Gyaarah Gyaarah , out on ZEE5 and adapted from the Korean series Signal , is a time-warping thriller of the dour, soulless kind. Tumbling across timelines, director Umesh Bist always makes sure to hold his audience’s hand. Bland letters appear on screen to indicate the precise date, year, location.
Lest we lose our bearings, the pop-culture references are even more plain: Dil for 1990, Kapoor & Sons for 2016. This is a fairly unimaginative way to summon a period, to evoke a mood. It’s unlike the scene in Back to the Future where Doc in the 1950s exclaims to Marty, who’s traveled back from the 80s, “Ronald Reagan! The actor?! Then who’s vice president? Jerry Lewis?” In Dehradun, the abduction and murder of a little girl has gone unsolved for years.
Inspectors Vamika (Kritika Kamra) and Yug (Raghav Juyal) have a few day’s window to nab the culprit; if they fail, an incoming statute of limitations would render such unresolved cases closed. While working the case one night, Yug comes in possession of an old walkie-talkie that mysteriously buzzes to life. On the other end is Shaurya (Dhairya Karwa), a cop in 2001, investigating the same case.
He says that Yug gave him a lead, and terms their conversations “transmissions”. Gradually, with a mix of surprise and trepidation, Yug realises they can work together. Unfortunately, following this promising setup, the show steadily loses steam.
The succession of cases that Yug and Shaurya collaborate on fails to engage bey.