‘Gyaarah Gyaarah’ Season 1 Review: Raghav Juyal, Kritika Kamra, and Dhairya Karwa’s Time-Twisting Investigative Thriller Keeps You Hooked! (LatestLY Exclusive)

Gyaarah Gyaarah Season 1 Review: Umesh Bisht's Gyaarah Gyaarah is an official adaptation of the Korean series Signal, which itself seems inspired by the 2000 Hollywood sci-fi thriller Frequency, starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel. While I have seen the Hollywood film, I confess I haven't watched the Korean series. Signal borrows the idea of two people from different time periods communicating through wireless devices under specific conditions, turning it into an investigative show that spans various cases while maintaining a common crux. Gyaarah Gyaarah, I assume, is a very honest adaptation. Despite some writing conveniences and loopholes, it is a well-acted, engaging series that keeps viewers riveted until the end. ‘Gyaarah Gyaarah’: Raghav Juyal and Kritika Kamra’s Thriller Is Reminding Us of a 2000 Film ‘Frequency’ – Here’s Why.

In 2001, a little girl named Aditi Tiwari was kidnapped by a mysterious stranger from a fair, and her body was later found near a river. Fifteen years later, in 2016, the case remains unsolved. The investigating officer, Shaurya Atwal (Dhairya Karwa), has been missing since 2001, and the girl's mother continues to seek justice. To complicate matters, the government has implemented a law that closes all open cases after 15 years if there is no development, with the Aditi Tiwari case only having a couple of days left before closure.

Around this time, Yug Arya (Raghav Juyal) joins the Dehradun police station as an inspector. He is skilled in psychological profiling and has a connection to the missing case. As a child, he witnessed Aditi's abductor and knew a key detail about the person that the cops didn't know. His hotheadedness and impulsive nature don't sit well with his colleagues, particularly his superior, DSP Vamika Rawat (Kritika Kamra), who once worked under Shaurya and was in love with him.

Watch the Trailer of 'Gyaarah Gyaarah':

While spending a night at the police station looking for any overlooked information in the Aditi case, Yug experiences a strange electrical anomaly when the clock strikes 11:11 pm. A battery-less walkie-talkie starts operating on its own, and Yug begins to communicate with Shaurya, initially oblivious to the fact that he is speaking to someone in the past. How this anomaly helps Yug and Vamika solve the Aditi Tiwari case and more forms the rest of the plot.

'Gyaarah Gyaarah' Review - An Engaging Remake

Primarily, Gyaarah Gyaarah is an investigative thriller series, which engages viewers through its intriguing premise. The time-bending twist adds an element of suspense and excitement, as the walkie-talkie phenomenon works erratically, with the connection happening at will, even if it occurs at a particular time, and each call lasting only a minute. Notably, Gyaarah Gyaarah never explains why this anomaly occurs, which adds to the unsolved central mystery of the show, including the mysterious disappearance of Shaurya. Hopefully, the next season answers that.

The series doesn't just focus on the missing girl case; the leads also investigate two other cases involving Shaurya. The switching between timelines and how the outcome of one investigation affects the other adds drama to the show. The missing girl and serial killer cases are particularly riveting, while the third case, involving the manslaughter of certain criminals, feels less effective, though it leads to a major plot development that ends the season on a shocking cliffhanger.

'Gyaarah Gyaarah' Review - A Few Inconsistencies

While I wasn't bored watching Gyaarah Gyaarah, I cannot ignore some of the convenient writing loopholes and logical lapses present in the screenplay. While anything involving time-twisting science fiction requires a suspension of disbelief, there are certain rules that the shows and films engaging in time manipulation tend to follow. Some adhere to loop theory, like 12 Monkeys, Interstellar, where time meddling doesn't affect the future outcome but intrinsically becomes part of the timeline. Meanwhile, others suggest that meddling with the past changes the future, as seen in films like Back to the Future and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Gyaarah Gyaarah does both, and quite conveniently at that. When Shaurya changes past events based on Yug's tips, we see the changed effects in the future, where supposedly dead people survive, though another victim takes their place. Simultaneously, the meddling in the past also creates lasting effects, such as when Yug and Vamika find a suspect in a condition that's resulting from Shaurya's actions based on the information provided by Yug. Jurassic Park's Ian Malcolm would be disappointed with the show's lack of respect for chaos theory and the ripple effect; ideally, changes in the past, even small ones, should create major repercussions elsewhere, but that's not always the case here.

For instance, Gyaarah Gyaarah even gets someone imprisoned due to time meddling, though this didn’t happen in the original timeline, while other things seem unaffected. This is a common issue with shows and movies using time manipulation as a theme, as they often open doors to loopholes. As Tony Stark says in Avengers: Endgame, "If you mess with time, it tends to mess back."

Aside from these time-related inconsistencies, there are other screenplay illogicalities I couldn't ignore. When Yug starts inquiring about Shaurya and tries to figure out what happened to him, he never checks the latter's home or asks his immediate supervisor, who has been working at the police station for years. That should have been the most obvious action, right? Gyaarah Gyaarah also glosses over how Shaurya escapes from the mess he creates while investigating the serial killer case and how he even managed to get promoted to DSP within seven years without solving a single thing.

'Gyaarah Gyaarah' Review - Good Performances

If you overlook these loopholes, Gyaarah Gyaarah is certainly captivating. The performances are commendable. In my review of this year's best action film, Kill, I mentioned how Raghav Juyal has significantly improved as an actor, and Gyaarah Gyaarah exemplifies that growth. He impressively portrays the outspoken rookie whose deduction skills make him overconfident at times. Kritika Kamra is also excellent in her role, though I wish they had aged her character a bit—she looks the same in 2016 as she did in the '90s. What's the secret, sis? Dhairya is impressive in scenes where he delivers emotional outbursts. ‘Gyaarah Gyaarah’: Raghav Juyal Opens Up About His Role in Umesh Bist’s Upcoming Series; Actor Says ‘It Was Challenging for Me’.

Among the supporting cast, Harsh Chhaya seems to be in the same zone as in Undekhi, albeit less abrasive. The late Nitesh Pandey also provides solid support to the leads.

'Gyaarah Gyaarah' Review - Final Thoughts

Overall, Gyaarah Gyaarah is a gripping and entertaining series that manages to keep you hooked with its unique premise and compelling performances. Despite its occasional narrative lapses and logical inconsistencies, it succeeds in delivering a riveting investigative series with plenty of twists and turns. Gyaarah Gyaarah streams on Zee5 from August 9.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 07, 2024 09:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).