Dhandha Story:
Dhandha is about a young man named Anand(Dora Sai Teja) who is 22 years old and takes the route of crime. Set in the bylanes of Hyderabad, Anand starts his journey with stock market fraud. Slowly, he moves to phishing, call centre scams, extortion, gang politics, and digital crime. The moment when he thinks he has fooled many, things change on their head and land Anand in deeper trouble. What it is and how he comes back is the basic story of this web series now streaming on Chai Shorts.
Dhanda Review:
Aditya Devulapally has directed this series, which has been made on a low budget. But the presentation is new and crisp. The plot is simple: how the crime mafia and the story of a young man who takes modern crime as his forte, cheats many in the city of Hyderabad, is showcased in a gripping manner. Though the cast is new, the manner in which the crime setup, modern-day cybercrime, and other aspects of IT frauds are showcased is quite impressive.
The best part of the series is that it does not take much time to grow on you. How scammers make calls, lure you into revealing your details, and what kind of techniques they use to make calls have been showcased in an impressive manner. Though the plot looks simple, the writing by Vijay Kumar and Aditya Devulapally is impressive. The different subplots blend naturally into the narrative and enhance the viewing experience.
The show effectively explores criminal psychology, deception, and psychological battles, keeping things engaging for the most part. On the flip side, there are also scenes where crime and law are taken way too easily. The protagonist finds it so easy to commit crimes that the logic goes for a toss in a few scenes.
Coming to the performances, Dora Sai Teja, popular through his shows on YouTube, makes a solid debut. He makes a strong impact with his performance as an anti-hero. Though he is young, the role demands multiple emotions, and Dora handles them with ease. The manner in which he performs in crunch cyber fraud scenes and takes on the mantle of being innocent is the best part. The way he has showcased different shades is quite good.
Nithin Prasanna delivers a composed and effective performance as Aditya Singh. Prakash Thakur is equally impressive, portraying a gangster with confidence. Dhandha also scores high on the technical front. Cinematographer Aswin Lenin captures the darker side of Hyderabad engagingly, giving the series a distinct visual feel.
A still from Dhandha
The camera work blends well with the mood of the story and adds authenticity to the setting. Another major strength is Rishi M’s background score. Rather than simply accompanying the scenes, the music plays an active role in building suspense.
Dhandha is a series that has been made on a low budget. But the ideology taken by Aditya Devulapally and the plot chosen are surprisingly good. Though the cast is young, the engaging vertical form of content is crisp and worth giving a shot.
Dhanda Verdict
On the whole, Dhandha is a surprisingly well-made series that deals with modern-day crime. Though it starts slow, the twists and thrills keep you engaged. Those who love cyber crimes, stock market frauds, and other such shows should give this Dora Sai Teja show a shot.
