OTT Review – Newsense on Aha

Starring: Navdeep, Bindu Madhavi, Nanda Gopal, Ramesh Konambhotla and others
Director: Sri Prawin Kumar
Producers: TG Vishwa Prasad, Vivek Kuchibotla
Music : Suresh Bobbili
Release : May 12, 2023
Steaming On AHA

Newsense is the latest web series on Aha. It features Navdeep and Bindu Madhavi in lead roles. The show is produced by the popular production house, People Media Factory and is directed by Sri Prawin Kumar.

Plot

Newsense, seasons one is set in the Madanapalle area in the late 90s. Shiva(Navdeep) is a corrupt journalist who takes money to take sides with political parties. He is in love with Neela(Bindu Madhavi) who is also a local reporter. The twist in the tale arises when a new sub-inspector Edwin(Nanda Gopal) joins the duty in Madanapalle. How will a corrupt Shiva plan his activities and how the political scenario changes in the town causing more issues to the press?

Performances

Navdeep is a very good actor and there is no denying the fact. He gets a tailor-made role in Newsense. The character of a corrupt journalist perfectly suits Navdeep and he delivers a fine performance. Playing flawed characters comes easily to Navdeep and his performance is the best of the lot in Newsense. Bindu Madhavi does not get much screen time but she delivers more than what is expected. Nanda Gopal who plays a shrewd cop is also neat in his role. The casting is done right for Newsense.

Technicalities

The story of Newsense is penned by journalist Priyadarshini Ram and its strikes a chord. It is not easy to showcase the corrupt angle of journalists but the makers have narrated the same in a decent manner. As it is a period drama, the visuals, camerawork, dialogues, and costumes for Bindu Madhavi, everything is spot-on in this show. Suresh Bobbili’s background music is ok and is in sync with the story. Editing could have been a lot better as the show is dragged in a few areas.

What’s Good

Basic Storyline
Navdeep’s performance
Realistic nature of the show

What’s Bad

Slow Pace
Dragged scenes
Editing

Analysis

Newsense is a show which has grey shades in plenty. Firstly, it talks about the basic ethics of journalists and how they need to be sincere in their work. Next, there are many scenes that showcase the journalist’s group in a corrupt manner. News is traded for money and sides are taken by giving more perks to these reporters. This is the basic premise of the show and Navdeep heads the series as he plays this corrupt reporter with less ethical values.

The show has a terrific premise and scope for solid drama. In fact, there is good drama but to embrace it, the audience needs to wait. That means the key scenes are dragged for no reason. The director Sri Prawin went way too much in detail that derails the basic cause of the show. Otherwise, the backdrop, performances, and production design is top-notch.

There are a few dialogues that create a lot of interest. The screenplay is the biggest villain of Newsense. Had it been gripping, the show would have surely made a mark. But still, the six-episode series has some decent moments. The small town setup, the political flavor, and how a few stringers run the show are shown in a decent manner. Yet another issue of Newsense is that there are way too many subplots that are not closed properly.

Newsense starts on a slow note and the first four episodes are ordinary. But once the show gets into the fifth episode, it makes sense and the best scenes are kept for the last. The twist with which the last episode ended to give scope for the second season is also handled properly. In a way, Newsense has the setting, performances, and twists. But it takes time to grow on you. Once to swoon into this world, the series decently engages you.

Bottom Line – Slow but engaging