They say when it comes to unnatural death, the first few hours after the passing are crucial when it comes to collecting valuable evidence about the incident. But what about the hour leading up to the death of a person? That is the main hook in Amazon Prime Video’s latest original offering - The Last Hour.
Before we delve deeper into the show, here’s the official trailer.
The premise of the show is quite unique to start with, which is not surprising considering one of the co-writers is Amit Kumar, who had written and directed ‘Bypass’ way back in 2003 (one of the most memorable Indian shorts ever, starring Irrfan and a relatively unknown Nawazuddin), and the executive producer is Asif Kapadia (Senna, Mindhunter, Amy).
Dev (Karma Takapa) can communicate with the souls of the dead. He sees it as a spiritual gift meant to help the departed move on to the afterlife. His ‘secret gift’ is exploited by Arup, a newly-transferred cop (Sanjay Kapoor) in solving the mystery of five murders in a small Himalayan town. He hires Dev as his local informant. But when it comes to Arup, there’s more than meets the eye. By the end of the trailer, it’s clear that Arup is not as clean as he looks, and he’s obviously hiding something from his past.
And then there’s an angle between the shaman and the daughter of the cop, who has been searching for the truth about an incident from the past involving her parents. Will the shaman be torn between his love and his duty towards the dead?
While the trailer has been cleverly edited so as not to reveal too much about the plot, there are a few things that have gotten us super-excited about this new show.
The Fact That It’s A Supernatural Crime Thriller
While the Indian OTT space has given us some unique shows over the last couple of years, this is the first time we’re getting a genre-bending crime thriller with very obvious supernatural elements as part of the narrative. The idea that you can see the final hour in the life of a person, is something that has never before been explored in the Indian fiction scene, and as such, the plot seems perfectly poised to blend murder mystery and the supernatural.
Stellar Casting Choice
By roping in Sanjay Kapoor as one of the leads in the show, the people behind the scenes have proven once again how the OTT space is a godsend for actors with potential, who deserve a good platform to showcase their acting chops. On top of that, by getting a relatively unknown but authentic face like Karma Takapa as another lead, the show manages to perfectly bring in a healthy dose of realism that is much-needed in the Indian content space. Add to that the presence of talented names like Raima Sen and Shahana Goswami, and you have a terrific cast to carry the plot.
Location, Location, Location
By setting the plot in a North-East Indian town, the writers have achieved another feat that is somewhat rare in Indian shows - the town is a character in itself. There are many unique aspects when you base your show in a not-so-mainstream location. The culture, the people, the unsaid rules of society in such locations - they all come together to add a whole new layer to the plot.
The Debate About Afterlife
The concept of an afterlife is pretty common across cultures - Indian, Greek, Norse, and many more. But the rational, science-obsessed modern man often finds himself at odds with this idea of life beyond death. And yet, a well-written show such as this, can maintain a fine balance between its fictional fantasy side and the realism of human behaviour. An actual physical afterlife and a philosophical one are not the same, but the human mind is such that any story that deals with complex concepts such as this in a nuanced way, can steer people towards stretching their imagination and confronting their biases about so-called established ideas.
‘The Last Hour’ premieres on Amazon Prime Video on May 14.
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