OK Computer Review: You don't really need a Rs 100 crore budget or Red Chillies VFX to make an interesting sci-fi saga. All you need is some ingenuity, a very dynamic plot and a great set of actors, and the viewer might not miss out on the fact that what you made isn't as glossy as an Avatar. That's what I felt when I watched OK Computer, Disney+ Hotstar's new series, directed by Pooja Shetty and Neil Pagedar. What made the series even more interesting is that it is backed by Ship of Theseus fame Anand Gandhi, who also shares a writing credit. OK Computer: Vijay Varma Is Excited To Work With Jackie Shroff in the Upcoming Sci-Fi Comedy Series.

OK Computer is set in a not-too-distant future in India, where AI has permeated in every walk of the society, from androids selling fruits to AI's controlling self-driven cars. One night, an accident is reported, when a self-driving car runs over a man, whose corpse gets so mutilated that he is unrecognisable.

The case is investigated by Saajan Kundu (Vijay Varma), a dispirited police officer who has a persisting mistrust for robots. However, since a robotic car is involved in what seems to be a case of murder, Laxmi Suri (Radhika Apte), who handles cases involving AI, also inserts herself into the investigation, much to Saajan's chagrin. Of course, they have a past, but the intriguing mystery behind the murder and the murderer, and the lack of identity of the corpse (which they dub as 'pao bhaji'... guess why) force them to work together.

Saajan is confident that a robot is involved in the murder, while Laxmi won't hear anything about that theory. As their investigation progresses, the series gets further and further weirder. as we meet an android called Ajeeb (voiced by Ullas Mohan), who was once so famous that he/she was entrusted with taking care of the nation's resources, before he got disillusioned with attention and turned to standup comedy. There is also a KKK- like cult who wants to curb out the robots from the country, led by a naked Charlie Manson-like leader, Pushpak Shakur (Jackie Shroff).

Watch the Trailer:

The premise of OK Computer owe a lot to Will Smith's 2004 film I, Robot. The plots share similarities - there is a murder, with a robot being a suspect. There is a cop distrustful of robots who is assigned to investigate case. Both OK Computer and I, Robot mention three rules of robot, though the former has Saajan add an unofficial fourth rule (Robots can't tell humans 'I told you so!'). And both have a compelling mystery that keeps you guessing till the end. OTT Releases of the Week: Radhika Apte’s OK Computer on Disney+ Hotstar, Sanya Malhotra’s Pagglait on Netflix, Manoj Bajpayee’s Silence – Can You Hear It on ZEE5 and More.

What sets OK Computer apart from I, Robot is that the former is more of a black comedy with plenty of satirical elements. The characters act whimsical, the situations even more so and the treatment is equally idiosyncratic, which makes the series so distinctly appealing. OK Computer is not your run-of-the-mill series, often going for the unconventional route. The world it creates is fascinating - even with robots around, we see a country whose problems of the yore still persist, from lackadaisical investigation procedures, to blind fan devotion to mentioning every other problem that the country faces, without making it on-the-face (at least not enough for fringe to outrage). At the same time, it also serves as a sweet nostalgic ode to the cheesy sci-fi shows and movies that we have grown up on, like Indradhanush and Small Wonder.

And to add to the fun eccentric bits, there is also a VR videogame scene and a Rasika Duggal cameo that has her take a rare turn into comedy territory.

The comedy bits don't alway work, the eccentricities of certain characters get time to used to, like that of Saajan's new intern Monalisa Paul (played by the brilliant Malayalam actress Kani Kusruti), but when you adjust to the flavour of the humour served, you are in for the ride. I loved the scene where Monalisa, speaking to camera, confesses her dream of having an alternate career of being Sanjay Leela Bhansali's intern, before her face falls as she realises even in her dreams, she wants to be an intern. I wish OK Computer offered more scope to her character, as the initial episodes hinted to do so. But with the entry of Ajeeb, the android takes up much of the spotlight.

While the suspense is more or less guessable - depends on your experience of watching similar movies or shows - the show doesn't lose its bearings or its dark humour, even when it takes a drive into existential plane in the final episode. Though I didn't like the abrupt manner in which the show ended. Also, the mockumentary format that the series uses comes more as a mixed bag, making little sense in certain scenes, and serves mostly as an expository device.

All the actors are fantastic in their roles. Vijay Varma is terrific as the disillusioned inspector, reveling in the black comedy elements that his character offers in plenty. Radhika Apte is dependable as always. Jackie Shroff makes a brief but eccentric appearance as the cult baba. However, the real scene-stealers are the robots, especially the androgynous Ajeeb. Credit also due to the VFX team for making the robots not look a bad CGI job.

Yay!

- The Actors

- The Quirky Premise and Treatment

- The Robots

Nay!

- The Comedy Bits Don't Always Work

- Slightly Underwhelming Finale

- A Couple of Interesting Supporting Characters Get Little Scope Later

Final Thoughts

OK Computer does a commendable job of merging futuristic science fiction with dark humour and satire, and then bring in a great cast to make it immensely watchable. All six episodes of OK Computer are streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2021 09:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).