Korean drama Signal‘s Hindi adaptation, Gyaarah Gyaarah, is now on Zee5, perfectly encapsulating the original show’s essence. The show, directed by Umesh Bist, stars Kritika Kamra, Raghav Juyal, and Dhairya Karwa in the lead roles. An investigative fantasy thriller, Gyaarah Gyaarah, is set in three timelines — 1990, 2001 and 2016. At eight episodes with a runtime of about 45 minutes each, does the series manage to hook you, or does it leave you hanging? Read our review of Gyaarah Gyaarah to find out.

Connecting the past and the present

The series begins at a Dusherra mela in 2001, where a young girl, Aditi Tiwari, is kidnapped. In the crowded mela, the only witness is a young boy, Yug. When the police find a suspect, a young medical student Raghav Nautiyal, Yug tries to tell them Aditi was kidnapped by a woman, but it falls on deaf ears. In the present day, in 2016, there’s a new law that sets the statute of limitations on cases older than 15 years. With only three days left for Aditi Tiwari’s case’s statute of limitations, an older Yug Arya (Raghav Juyal), now a criminal profiler, joins the department headed by Vamika Rawat (Kritika Kamra). 

Aditi Tiwari’s mother, Sanjana Tiwari (Gautami Kapoor), is still fighting for justice for her daughter and protesting against the statute of limitations law. While trying to find new clues to solve the Aditi Tiwari case, Yug comes across a walkie-talkie that transmits messages from Shaurya Anthwal (Dhairya Karwa), who is working on the same case in 2001. The walkie-talkie only transmits messages at 11:11 and for just one minute. Though surprised by what’s happening, Yug manages to solve the case with the help of Shaurya.

With the Aditi Tiwari case now solved, the statute of limitations law is revoked, and a new cold case unit is set up in every station. Each cold case that Vamika and Yug work on is related to the past, and Shaurya’s transmissions help all three cops progress in their cases.

More questions than answers

While the series is undoubtedly great to watch, it leaves you with more questions than answers. How do these past-present transmissions work? Why did Shaurya Anthwal call Yug Arya? These are just some of the basic questions that are left unanswered. Balwant (late Nitesh Pandey), a member of Vamika’s team, is initially set to be a corrupt official, but soon that angle is forgotten. How did IG Sameer Bhatiya (Harsh Chhaya) become a corrupt office, or more importantly, what was his role in Shaurya Anthwal’s disappearance in 2001?

Every episode ends with a cliffhanger, making Gyaarah Gyaarah a perfect binge-watch. Unfortunately, the finale also ends in a cliffhanger, leaving you with more questions. 

Worthwhile performances

The actors do a great job, but some of them are let down by the writing. Kritika Kamra, Raghav Juyal and Dhairya Karwa are amazing as Vamika, Yug and Shaurya respectively. But there really isn’t much difference in Vamika in 2001 and 2016. No wrinkles, grey hair, or anything else to show she has aged 15 years. Nitesh Pandey as Balwant is again an endearing character, yet not fully explored. Harsh Chhaya, in his limited screen time, doesn’t have a single dialogue that’s not filled with expletives. It makes you wonder what the writers wanted to do with his character.

The premise of Gyaarah Gyaarah and the K-drama Signal is unmistakable, but there are also some obvious changes to make the show more desi. Thankfully, none of that takes away from the intrigue of the show. 

So, if you are looking forward to binge-watching something this weekend, Gyaarah Gyaarah deserves a spot on your watchlist. 

Can you watch it with your family?: The characters throw out cuss words as if they have an excess stock they need to finish in a limited time. If you are not worried about someone’s ears bleeding from all the desi gaalis, watch it with the fam.

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