey-trap an affluent person through a dating app, luring him with her looks and charm and would then invite him to her place. Upon the victim's arrival, she would then extort money from him through threats of false rape allegations and would eventually murder him to cover up the crime. The victim's mutilated body parts would then be dumped somewhere. This bone-chilling account of honey-trap, deceit, extortion and murder inspires Abhay's Episode 3, aptly titled 'Swipe Right', and is currently streaming on ZEE5.
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| Abhay Episode 3 - SP Abhay Pratap Singh (Kunal Khemu) |
'Abhay', for the uninitiated, is a crime investigative web series that airs on ZEE5 and it revolves around SP Abhay Pratap Singh (essayed by Kunal Khemu). How he solves various mystifying criminal cases handed over to the STF (Special Task Force) while battling his own inner demons, forms the crux of the web series. He believes that a criminal mind resides in every person. He, for that matter, doesn't wish to possess a criminal's psyche but if need be, he wouldn't hesitate to go to any length either in order to solve a criminal case.
Despite being just three episodes old, 'Abhay' has already created ripples in the Indian OTT landscape in the crime thriller genre. The ZEE5's edgy crime thriller continues to fascinate the netizens, what with each episode featuring a true, riveting crime incident and the underlying complexities involved in solving them. If the first episode was inspired by the 2006 Nithari serial murder case, the second episode was based on
Bhopal's horrific triple murder case, in which the accused after murdering his parents and his live-in partner, buried their bodies in his own house and entombed them pouring concrete over their bodies so as to hide the crime. Abhay's Episode 3 too was instantly absorbing. What was fascinating to watch was SP Abhay's adroitness at picking up the small clues and decoding them to find the missing links while others had drawn a blank. The way he explored the evidence and niftily joined the dots, to be finally able to nab the three criminals was particularly exciting. No wonder the web series is being keenly watched by the digital consumers and has been getting rave reviews from viewers and critics alike. Abhay's Episode 3 has, in fact, whetted the viewer’s appetite even further for more of such intriguing crime mysteries in the forthcoming episodes!
What works in favour of Abhay's Episode 3?
(a). Performances:
Speaking of performances, Kunal Khemu continues to impress in his cop act. We have mostly seen him essaying comic roles (which he is very good at) but the way he has effortlessly slipped into the character of a tough STF cop, what with his intense look and no-nonsense demeanour, I must say, I am truly impressed! He is equally convincing as a doting father. He has certainly turned over a new leaf with 'Abhay'.
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| Abhay Episode 3 - Supriya (Anupriya Goenka) |
But for me, the USP of Abhay's Episode 3 was Anupriya Goenka's menacing portrayal of Supriya. Of whatever performances I had seen of her before this role, she had mostly played positive characters - as queen ‘Nagmati’ in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat and so also had played a pivotal role in Tiger Zinda Hai in 2017. So it must have been challenging for her to portray a character with dark shades but she played the negative character of 'Supriya' with effortless ease. In fact, the way she added her own subtlety and depth to her character was mighty impressive. The particular scene when she slits the neck of the victim Virat with a kitchen knife without a care in the world and her lack of contrition thereafter surely lent believability to the menacing nature of her character 'Supriya' - that was superbly done. With this role, Anupriya Goenka has proved that she has the mettle to play complex layered characters with elan.
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| Abhay Episode 3 - Govind (Namit Das) |
Well, speaking of pushing the boundaries, another actor who stood out in Abhay's Episode 3 was Namit Das as 'Govind'. He, like Kunal Khemu, is more popular for his comic timing but in Abhay, he is playing the role of the main antagonist. He too was impressive in his act despite having limited screen time in the episode.
The other actors in the supporting cast like Sandeepa Dhar as Komal (Abhay's partner in the STF team), Nitish Pandey as Pandeyji (he has provided some comic relief, adding a light touch to this otherwise grim subject), Elnaaz Norouzi as Natasha, Maninee Mishra as Radhika, Manraj Singh as Rohit and Praveen Tiwari as Dushyant, too have played their parts convincingly well in the episode.
(b) An Engaging Sub-plot - Abhay's Past:
With each passing episode, the sub-plot dealing with Abhay's past is turning more intriguing even as more facets are getting unravelled. In the first two episodes, Abhay was seen trying to protect his son Saahil from Natasha (Elnaaz Norouzi), the reason still in suspense whereas in the third episode, with the introduction of Govind's character (played by Namit Das), the threat to his son's life is seen to have shifted from Natasha to Govind and the viewers are left wondering what would happen next. I suspect there is some link between the death of Abhay's wife with Govind. Although as of now, not much is known about Govind's past but it does look like he is seeking revenge against SP Abhay Pratap Singh. The stage is set for an interesting twist in the sub-plot which I guess will be unveiled bit by bit in the forthcoming episodes.
(c) A Neat Package - Good Story, Crisp Screenplay And Taut Direction
The creators of the show – ZEE5 Team, Producers B.P. Singh and son Akshay Singh of Fiction Factory productions as well as the director Samar Iqbal deserve to be commended for bringing out an exciting episode. Given its good plot, crisp screenplay and taut direction, Abhay's Episode 3 was thoroughly engaging and kept us hooked till the end.
Underlying Message:
Abhay's Episode 3 also carried an important underlying message for the young netizens -- to tread with caution while using a dating app and so also while bringing an online friendship into the real world. Otherwise, one could be deceived. One falls prey to deception not because of illiteracy but because of ignorance and lack of wisdom.
