Ayyana Mane review
Cast: Kushee Ravi, Manasi Sudhir, Hitha Chandrashekar, Archana Kottige, Ramesh Indira, Sihi Kahi Chandru
Creator: Shruti Naidu
Where to watch: Zee5
Rating: ★★
The OTT space has seen a paucity of Kannada content and the new web series Ayyana Mane, helmed by television veteran Ramesh Indira and produced by his wife Shruti Naidu, is an attempt to set a new trend in this space. The six-episode series, which dropped on Zee5 on April 25, revolves around Jaaji (Kushee Ravi), who gets married to Dushyanth (Akshay Nayak) and moves to his family home- Ayyana Mane.
What is Ayyana Mane about
As soon as Jaaji sets foot into her husband’s ancestral home, Ayyane Mane, her father-in-law drops dead. While a frightened Jaaji believes she is bringing bad luck to the house, her mother-in-law, husband and brothers-in-law convince her otherwise. Not only does she find strange occurrences in the house, but she also finds that the people in the household also act strangely, arousing her suspicion that all is not well. She soon learns of the mysterious deaths of the other daughters-in-law along with the odd significance of the family deity and certain family beliefs. All these push Jaaji to fear that she could be next in line. Though her husband tells her that she doesn’t need to be frightened, Jaaji’s mother-in-law Nagamma (Manasi Sudhir) compels her to remain quiet about the goings-on in the house. What is really happening in Ayyana Mane? Who is behind these deaths? Will Jaaji be killed?
Where it lacks
Given that director Ramesh Indira is known for his Kannada serials, Ayyana Mane also follows a similar soap opera template and not an OTT series format. What is supposed to be a gripping mystery thriller is slow and lacks the sinister atmospheric theme one would expect in such a series. There are a few red herrings thrown to put numerous people under suspicion, but they are neither convincing nor authentic. Even the reasons as to why the killings are being committed are also not compelling enough.
Themes like family gods and rituals, and superstitions in rural areas have been explored in Ayyana Mane, but it’s all at a very superficial level, unfortunately. Thus, the screenplay doesn’t flow smoothly, and it becomes tedious midway.
Kannada actor Kushee Ravi anchors the series and essays the innocent-yet-curious, frightened-yet-courageous Jaaji with ease. Since Ayyana Mane is like a regular TV soap, the role would have been a cakewalk for her. Manasi Sudhir has an important role and is convincing while the others are par for the course.
Technically, the cinematography by Rahul Roy stands out as do the costumes by Shilpa Hegde, especially the choice of sarees for the women. The BGM by LV Muthu Ganesh, son of L Vaidyanathan, elevates the scenes as well.
On the whole, Ayyana Mane has an interesting premise but this tale of mysterious deaths, superstitions and gods is let down by poor writing.
