Jerax web series review
Cast: Nagabhushana, Payal Chengappa, Manju Pavagada, Om Prakash Rao, Srivatsa, Yashwanth Shetty, Vijaya Prasad, Thukali Santhu, Jagappa, Siddu Mandya, and Sudhakar Gowda
Number of episodes: 6
Creator: Srinidhi Bengaluru
Where to watch: Zee5
Star rating: ★★★
There are a lot of ideas brimming in the new six-episode Kannada series Jerax, written and directed by Srinidhi Bengaluru. I love it when a show dares to break free of the cliché of small-town comedy and tries to shake up things a little bit. Even if all of it does not land, Jerax is still very much in that direction, a delicious and heartfelt sci-fi comedy drama that sets up to not just entertain but also experiment. (Also read: Jana Nayagan editor Pradeep E Ragav ousted from association despite no involvement in Vijay film’s leak; here’s why)
The premise
Jerax starts off with great promise. We are in the midst of an election season, with two rival parties leaving no stone unturned to build goodwill among voters in the small town of Rayadurga. The first episode builds this political circus with a lot of heart and humour, even before situating the frame at a small Xerox centre now run by Prakasha (Nagabhushana). He is an orphan who is blissfully unaware of what is going to change in his life when he realises that his photocopy machine can churn out human clones. It is a talisman around his neck which aligns with his favour, even as the show enlists little time for delving into that force because there are so many loose ends to catch.
Up until now, the theatrics of power have been well established, with Prakasha having little to no power over his life and future. But there’s nothing more revealing than a man with power, and now Prakasha has that indestructible attitude that lets him churn out human clones of his uncle (Om Prakash Rao), his girlfriend Sujatha aka Sooji (Payal Chengappa), and others to transform his life. But of course, he will stumble along the way, more than once, and that will decide the course of things for him and the people around him.
What works
Jerax is filled with promise and many visually bold choices that grab attention from the moment you first see it. However, the situational comedy steadily slips out of grasp and bids adieu to the promised socio-political pulse of the story in the first episode. To think that Jerax will incline itself with a satirical tone on the incongruent state of the small-town development is an error in judgment, not just by the show but also by the viewer. You come in expecting something, and it turns out it is not going towards that direction at all.
Jerax is a comedy of errors that needed to find a single road and stick to that journey till the end. It has a problem with changing tracks and venturing away. It cannot resist the urge to do so. It almost knows that Prakasha cannot exist in isolation, but to what avail?
Srinidhi Bengaluru’s show works best when it shows how tempted Prakasha is to play God, figure out every little aspect of his life that went wrong, and mend it. Nagabhushana leads the ensemble cast with a fine performance at the heart of Jerax. The fix only lasts a while, as it upends the bare minimum of sanity in his present situation. Jerax needed more time to invest in that journey; perhaps more episodes would have solved that problem. Nevertheless, it is a show with a strong vessel for fun in the way it confronts middle-class morality. It is rooted, fun, and original, highlighting Srinidhi Bengaluru as a promising director to watch.