Vikkatakavi manages to do three things in one go: introduce a Holmesian hero who combines keen observation with brilliant deduction, drum up a fair amount of suspense about a string of strange occurrences, and feed stereotypes associated with Muslims.
The Telugu-language series, which is out on ZEE5, is set in 1970. The show’s title refers to the ratiocination skills possessed by Ramakrishna (Naresh Agastya). Ramkrishna’s swift solving of a murder in Hyderabad leads to a life-altering assignment in a village.
Thirty-one men and one woman have lost their senses after entering a nearby forest. The village’s former king Narasimha (Shiju Abdul Rasheed) firmly believes in local lore about a holy curse. Neither Narasimha nor his son-in-law Raghupathi (Raghu Kunche) wants Ramakrishna to start poking around, but that’s exactly what the young man proceeds to do.
Writer Teja Deshraj ensures that Ramakrishna’s discoveries are delivered at a dazzling rate over six episodes. Pradeep Maddali directs the twist-fest, relying entirely on Naresh Agastya’s efficient performance and the script’s pretzel-shaped turns to make an impact.
Vikkatakavi is staged like a television show, with the feel of a movie that has been stretched into a series for streaming. Despite the poor production values and largely cardboard performances, the conceit works for about half of the show’s duration, up until the point that Ramakrishna realises that a bigger game is afoot.
The initial thrill of unpacking the mystery affecting the village is eventually subsumed by the ambition to dot every i and cross every t. Then there is the lazy – and troubling – use of Muslim characters to further the plot. The leaps of imagination taken in later episodes is laughable, made bearable only by Naresh Agastya’s utterly serious mien and unwavering commitment.
The series is a one-man effort, although Ramakrishna has a female companion, Lakshmi (Megha Akash), and a goofy Watsonian local cop, Patel (Ravi Teja Nannimala), to help him parse superstition from fact, atavistic beliefs from modern technology. Ramakrishna might be inspired by the strictly scientific Sherlock Holmes, but the show does him no favours by praising his godlike abilities or colouring a human-made crime with religious values.