The Premise of Asur
According to our ancient scriptures there are two kinds of people. The angelic or the good ones which were the ‘Devas’ who were also called the ‘Suras’ being dependent on their own internal power of truth and the others were – Demons, the danavs who had negative tendencies. These two are always at loggerheads with each other.
The demons depend on the great powers and siddhis acquired and possessed by them which were attained by pleasing Gods. But all these were ‘Asuric’ powers as they were used to perpetrate sinful actions. Thus these demons – the Asurs and the Suras are both supposed to be half-brothers same father different mothers. In modern times these two feelings or egos merge and are manifest within a normal person. The feeling which one lets to be developed or overcome within himself makes him the man he is. What the series Asur explores is that when one is pushed to the wall, these lines blur and then this person could easily crosses over to the other side. That everything is not black and white but various shades of grey and everything in this world is incidental no wrong and no right.
The Story of Asur
Asur begins with a flashback 11 years from now, on the banks of Ganga in Benares or Varansi where a priest along with his son are performing the last rites for his client (face not shown) and after completion of their pujas, as they are returning by boat the priest falls in the river and dies, while his son is shown remorselessly staring at the dead body floating in the river that’s where the story is develops and this is one part of it.
Then cut to FBI headquarters in the United States where professor Nair (Barun Sobti endearing) is taking class on forensics, he is a young 35 year old family man who left his field job in forensics in CBI in India due to some differences with his boss. That’s the 2nd story developing.
Now the third part of Asur’s story starts with a gruesome murder of a lady committed by a psychopath serial killer who leaves a mask on the dead body. The body is then dumped at a remote location and the psycho shares the location co-ordinates with our forensic guy in the U.S. what’s going on…?
Here these three stories come together. Nair contacts his colleague in CBI sends him the coordinates (is also requested to join back). The CBI team led by their forensics expert boss and Nair’s mentor Dr. Dhanjay Rajpoot (Arshad Warsi brilliantly subdued and serious in his web series debut), he recovers the corpse which is badly charred and beyond recognition. Rajpoot also receives a video supposedly from his wife which actually shows the killing of the lady who is none other than his own wife. In the meantime Nair is back with the CBI and from here on the thrills and the chills begin.
Asur – The Conclusion
Mythology and technology both come together and create an intoxicating blend for this thriller. Shlokas or hymns from ancient Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, Puranas and Gita, are interspersed wittingly which take the narrative forward episode by episode. Hindu astrology is also thrown in to good measure. Some daring dos are also shown when the antagonist captures Nair.
For the first time on Indian screens we see how profiling of a crime and criminals is done by the forensics and how they work with the help of latest tech. In all this gore that is strewn on the screen, there is also a subtle love angle of Nair and his ex in the agency Nusrat (played charmingly by Ridhi Dogra). This is to maintain the balance of the narrative.
The art of killing is dealt with a certain finesse in this series. An excellent concept story finely crafted thus garnering a fantastic response not only from the online loyalists but also critics. IMDb rating it at 8.5/10. One of the highest for any Indian web series. Though treating the viewers with shock value is the current flavor of web series currently but here it has been used to good measure. Would advise you to see it for yourself, you need to discover the nuances and also answer the pertinent question raised in here. Is it legitimate to resort to illegitimate means to trap an Asur? The overall impact of the final product can be summarized from the fact that each episode turns out to be more gripping than the previous one and we are thirsting to know the identity of the antagonist who is everywhere. As regards acting is concerned the script and the handling is the hero. Rest everyone has put in their sincere efforts.
A Parting Observation
Something interesting to end here. The mask denotes that the face that we put up in the society is but a façade, we all are something else behind it .The good can turn out to be bad and vice-versa. Our true identity comes to the fore in excruciating circumstances, when your very life is at stake. At that time you go beyond good or bad it just you no angel and no devil… poof they are both gone. A normal person will start drawing from his dark side in such cases thus the tag line Welcome to your dark side.
– by PAWAN GUPTA
Asur – the crime-thriller web series is released on Video on Demand Platform – Voot
Cast of Asur:
Arshad Warsi as Dhananjay Rajput
Barun Sobti as Nikhil Nair
Anupriya Goenka as Naina Nair
Ridhi Dogra as Nusrat Saeed
Sharib Hashmi as Lolark Dubey
Amey Wagh as Rasool Shaikh
Pawan Chopra as Shashank Awasthi
Vishesh Bansal as Shubh
Credits:
Produced by Tanveer Bookwala
Directed by Oni Sen
Created by Gaurav Shukla
Developed by Ding Entertainment and Viacom 18 Studios
