Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie Review: Compelling Series That’s More Than Just a Murder Mystery

Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie stars SJ Suryah as Cop Vivek, Sanjana as Velonie, Laila as Velonie’s mother Ruby, Vivek Prasanna as Ramar, Nassar as KI Sebastian, Smruthi Venkat as Anandhi, Vaibhav Murugesan as Jones, Aruvi Balaji as Alex, and others. Written and directed by Andrew Louis, Amazon Prime Video’s Tamil thriller series is produced by Pushkar-Gayatri. The cinematography is done by Saravanan Ramasamy, and the editing is done by Richard Kevin.

There are a total of 8 episodes of 50-60 minutes. The series has subtitles in English. The synopsis reads, “Vivek, a diligent cop, takes charge of the investigation of the murder of a beautiful young girl, Velonie. The rumours about her that spring up post her death threatens to damage Velonie’s image irrevocably, Vivek must wade through a web of half-truths and confusing leads to solve the case. The series was created by Andrew Louis and is produced by Pushkar & Gayatri.”

Vadhandhi The Fable of Veloni Review Contains No Spoilers

Vadhandhi is about the death of a young girl named Velonie. Velonie lives with her mother, Ruby, who runs a small lodge in a small town in Tamil Nadu. Vel is a beautiful young girl who is often desired by men around her (of every age). Vel’s murder makes everyone around her a suspect. But who killed her? That is what cop Vivek has to find out.

It’s not a simple whodunnit case, as media interference affects it. More than the culprit, there are rumours about Velonie’s character only because she is beautiful. Amid so many rumours and character assassination claims against Vel, we see Vivek struggling to find the truth till the end.

For me, a good murder mystery is one where I come up with my theories and have my suspects in mind while watching the movie/series. I feel good when my assumptions are wrong because that proves how smart and tricky the screenplay was! While watching Vadhandhi, I did the same. The premise is so intriguing that it didn’t take me much time to get involved in the story. Just like Vivek, every person on the screen was a suspect to me. But all we have to do is look closer, leaving all the prejudices and beliefs while solving such a sensational and complicated case.

Andrew Louis’ series is beyond just being a solid thriller. He calls out people’s behaviour in powerful positions whenever a case becomes a sensation. From media trials to judgements of people to victim blaming, he blends these topics very naturally in the story. As a viewer, I felt bad for the girl who’s dead and can’t come back to tell her side, to defend herself.

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Every episode ends on a cliffhanger and crucial revelation. The twists and turns are consistent throughout the series and never go overboard. These startling revelations and subplots, in fact, help us understand Velonie and cop Vivek more. Along with Velonie’s murder mystery, the show also focuses on Vivek’s personal life, which is a mess. The more he gets involved and committed to finding answers, the messier his life becomes. At one point, his passion towards Velonie’s case made me suspicious of him!

Vadhandhi is a brilliant show because of its intelligent and meticulous writing. The characters are also fetched out well. Actor SJ Suryah has done a commendable job as cop Vivek, who deals with many unexpected situations and people throughout. Actor Sanjana is indeed beautiful, and she played the character with sheer dedication. Until the end, we are keen to know how Velonie was as a person, and she indeed had a tough life. Sanjana played her part very well. Actors Nassar, Laila, Vivek Prasanna, and others did a good job.

Vadhandhi Review: Final Thoughts

Overall, after Suzhal, Pushkar-Gayatri backed another tremendous series with Andrew Louis. The Prime Video web show is more than just a murder mystery, it’s a thriller that highlights how in today’s time, victim-blaming is normalised and culprits are not always slammed for their actions. The story also touches upon various political and criminal angles.

Vandhandhi – The Fable of Velonie is a clever, complex and gripping crime series you should definitely binge-watch this weekend!

The series is now streaming on Prime Video.

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