The key ingredient of an effective murder mystery is its ability to keep the viewers hooked to the whodunnit plot and surprised at every reveal. The best ones keep you invested with a healthy dose of adrenaline and a steady drip of anticipation for what's going to happen next. Sadly, 36 Days, SonyLiv's latest crime series, doesn't score exceptionally on these parameters.
In theory, it has all the raw materials needed for a good crime thriller: an abundance of possibilities, eerie music, and cinematography that complements its themes. But somehow, they all add up to a jumbled mess, lacking the finesse and subtility needed for the perfect thriller. The show begins with the dead body of an air hostess named Farah lying in the pool of her own blood, and then takes us back 36 days before the incident, drawing a picture of what led to this moment of violence, one episode at a time – a concept the show borrows from Welsh miniseries 35 Diwrnod, that it is based on.
We are taken to the luxurious suburban housing complex in Goa where Farah has just moved in, and are greeted by residents, all of whom have twisted stories of their own. You'll meet a chauvinistic womanizer, a drug lord, an overbearing baker, a trans artist, a successful businesswoman, and a celebrated microbiologist, among others. Each character is painted in shades of grey and will make you raise a brow, leaving room for the faint possibility of them being the culprit.
Purab Kohli and Shruti Seth play a seemingly perfe.