Adhura review: Ishwak Singh & Rasika Dugal shine in an engaging horror-thriller

Cast: Ishwak Singh, Rasika Dugal, Rahul Dev, Zoa Morani, Poojan Chhabra, Shrenik Arora, Arjun DeswalDirector: Gauravv Chawla and Ananya BanerjeeIn India, the horror genre is still at the nascent stage, when it comes to delivering original content with novelty and execution. From Raaz to Tumbbad, we have some great films in this genre, Adhura tries to reach there and almost succeeds if we look away some cliches and predictability.The story of Adhura is set in a school in Ooty, where a reunion is planned for the 2007 batch. While students are excited to revisit the old memories in their school after 15 years, we see unexpected turns of eerie events happening as the reunion date approaches nearby. Soon, we realize there is a ghost behind these things, who wants to seek his revenge. What is the reason behind that revenge and where it leads to the show? Well, for that you have to watch Adhura.The narrative is gripping, especially the flashback portions, where we see some solid twists and turns that enhance the viewing experience as a horror genre fan.Talking about the performances, Rasika Dugal once again shows, she is an actress par excellence. She stands out by acing every emotional moment in the most convincing manner. Ishwak Singh plays his character of a calm and composed personality with ease and finesse but as a cine lover, we need to see his versatility through some unexpected roles and portrayals. Among the supporting cast, Poojan Chhabra and Shrenik Arora made their presence felt with strong performances.The series deserves our attention for its intent and great execution in some of the scenes, which leaves us for more. Despite being comprised of seven episodes with 40 minutes each, the show makes a perfect binge-watch for the weekend.Adhura is streaming on Amazon Prime Video