The investigation of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination is one of the most significant events in the history of India. From a story perspective, it has this spectrum of emotions when we look at what made the LTTE take that bold step. The 7-episode SonyLIV series, The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case, directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, is an elaborate and effective thriller that really puts the viewer in the middle of the action. It shows us the difficulties faced by the investigation team, in terms of practicality and bureaucracy, to crack the case. With the technical side really enhancing the storytelling, The Hunt is a superb series that lives up to SonyLIV’s history of real-life based content like Scam and Rocket Boys.
After the infamous assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, which happened in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur, an SIT was formed under the leadership of D.R Karthikeyan, and several officers were part of it. What we see in the series is the 90 days of investigation of this team to find the culprits and bring them before the law.
Captain AK Ravindran, who led the NSG team in this particular operation, is none other than our own director, Major Ravi, and he has made a movie out of his personal experience about the whole incident, “Mission 90 Days.” The major difference between that 2-hour film and this almost 7-hour-long series is the depth to which the story goes. We have scenes from the POV of the antagonists. Just like the movie, the series is also criticizing the bureaucratic inefficiency. However, the series format gives it that space to make even the audience feel the resentment felt by those officers.
The writing of the series is not wasting a moment, and every scene is contributing to the larger picture. One of the major things that makes this series extremely compelling is the way they have tried to maintain the authenticity of what we see on screen. Almost 90 percent of the series is happening between Tamil Nadu and Bangalore. Even though there are excerpts of certain conversations in Hindi, a good majority of these conversations are retained in Tamil, and frankly, that just shows you the honesty of the filmmakers.
Nagesh Kukunoor is not trying to have a visual language where he is opting for chaotic shots to create that anxiety. The tone of the series is to understand the headspace of people involved in the whole process from both sides. Be it the sequences where culprits are getting arrested from various parts of the country, or the interrogation process, the emphasis is on keeping it real rather than making it look like a heroic venture. The locations they have opted truly recreate that era, and elements like production design, hair and makeup, and costumes are all on point.
Another significant and evident plus point of this series is the casting. The makers haven’t gone after any huge names, and they have opted for faces that would keep the story grounded. Amit Sial is perhaps the only big name in the cast, as we have seen him in several major OTT hit series. He performed the calmness and the helpless straight face in those final moments neatly on screen. Sahil Vaid as Amit Verma is perhaps the best beneficiary of this series. He gets to do this role that is there at every point of the operation, and he even switches between Tamil and Hindi with great ease. Bagavathi Perumal was really good as Ragothaman, and Vidyut Gargi as Captain Raveendran (Major Ravi) is also pretty effective as the eager-filled NSG head.
Malayali actor Shafeeq Mustafa is the one who has portrayed the role of Sivarasan in the series. From body language to the intensity we see in his eyes, he was quite believable as the mastermind of the whole operation. Anjana Balaji as Nalini, Gouri Padmakumar as Subha, and Sai Dinesh as Murugan were all pretty good in their roles. The series takes into account the accent difference between Indian Tamils and Sri Lankan Tamils, and the performers handled those factors neatly on screen.
When you watch shows like Scam or Rocket Boys, the drama is built in a way that the story’s rootedness never leaves, and it sort of creates a curiosity around how the events unfolded despite the audience knowing what really happened. That quality of hooking you from the word go is there in the case of The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case. And as a fan of Iqbal, a movie that had a phenomenal influence while growing up, it was so nice to see Nagesh Kukunoor thriving in a new format in a genre he hasn’t really explored.
