Ekam Season 1 Karavali series review: 7 stories with varying, but decent impact
Ekam Season 1 Karavali series review: Ekam, presented by Rakshit Shetty, is now streaming on their own platform on TVOD.
3.0/5
Jul 13, 2024
Stills from the Kannada web series Ekam
Ekam Season 1 Karavali series story: A shawl nips a budding romance; a hunter faces terrible loss when he embraces modernity; a dead man walking; a school project gone wrong; a shocking revelation by a film star and more at the heart of the 7-episode anthology Ekam.
Ekam OTT release date: When and where to watch Rakshit Shetty’s Kannada web series
Ekam Season 1 Karavali series review: A Kannada web series that actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty greenlit –that’s got to be worth something, right? It is, no doubt, but the question is also if it is for everyone? Let’s be honest here - Ekam has been designed for a specific audience: the ones for whom entertainment is not the sole goal of watching something; there’s got to be something more; a stimulant for their grey cells. Most of the stories and characters are meant to spark some form of conversation. It’s inevitable, because when you are done with the show, you will have lingering questions about how they all end.
Flight, featuring Shine Shetty and Pallavi Kodagu as a young couple crushing on each other and Prakash Thuminad as Mr Nosey-Parker neighbourhood uncle, is a personal favourite, even though too much time is devoted to the budding romance and the obstacles the love birds face. The ending was brilliant; women of a certain generation will resonate with it and how, although in present day it may not have the desired effect. Shine Shetty’s role is quite limited as the eye-candy; he almost gets a Baywatch-esque scene on the beach, but with his shirt on. Pallavi does a lot of talking with her eyes and is very effective.
The second, Void, comes a close second, with Basuma Kodagu’s portrayal as a gifted native hunter, in sync with mother nature, whose special powers desert him when he’s given a rifle. Masquerade, featuring Raj B Shetty, is the most straight-forward of the lot – you know where it’s headed from the word go – and hence, goes to the bottom of the pile, with the mid-section populated by the other four stories – Tradition, Delusion, Identity, Legacy, in that order.
These are the four stories that are thought-provoking, bizarre to some extent, leaving you pondering over the eventual resolution. In Tradition, for instance, a presumed dead young man is forced to go ahead with his funeral rites to preserve his family’s reputation, while Legacy follows a middle-aged maid and the conundrum she finds herself in when a film star she knew from eons ago, makes some explosive revelations. It’s the stuff films of the 60s and 70s were made of – rich landlords from the upper echelons of society lusting over the young house help.
Before I began streaming Ekam, showrunner Sandeep PS had warned that it was not going to be an easy watch; it is most definitely not the stuff of binge-watching, although you maybe fooled to think it is after the first episode. The story-telling, despite the short story format, is quite leisurely, with no real sense of urgency.
More than the stories, the pacing is what I struggled with; let’s just say am not the most patient and slow-burners are not really my thing. But that’s purely personal. It also does not give the actors much to work with. Take, for instance, Prakash Raj in tradition, he walks, sits, has two lines and has to look engrossed in deep thought. Manasi Sudhir fares a tad better in Legacy, although much of her screen time is dedicated to looking hassled.
Ekam showrunner Sandeep PS: Pitching show to OTTs taught me that they want content, but…
Ekam Season 1 series verdict: Ekam is not flawless, but the fact that the showrunners chose not to fall into the trap of ‘routine’, ‘meant for a larger audience’ story-telling is commendable. It is a breath of fresh air; but imagine what a hint of freshener could have done to it. As a maiden attempt, the team deserves a round of applause and should be vested with powers to do more and get better with every step. To empower them, you’ll have to buy the show; you won’t regret the investment.
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