Shekhar Home is the latest web series that is streaming on Jio Cinema. The Srijit Mukherji-directed web drama did not receive much hype or buzz prior to its release. However, many expected it to be the Indian rendition of Sherlock Holmes. I cannot say whether it’s an Indianised adaptation of Sherlock Holmes or not, but it definitely gives you the vibe of our all-time favourite Vyomkesh Bakshi episodes.
The same traditional setup from old Kolkata of the 90’s, with two people trying to crack unsolved cases in the most humane manner possible, helping the local police who couldn’t solve cases due to a lack of resources, and so on. Let’s dive further to get a feel for this newly released investigative thriller and decide for ourself whether its worth the viewership.
Some related information about the Shekhar Home web series is listed below:
| Details | Description |
| Genre | Investigative Thriller |
| Screenplay by | Aniruddha Guha, Niharika Puri |
| Directed by | Srijit Mukherji, Rohan Sippy |
| Starring | Kay Kay Menon as Shekhar, Ranvir Shorey as Jayvrat, Kaushik Sen as Mrinmay Haldar, Shernaz Patel as Mrs Henry, Rasika Dugal as Irabaty, Kirti Kulhari as Mumtaz aka Dr. Shanti Nag |
| Music by | Joel Crasto |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Hindi |
| Dubbed Language | Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Cinematography | Shanu Singh Rajput |
| Editor | Sourabh Prabhudesai |
| Running time | 40-45 minutes per episode |
| IMDb Rating | 8.2/10 |
| Production company | BBC Studios Productions |
| OTT Platform | Jio Cinema |
| OTT release date | 14-August-2024 |
Shekhar Home Web Series Synopsis
The story starts in a small town called Lonpur, somewhere on the outskirts of Kolkata. Life is very simple and easygoing here in Lonpur, and people know each other by their names because it’s a very close-knit community. Mr. Jayvrat, the second protagonist, arrived as a paying guest at Mrs. Henry’s coffee shop. She immediately takes him to her cottage, where he will share space with our main protagonist, Mr. Shekhar, who never pays his rent on time. She expects to compensate for her loss by making Mr. Shekhar share the place with Jayvrat, who seems more genuine as far as ethics are concerned.
Jayvrat was indeed pleased with the accommodation, and he soon made himself comfortable at his newly found shelter. The following day, Jayvrat plans to attend some yoga classes, but Shekhar skillfully manipulates him into accompanying him to a crime scene. Jayvrat slowly and steadily gets involved in helping Shekhar solve cases. On the contrary, it appeared as if Shekhar was training his new roommate in the nitty-gritty of observing, understanding, and categorising a case. They gelled very well together as master and disciple.
The first case that they solved together was that of a killer who embedded a horse hoof sign in his victim’s body after giving them a dose of some lethal drug, which eventually killed them. The second case involved a person named Dash from the local community who desperately wanted to marry a girl based on the matrimonial advertisement he found in the newspaper.
He then met with his father to finalise the marriage. During their brief interaction, Mr. Dash learnt that his daughter works as a forest officer. Therefore, the match must demonstrate that he is worthy of her. To prove this, he must remain in the jungle for 30 consecutive days and complete the daily tasks assigned to him.
On successfully completing his tasks, the brides father will marry his daughter to him. Mr. Dash quickly agreed to the terms and condition and was already on the verge of completing his tasks, but suddenly after the 20th day the brides father went missing, with no trace of him anywhere in the town. Dash then wanted Shekhar to unravel the mystery surrounding his future father-in-law’s disappearance. Investigation revealed that Mr. Dash was merely a lure, and the primary plot involved a bank robbery.
Shekhar and Jayvrat traced the third case to the state of Bihar, where his brother Mrinmay was already working for the government’s vigilance department. He had asked Shekhar for assistance in cracking a high-profile case involving politicians. Upon their arrival, an MLA invited Shekhar and Jayvrat to his house party for a briefing on the case. Even before the party began, both Shekhar and Jayvrat took charge of the situation and began searching for opportunities. While Jayvrat went to find some fine whisky, Shekhar sat there and observed people coming to the party.
The very next moment, Shekhar was in loss of words on meeting this classical singer named Irabaty, who had indeed received an invitation to perform at the gathering. They exchanged pleasantries with each other. However, before they could even strike up a healthy, long conversation, it was time for her to take her place and entertain the audience. Meanwhile, Shekhar and Jayvrat were taken to meet the MLAs, who showed them the video tapes through which they were being blackmailed. Shekhar immediately knew who was behind all this.
The next day, he asks Jayvrat to follow him to Irabaty’s house. They stealthily enter the house and begin searching for the original video tapes, but Irabaty catches them in the act. Rather than becoming frustrated, Irabaty served them tea and engaged them in a basic conversation. After moving out of Irabaty’s house, Shekhar and Jayvrat further enquired about the whereabouts of MLA from the local community and a nearby brothel, where he got a clue about a village named Khoridai. Upon arrival at Khoridai, Shekhar discovers Irabaty to be the primary conspirator, and the layers of the conspiracy gradually reveal themselves.
Shekhar learns about all the wrongdoings that the three MLAs have done to the village’s people and agrees to help Irabaty unearth the evidence that she is still searching for. Irabaty’s deceased journalist friend had successfully captured the last piece of evidence. However, a road accident annihilated him before he could hand over the evidence to safe hands. Therefore to further investigate and obtain the photo negatives of the mass killings in Khoridai village, they decided to search the journalist’s house, which was guarded heavily by MLA’s men.
Somehow, they managed to secure a safe passage to the journalist’s house, where Shekhar used his detective skills to locate the evidence. Once he locates the evidence, he hands over the questioned photo negatives to Irabaty and discreetly escorts the deceased journalist’s mother and sister to a safe house in a different state. By now Shekhar and Irabaty have became good friends, and while parting ways, they agreed to meet some day if destiny permitted them.
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Fortunately, the fourth case came searching for Shekhar at his rented house in Lonepur. It was Miss Irabaty who brought in the new case. The case took them to Bhaskarvilla, the home of a well-known business family, where an unfortunate incident occurred. People in the family believed Ravi Chacha saw the Skondhokata ghost, which made him go crazy, so he ran to the nearby pond and committed suicide.
Shekhar and Jayvrat immediately started to investigate each and every family member, but it didn’t go well with some. So they told them not to proceed further and leave them to their superstitions. However, after Irabaty persuaded them, they agreed to allow them to investigate, but within defined limits. By this time, shekhar had started observing the mannerisms of each and every family member, theirs likes and dislikes and their overall rapport with each other.
To investigate further they went to the nearby village and started enquiring about the alleged ghost. Nobody in the village wanted to talk about Skondhokata. Eventually, a young boy led them to a remote location where a large wall bore an engraved picture of Skondhokata. The image appeared to be of a headless man, which kept the villagers terrified to date.
The next morning, another man from the village died in uneven circumstances, and people around the village gossiped that Skondhokata had become angry and could strike at anybody’s house. After monitoring the current situation, Shekhar decided to conduct an independent investigation by visiting the deceased’s house that very evening. Unfortunately, Shekhar had a real-life encounter with Skondhokata and had to flee for his life. Just as he was about to commit suicide, Jayvrat intervened and saved him.
The following day, when Shekhar woke up from his sleep, he had already cracked the case. As a result, he gathers every member of the Bhaskarvilla family in the visiting hall to reveal Skondhokata’s secret, or superstition. The mastermind behind this Skondhokata illusion was none other than the eldest son in the family. He tricked his victims into inhaling a Jaribooti substance, which induced delusions and paranoia, ultimately leading them to commit suicide.
Shekhar, again with his high-class investigating abilities, solves a very rare and peculiar case. He asks for Irabaty’s forgiveness if he has in any way disturbed her family’s relations with the Bhaskar family. Now it’s time for Shekhar to bid adieu to his dear friend, with a promise to meet again sometime in the future.
As soon as Jayvrat and Shekhar arrive at their home in Lonepur, Shekhar witnesses an unusual incident, setting up the pivotal scene for the last case of the Shekhar Home web series. He observed that Mumtaz, also known as Dr. Shanti Nag, had arrived at their place, dressed in her real avatar, and had ransacked the coffee shop. After getting freshened up, Jayvrat detects a shift in shekhars facial expression, prompting him to enquire about the source of his discomfort.
Shekhar directs Jayvrat’s attention towards the coffee shop, telling him that the lady in the black dress is not an ordinary woman. She’s a member of some Maoist organisation who came looking for him. Shekhar now reveals his true identity to Jayvrat. Finally, they make their way to the coffee shop, where Dr. Shanti Nag asserts that Shekhar should hand over any information on the secret chemical compound that the now deceased Dr. Gupta had hidden.
Shekhar affirms that he is unaware of the compound’s hiding place, as Dr. Gupta’s death occurred before he could reveal something substantial. Dr. Shanti, in a fit of rage, gives him a 12-hour ultimatum to find the matter in question, or else she will start killing every known person at the coffee shop. Watching shekhar a bit reluctant to search for the compound, Jayvrat takes things into his hands and agrees to Dr. Shanti’s demands.
Without wasting any more time, they both proceeded to Kolkata to look for the compound with any little information that they had. Upon solving a puzzle from a poetry book titled Kahan chippe ho tagore written by Vishal Vaibhav, they were successful in tracing this sensitive compound material. But is this the end? Has our brilliant Indian Sherlock been able to crack the case, or is a bigger surprise waiting ahead? For the ultimate closure, you must watch the Shekhar Home web series.
Shekhar Home Web Series Review
The Shekhar Home web series has a very well-crafted story. The director has been successful in maintaining the right pace for each episode, and therefore, the web series doesn’t make you feel tiresome to watch. Apart from the main protagonists, all the other characters are carefully casted. Kay Kay Menon is at its best. We have seen Ranvir Shorey after a long time, and he is still a delight to watch.
Kaushik Sen as Mrinmay Halder, Rasika Dugal as Irabaty, and Kirti Kulhari as Mumtaz, aka Dr. Shanti Nag, complemented the authenticity of the web series. The Shekhar Home web series penned each episode to perfection, with an average length of 40 to 45 minutes. For each and every scene, the cinematographer has created a perfect aura around the 1990s. Each frame is almost like a visual treat. The background score, akin to opera music with English instruments, enhances the Sherlock Holmes atmosphere.
Shekhar Home Web Series Verdict
One could call the Shekhar Home web series a perfect investigative thriller. If you have seen Sherlock Holmes, then you are bound to watch the web series at least once. However, for those like me who were taken aback by our very own Vyomkesh Bashi, it’s akin to time travel. The Shekhar Home web series provides a comprehensive entertainment experience for the whole family.
People of any age group can watch the web series, as it is void of any adult content. Therefore, do watch this extremely well-written and directed web drama, which now streams at Jio Cinema, and share your valuable feedback in the comment section down below.
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