THE GREAT IF RE-RUN THREAD - 1 - Page 9

Sorry for the late participation - my PC screwed up badly and since the engineer didn't arrive, I've been trying to get it to work since Thursday. Just managed to do it, but dunno how long it'll stay up. 😛 😆

Coming to the topic, first of all amazing topic, visrom! 👏 😃 It's feeling quite weird to review these classics. Anyway, I saw both these cases when they were first aired, but I mainly remember Amnesia Patient clearly, I can recall it clearly as it's one of my top favourites! I remember parts of Strange Clues from what I've seen in the caps posted previously, but gotta watch it again to get a clear picture. I saw Amnesia Patient again now, my brief review follows.

I'm not sure how to get started about the story/plot. Sriram Raghavan sir is one of the best and it clearly shows as the case progresses forward - great buildup of suspense from the moment they come across the accident, to the moment the culprits are caught. I'd say it's a combination of Singh sir's excellent direction complementing the thrilling script, and the great performances of our actors as always. The episode is really well-detailed and none of the clues the girl recalls are left as loose ends. All the details about what she recalls of the supposed murder, the people involved and the surroundings, how they try to make her comfortable and coax the details out of her memory, the murder attempts on her, and how they finally manage to get her recall what happened using the movie, everything is terrific. 👏 The doctor's involvement shown is very apt too, much better than what we are shown these days. Everything has a natural flow and keeps up the viewer's attention; which is something extremely important - nothing ever feels dull or purposeless.

There is a kind of connection with the events that we feel we are a part of what is happening, we think of the clues and try to connect them. In fact I was discussing this topic with an uncle visiting us, we agreed that the true brilliance in film or TV show directing is achieved when the wall of duality between the audience and movie is dissolved, or at least becomes transparent, and we feel as though we are actively involved in the proceedings. This is where masters like Hitchcock and Spielberg greatly succeed at. Not to make any comparisons, but these golden old episodes greatly emulate that formula too and brilliantly succeed. An example is the flashback scene where Nupur is overhearing/recording the conversation and deal between the culprits and the child innocently comes and starts talking to her, alerting the crooks of their presence. We know perfectly well it's just a TV show (and even within the show, it's just a flashback scene - the real danger is past), yet we feel like shouting out "Stop it!", or "Run!", we feel concerned for her. THAT is the streak of brilliance I look for. 😃

Partly credit for this also goes to the half-hour case system of that time, which necessitates the inclusion of two high points in the story - one halfway through and the obvious climax at the end. And of course the perfect balance between the light moments and serious investigation - the marriage discussion between Abhi sir and Asha in the beginning, when Abhijeet tells off the car owner for exaggerating the insurance claim 😆 (and subsequently discovers a clue in the process - I LOVE such details!) and of course the great final scene with Abhi sir asking her out for a movie and her reaction to it 😆 (I could remember it so clearly even after all those years!)

The performances have always been excellent and here they're in top form. ACP sir is calm, sharp and precise with the investigation, treating everyone just as they need to be. It's truly a treat to see him like this even in the most average of cases, how I wish the team pays attention to this today. Abhijeet and Asha play a major role here, amazing performances by both, especially their interaction in the beginning how Asha takes care of the girl and Abhijeet feels his own memory loss mirrored in her situation, great detail. Daya sir has a prominent role here too and is brilliant there. Fredericks and Sudhakar have mostly just a supporting role, though, that should've been expanded. I think Bhagyashree's performance is brilliant and up there among the most memorable ones from a guest actor; it's not an easy role to play! 😊 Also noticed they listed her in the credits, I wish they do it in recent episodes too. All the supporting actors there did a very good job I think.

The technical details are given good attention too - look at the camera shots starting with the silhouettes of our team discussing from behind the projector screen in the beginning. Editing is precise and the background music is very apt - suspenseful and tense at the right moments with creepy strings and brass hits. It's nothing like the overloud, nondescript ambient drone we have in the new episodes. Why doesn't Sanjay sir use those cues anymore?