Dead Pixels Web Series Review: The Niharika Konidela, Sai Ronak show is silly and lacks basic emotions

Dead Pixels is the latest Telugu web series that is now streaming on Disney Plus Hotstar

Dead Pixels Poster

Story

Gayatri(Niharika Konidela) and Bhargav(Akshay Lagusani) are colleagues, flatmates, and gaming enthusiasts. They, along with Anand(Viva Harsha) play a crazy video game called Battle of Thrones. They eat, live, and sleep the game but things change when Roshan(Sai Ronak), a new member joins the setup. Upon this, Gayatri has a huge crush on Roshan and this also creates issues between the friends. How the game changes the lives of these four and who wins the heart of Gayatri is the basic story of Dead Pixels.

Analysis

For starters, Dead Pixels is a remake of a British show and has been adapted by Aditya Mandala for the Telugu audience. The show is about three video game fanatics who most of the time converse in the gaming language. The setup is quite fresh as it showcases how today's youth are so much into gaming. The show and its emotions are completely based on a game called Battle of Thrones. Things change between the friends due to the entry of a fourth person played by Sai Ronak.

The first episode showcases each of the characters and how they are so embroiled in the game. Their thought process, emotional bondage, and behavior are related to the game. So, all those who love video games will enjoy their body language and humor. But for others, things look a bit over the top. The proceedings are shown in such a way that the key characters have nothing else to do in life apart from playing the game.

The character of Niharika looks down on people who are also not into gaming. Such is the strong representation of characters in Dead Pixels. One of the best things to have happened to the show is Niharika Konidela. She gets a complete makeover and stuns as a crazy gaming expert. Her getup, body language, and desperation to get into a relationship are showcased beautifully by Niharika. It is one of those performances which holds the show together.

Akshay Lagusani is also neat in his role. Though he looks over the top in the first few episodes, he settles down as the show progresses. Sai Ronak looks handsome but does not get to do much. But still, the actor creates an impression in his role. Bhavana Sagi, who plays one of the flatmates is good in her role.

The production values by Tamada Media are top-notch. As the show is about gaming, the Battle of Thrones game showcased and the camerawork used is top-notch. The dialogues are funny and those aimed at the gaming community are hilarious. Ajay Mandala has set up Dead Pixels with a gaming backdrop. This itself does not have enough meat to create an impact on a majority of the audience.

Also, as many of us are not used to these games, it is hard for others to connect to the show and its characters. The love angle between the key characters is good but if the director would have added proper romance and some normal scenes with relatable emotions, the effect would have been even better in this six-episode web series.

Verdict

On the whole, Dead Pixels on Hotstar has a unique setup and crazy characters. Though the actors do well in their roles, the series lacks proper emotional depth and looks over the top for the most part. Niharika Konidela is a revelation in this show which might connect to gaming fanatics but for others, it looks silly and dragged for no reason.

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