Kudi Yedamaithe (Web series): A well-made thriller

"Kudi Yedamaithe" is based on an interesting premise of two people having already lived through a particular day. They are trying to recollect things and make efforts on changing the turn of events. In the hands of a less compotent director the series would have crashed given the repetitive events and the concept of time loop but director Pawan Kumar does an extremely good job in making the audiences invested in the characters and also keeps them guessing.

The series spans eight episodes and never deviates from its core plot. The tension is well maintained and thankfully there are no unnecessary elements like comedy track and songs. For those who are not familiar with the name of the title, it is taken from a popular song in the film "Devadasu". The phrase "Kudi Yedamaithe" is used here referring an unexpected turn of events that pushes life upside down.

Adi( Rahul Vijay) is an aspring actor who works as a food delivery agent for an agency. His routine starts from rushing to a neighbourhood food stall and having breakfast, this is followed by taking delivery orders and navigating through the city. In between he also gives auditions for roles in films. We get an idea of his bond with an older collegue called Farooq who cares for him. This is how his life goes and that day is no different.

On the other side of the coin there is a cop Durga played by Amala Paul. She is dependent on alchahol and is trying to focus on the tasks that she has to do for the day. There are cases regarding child kidnapping that she has to solve and also other challenging ones. As time becomes twelve both of them meet with an accident and dies, wakes up the following morning only to relive everything that happened all over again.

The rest of the series is about whether now both of them can change the turn of events that happened earlier since they are aware of what the rest of the day holds. The chief reason why "Kudi Yedamaithe" works is the way in which the events have been shown. Although they are common in nature you have subtle variations in the way they approach the situation.

A good example of the subtle variations is the audition scenes of Adi. When Adi first goes to the audition there is certain nervousness but by the second time nervousness is replaced by confidence. The reason being he has already gone through the drill. The third time it becomes disdain because something else becomes a priority for Adi.

The same happens with Amala Paul's character too. The strategies that her character uses keep changing with the day as she is desperate to solve the crime. As the sense of urgency increases with both the characters you are riveted to the screen and want them to succeed.

The time loop is central to the plot and it could have easily gone into a boring zone, however it doesn't. Apart from Pawan Kumar the technical team is another reason why it never gets boring. The atmospherics contribute in a big way to the suspense factor.

Amala Paul as Durga plays her complex character with ease. It is a treat to watch her performing. The surprise factor is Rahul Vijay. He also gets equal screen time and shows his potential.

"Kudi Yedamaithe" ends on an interesting note and makes you excited for the second season. The web-series is premiered in Aha.