Season 1 – Kohrra

Audience Reviews

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Hemant S On the outset, "Kohrra" comes across like a run-of-the-mill crime thriller, and they are raining like cats and dogs. What makes it stand out for it is a great pack-in of layered characters, back stories and a cast that puts on a good show. It all starts with a frolicking couple stumbling upon a corpse close to their cozy corner in the farmlands. And it turns out to be an unlucky and expatriate groom-to-be. The on-call cop in charge and his deputy get scrambling on the case, but the weapon of kill and the motive both seem to be a question mark. The plot is a tangle but it is teasingly knotted in a way that makes opening it up an intriguing affair. A bunch of suspects in the proximity, but who crossed the line? The brides ex? The disgruntled cousins? Perhaps the family? It's a good head-scratcher. The back stories to each character clears up the fog bit by bit, but it also gives the story depth and not just one dimensional. Everyone may not be the devil, but they have their own demons. The acting roster includes Manish Chaudhari and Varun Badola who put on intense performances, though I feel Chaudhari was underutilized for the potent he possesses. Harleen Sethi is a surprise act and she grabs eyeballs in whatever screen time she gets. Rachel Shelley, the girl from "Lagaan" makes a pleasant though feisty return as a family friend of the grieving parents. It's a good ensemble overall. Suvinder Vicky and Barun Sobti play the cop-and-deputy and they do really well in playing the understated yet there's-more-than-what-you-can-see characters. Both have their own histories, though Vicky takes the cake here. Not new for blistering sagas with "Udta Punjab" and "Paatal Lok" under his belt, he's coming to the fore now, what with the recent Randeep Hooda starrer "CAT" and the upcoming "Chamak". I thought he carried the show quite well on his own as much as the character's conscience. Sobti is shades different than his "Asur" avatar, and possibly the only character that provides some kind of (dark) comic relief in the show. The police brutality stands out strikingly, raw and almost reminding you of the old Hindi film scene; I sure hope it isn't a reflection of what is real. Just like the rampant drug scene in what appears to be the locales of Punjab. Veiled toxicity and betrayal in reasonable proportions form essential elements in what holds together a well written story of a crime thriller. Again, I wished the season ended differently, but the imagination of the creators can tend to surprise often. Randeep Jha, a frequent apprentice of Anurag Kashyap, boomerangs back with solo directorial credits on this show after a collaboration with Prashant Nair in the real life chronicle "Trial by Fire" earlier in 2023. "Kohrra" has its share of violence and gloom and may not be everyone's cup of tea. But for the curious and keen ones, it is surely an underrated and bingeable six-episode venture. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review Del M Reminded me of old school portrayal of LGBTQ characters that don't end up happy or alive at the end. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/17/23 Full Review Ilka M Reading the reviews of this show, I am wondering if we watched the same thing. Like in most foreign language streaming show that are dubbed, the quality of the voiceovers was poor - it did not convey real emotion. My test for such shows is "do I care about what happens to the characters?". The answer was no, with the possible exception of the murdered bridegroom who only appeared in flashbacks. Considering the brutality of the policemen (and women) to extract confessions from their prisoners, their personal " emotional" issues left me cold. I have read a lot of praise about how realistic this show was - if that is true, heaven help those who find themselves the target of police questioning in India. The central issue of arranged marriages that ultimately caused the murders is very foreign to Western thinking as well. Despite watching the whole thing on two consecutive nights, I found the plot presented in a choppy and sometimes confusing way, wondering how they arrived at some of their conclusions. But I did learn some very bad Hindi words, should I ever feel a need to use them! Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/04/23 Full Review Peter K Complex plot with so many characters! Sometimes the dialogue is very difficult to understand due to heavy accents and the constant insertion of complex sub-plots and flashbacks to each character's story. The last two episodes were total shockers! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/22/23 Full Review palz All families are dysfunctional and Kohrra is the gritty tale of a few such families with a brutal murder taking place in the same Punjab fields which SRK and Kajol made a symbol of "pure love". In la la land it may be so, but in the hinterland fields are often synonymous with hanky panky-" lust love", "criminal hideouts," "murder locations" Led by a stellar cast and even perfect casting, Kohrra transports you to a Punjab village grappling with issues related to patriarchy, homophobia, substance abuse, and social acceptance for socially "deviant" behaviour. The murder unravels many secrets-all closely guarded to protect "family honor" but not the family per se. Its a great binge watch and would make you think afterwards about the layered portrayal of issues covered in the series. Just to digress: How many of you think that Barun Sobti has had the best advantage of all TV actors with the OTT? To think he was doing meaningless roles in daily soaps, and just see him now. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/18/23 Full Review Amandeep S Predictable, unnecessarily complex characters and an average storyline. Just has some great actors carrying the show. Rest of all its bizzare. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 08/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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