ASUR(2020) directed by Oni Sen
Cast: Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Riddhi Dogra, Anupriya Goenka, Sharib Hashmi, Pawan Chopra, Amey Wagh, Gaurav Arora, Vishesh Bansal, Deepak Qazir, Nishank Verma, Sunil Raghuvanshi, Kailash Pal, Ekta Tiwari, and others.
Bingo! If one sits through the seven episodes of this web-series you’ll get the feeling it’s a masterpiece in Indian history of crime thrillers, perfect blending of science and mythology! Beautifully delved deep into the mystical world of ancient myth and connected with forensic science. And then you watch the finale and feel like shaking up the makers and ask why the hell did you end it like this? Yup, the climax is a major let down.
Set in present day Delhi it’s a gripping edge of the seat tale of a psychopath serial killer on a murderous streak who seems to be killing victims at random leaving behind the ‘Asur’ mask to take undue credit for the crime committed. Two forensic officers from the CBI team try solving the mysterious case while the killer keeps challenging their wits with a distinct cat and mouse crime game, meanwhile the dead bodies keep piling up.
What works in its favour is an awesomely well executed storyline. Not an easy task to blend age old spirituality with modern day science but the director manages to connect the two diverse worlds with consummate conviction. It’s a well researched and well planned web series. The murders are violent, gruesome and bloody disturbing! If the idea was to make the viewer uncomfortable and evoke hatred for the serial killer then they succeeded in doing so. 
What weighs it down is a dull climax that loses steam invariably. Considering the genre one can’t reveal much but the final one hour looks hurried and could’ve well extended by another two episodes to give a more detailed and well explained justification to the killer’s modus operandi and evil vision. One can’t help but feel the first seven episodes were directed by a genius called Oni Sen and the finale handled by some random film making diploma student, it’s that amateurish. Nevertheless, it’s still worth watching. 
Considering the story is the hero in this series and performances don’t count much we do have decent contribution from majority of the cast specially Warsi and Sobti as the forensic officers, played very well. Hashmi, Dogra and Arora just about pass the muster. Most impressive is the little boy Vishesh Bansal (who played a sweet little boy in Yeh Meri Family) who plays the childhood version of the psychopath in the flashbacks, outstanding. 
No doubt there are multiple loopholes specially in connecting timelines and logic goes mysteriously missing at times but the overall effect doesn’t fade away. Sen has successfully managed to maintain an intriguing, tense and dark environment throughout, the pace remains steady, without slowing down or moving swiftly ahead, remains perfectly balanced. But one can’t help and feel that the finale could’ve been better executed, it sticks out like a sore thumb. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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