Kerala Crime Files celeb review: Rajisha Vijayan, Vinay Forrt compare it to Paatal Lok, laud ‘brilliant making’

The first reviews of Disney+ Hotstar’s first-ever Malayalam web series, Kerala Crime Files, are in. The makers held a special preview of the series, which is helmed by Ahammed Khabeer, on Wednesday in Kochi where the first three episodes from the police procedural were screened for those in attendance.

Celebrities as well as a section of media and the cast and crew of Kerala Crime Files, including Aju Varghese, Navas Vallikunnu and producer Rahul Riji Nair, were present and the team would be overjoyed by the feedback from those in the industry.

Also read: Kerala Crime Files actor Aju Varghese on web series debut: Format has never bothered me, my job is to act 

Rajisha Vijayan, who had previously worked with Ahammed in June and Rahul in Kho-Kho and Keedam, praised the team for pulling off the series. “I am elated because it's the first web series from Malayalam and the quality is reflected in this. Because it's on OTT, people will watch it across the country. Malayalam content is known for its quality. There's no words to describe its making. It feels like watching an international series,” she said, adding that Aju’s performance will be a surprise.

Malik actor Vinay Forrt also compared Kerala Crime Files to some of the other stellar web series in Hindi. “This is just a start. The first-ever Malayalam web series is made on the same quality as Hindi web series such as Paatal Lok and that makes me happy. It's a huge blessing for the industry too. The future will be a lot of regional web series, and to set the benchmark from the very first go in terms of performance and making, will hold us in good stead,” he said.

Also read: Kerala Crime Files’ Rahul Riji Nair: We knew we would have the first-mover advantage, but it wasn’t a strategic move 

Praising the performances of all the actors in the series, Vinay added that he respects the makers for breaking stereotypes and casting mostly newcomers for Kerala Crime Files. “I have a huge respect for Ahammed for using Aju to pull off such a character. Every actor, including Navas, was able to do that. It's a huge challenge for all artistes now to up their performances or else they will be in trouble. Hope the upcoming web series that are planned in Malayalam also maintain the same quality,” he concluded.

The Family Man actor Dinesh Prabhakar, who had also attended the preview show, hailed it as a “thrilling” series that is on par with international standards and “will make it to the top web series in India” this year.

Super Sharanya and Pranaya Vilasam actress Anaswara Rajan also praised the makers for the show’s quality. “I loved the series, especially because of Ahammed Khabeer's shift from movies like June and Madhuram to a thriller like this. The music, cinematography and direction were all nice and had maintained a high standard,” said the actress, adding that she’s waiting to watch the next three episodes of the show.

Also read: Kerala Crime Files 2023: Release date, trailer, plot, episodes, cast, budget, OTT platform and more 

Kerala Crime Files is set to begin streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from June 23. The show, which is based on a true incident, has six episodes that are between 25 to 30 minutes in duration.