Indian rural folklore is filled with bone-chilling stories of superstitions, witchcraft and occult practices. While the terminologies or details may vary with pin codes, what remains constant is the paralysing fear of the unknown, which often pushes one to humanity-defying extremes and unbelievable crimes.

SonyLiv’s latest Web series Manvat Murders is about a similar story of occult killings, based on the horrifying murders that shook Maharashtra’s Manvat village in the ‘70s. In a span of two years, brutally butchered bodies of 11 girls and women were found in the village, with blood drawn from their private parts, hinting at a ritualistic connection.

The eight-part Marathi-language thriller begins with the killing of a woman working in a field by two masked men, who take an axe to her head. She is just one among many victims. The entire region is gripped in terror and women are scared to step out of their houses alone.

We are then introduced to Ramakant Kulkarni (Ashutosh Gowariker), a decorated police officer with an impressive track record of solving all his cases. Once the bodies pile up, Kulkarni is sent off from Mumbai to Manvat to find the culprit behind the hideous killings.

Sonali Kulkarni has done a stellar performance in the series

Kulkarni is the polar opposite of his corrupt colleagues. He has a keen interest in criminal psychology, has his own tactics for extracting information from people, and picks up even on the smallest of details from the case. While the team around him is impatient, clueless, and rogue, the poised officer has all his moves calculated in advance.

As the investigation proceeds, one of the prime suspects turns out to be a local couple: Uttamrao Barahate (Makrand Anaspure) and his consort Rukmini (Sonali Kulkarni), who run a secret illegal hooch business and have the entire community riddled under their debt. Even when they are banished from the region by law, their business — now being handled by Rukmani’s sister Samindri — goes on without a hitch. Meanwhile, the couple is working on a petition to reclaim their house.

Through the next seven episodes, as the investigation continues, we get served with frequent flashbacks of previous murders. And as more killings take place, the case grows into a tangle of old leads and new suspects. Themes of poverty, illiteracy, and addiction are also touched upon while keeping the prime focus on occultism.

The crime thriller portrays the topic with the care and sensitivity it deserves. Its unfiltered representation of the murders and paedophilia is hair-raising and disturbing, but rarely gratuitous. The show manages to explore the fragility and vulnerability of the human mind, easily manipulated and pushed to dark corners. It’s frightening to see how trivial and indispensable human life might be for those blindly following the herd.

Ashutosh Gowariker plays police officer Ramakant Kulkarni who is inspecting the case of occult killings in Manvat

Sonali Kulkarni, in particular, has done an exceptional job of portraying this unabashed faith in an immoral cause. Here, she plays an infertile woman, ready to go to any extent to bear a child. Her persona is powerful and dark, and she’ll make you uncomfortable every time she is on the screen. In a particularly harrowing scene in the third episode, she wails in front of a lamp under the sacred fig tree for being barren. Kulkarni has a respectable body of work behind her, and her portrayal of Rukmini sits among them as one of her finest so far.

Also excellent here is, Sai Tamhankar, who plays Rukmini’s sister. She brings an intimidating aura to every scene she’s in. This was the first time I got a chance to see her work, and I am now eagerly looking forward to seeing more of her in future.

Manvat Murders is also shot and edited in ways that compound the horror of the events unfolding before you. Scenes of every day life are portrayed impressively, as well, bringing a living rhythm to the village and its people. Visually, the show can often evoke a quiet serenity, despite the macabre events unfolding in the background. Some of the frames (Satyajeet Shobha Shriram handles the cinematography in the show), like the ones with Uttamrao’s villa in the focus, are filmed so beautifully that they give the impression of a vibrant painting. Director Ashish Avinash Bende has wisely ditched the overexploited romanticization of the landscape in favour of a more authentic representation of rural Maharashtra, without compromising its cultural appeal.

The series is available to stream in Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Bengali

In the investigation rooms, the colours of the character’s ensembles are in perfect sync with the walls, and colour tones are in alignment with the mood of the scene. It’s these small technical details that ironically add poetic value to the scenes.

But while it excels in recreating a setting, Manvat Murders’ story suffers from an ebbing momentum, despite power-packed performances. I understand the series’ intention of drawing a contrast between the intense occult and simple rationale, but the approach ends up becoming a hurdle for the narrative. The episodic mystery didn’t really hook me, and I rarely found myself aching in anticipation of what’s to come. Even though the show is based on a true incident and isn’t exactly a groundbreaking concept (it comes weeks after Netflix film Sector 36, based on 2006 Noida serial murders), it could have avoided being predictable. You don’t really need to look up the real-life case to gauge where the show is going. Given that the gruesome case isn’t a part of national consciousness, not everyone might be aware of the events that transpired. But Manvat Murders misses the opportunity to retell the story definitively for those who might be new to the nightmare.

Despite its shortcomings, Manvat Murders remains a capable thriller and an ideal jumping-off point for true crime nuts to dig into the horrific events that took place decades ago. It is a fine adaptation that stays true to its source material and gives away the facts straight, without dramatising or pacifying them in the name of creative liberty.

While it won’t exactly keep you on your toes in anticipation, it makes up for it with its chilling portrayal of sacrificial killings that shook the life and times of a tiny village in Maharashtra. And its outstanding performances are enough to carry you through to the end. Manvat Murders raises important questions about faith and the grave consequences of unchecked superstition. But those questions rarely lead to a deeper introspection.

Rating: 6.5/10