Rumi: When twist fails the script to have a profound appeal

Watching Vicky Zahed's recently released web series Rumi, two aspects came into my observation before everything else. First, the story is very much connected to the philosophy of Sufism, with its meaning going more profound than it seems from the surface. Second, director Vicky Zahed's obsession with giving a twist at the end of the script hindered the audience's emotional connection to the story's more profound message. 

Who is Rumi?

The story of 'Rumi' starts with a dream where the central character, Rumi, a CIB officer, sees himself killing his mother inside his dream. Rumi couldn't understand the meaning of the dream. He only knows he lost his mother, who used to say that God takes away someone from people when they love them more than God. Rumi is skilled as a detective in solving any case, reflected in his interrogation technique. But he loses his eyesight in a fatal accident. He still goes on with the case he was previously solving informally and has strange nightmares that bear a connection to a mysterious murder case which is going on at present. 

He tries to unravel his dreams not only to solve the murder mystery but also to know the secret behind his mother's death. 

Philosophy of Rumi

The core philosophy of Rumi can be summarized by asserting that when truth is suppressed in this world, it is revealed in another way. And they bear the consequences in one way or another as they interfere with God's domain to fulfil desire. 

In the sequence where Rumi discusses a case with his colleagues and seniors, he uses a stanza from one of Maulana Jalal Rumi's Poems, the meaning of which is that if someone gets deep into any question, he will get the answer to the question itself.   

Although the message may sound very deep from this review, the way the script of 'Rumi' unfolded failed to emotionally connect to the audience precisely because of the director's overemphasis on adding a twist in the story rather than on the script's development. 

Rush to end it

The official communication throughout the series was almost robotic. The character of Rumi's mother could've been explored more, but the lack of it made the audience think more about what happens at the end than connect with each unfolding event. 

A latent rush has been observed in the storytelling process throughout the series, which leaves the audience wondering only about the story's ending rather than recalling each event. 

On a positive note, I found it fascinating how intertextuality is introduced in the series like Chanchal Chowdhury mentioning a dialogue of 'Aynabaji' in a sequence.

Technical aspects 

This has to be admitted that the series was technically sound. Like his previous works, Vicky Zahed's tendency to make each scene cinematic is also prevalent here—the colour grading of Prasenjit Banerjee, Yunus Sanai's lighting, and Md's art direction. Rinku made the world of Rumi believable to the audience while remaining cinematic simultaneously. 

The mood of each scene influenced Bidrohi Dipon's cinematography. Amit Chatterjee's music composition had a Middle Eastern vibe, which worked perfectly to achieve the mysterious tone necessary for the story. 

The VFX of Adeep Singh, both in the beginning and in the dream-sequences, made the audience scared while being more and more curious for deciphering the mysteryof the story with Rumi. 

Performances 

Chanchal Chowdhury masterfully portrayed the character of Rumi, especially in the sequences when he had to play the role of 'Rumi', where he lost his eyesight. Deepa Khandakar, Afia Tabassum Barno, Shampa Reza, and Reekita Shimul were all convincing in their respective roles. Although the acting of Abdun Noor Shajal sometimes went over the top. He finally ended the review with the expectation that there would be a more developed narrative in the later works of Vicky Zahed. Or, will there be another season of 'Rumi'? What do you say, Folks? 

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