‘Gunaah’ (2024) Hotstar Series Review - A Villain or Hero?

The first episode of the series Gunaah takes us through the past and present simultaneously. It starts in Goa in the year 2018 where a man can be seen being beaten up by the other prisoners. While he was thrashed, various thoughts were flooding his mind including how he faced being betrayed in love. There's no clear indication regarding why he was facing this torture, but if one has to guess, he was betrayed by the one who was his dearest.

Shiva was always a very simple person from a humble background. His mother is blind and still can see things that people with vision can not. Tara (Shiva’s girlfriend) played by Surbhi Jyoti has ambitions and she doesn't share important details about her life until they are brought into public by Shiva's friend who drools over the thoughts of Tara. He might have a crush on Tara and wants to tarnish the relationship she and Shiva share. Michael is their third friend and they all were very close.

JK works in a casino, and Tara has recently taken up the job of receptionist. The story when shown in the present shows Tara as the owner of the casino with her name ‘Tara’s Casino’ written over the building. She's now a big businesswoman and JK (Shiva's friend) is a big name now.

Abhimanyu, a rich man is seen sitting in a private plane and he's travelling to Goa. There's not much information present regarding him despite that, he's made a lot of enemies even before entering the state. Michael targets an old man who is known for his notorious works and the reason why he was tortured isn't told.

I think that Shiva and Abhimanyu, though this might be just a theory right now, have a very high chance of this turning out to be true. The rage one notices in their eyes is very similar, and the fact that nobody could dig for any information about Abhimanyu’s past including his birthplace solidified my opinion. He might have undergone plastic surgery to hide his identity and now his ex-friends will have to face his wrath.

Now, within a short duration of time, Tara and JK couldn't have gone so far up the ladder which means that there's a foul play involved. This also resulted in Shiva who was earlier in the military ending up in Goa jail. The possibilities are endless, and so is the fact that Abhimanyu and Shiva might not even be related to each other and there's a completely different story. Let's leave all this to the writer's imagination and go with the flow.

Judging from the first episode, I am doubtful about the amount of viewership the show will be getting owing to somewhat poor acting, weak start, and deficient script. I had high hopes for Surbhi Jyoti, and though her character hasn't got much limelight, she's the one whose work reflects on screen.

Final Score – [6/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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Publisher at Midgard Times