Konkona Sen Sharma stars in Search: The Naina Murder Case, a crime thriller that premiered on JioHotstar this week. The show features Surya Sharma, Shraddha Das, Shiv Panditt, and others in key roles. Director Rohan Sippy adapts the Danish series The Killing for Indian viewers through this six-part investigation drama.
The production comes from Applause Entertainment and Highgate Entertainment. Unlike most crime shows set in Mumbai’s familiar streets, this one moves to Navi Mumbai, giving it a different visual texture. The story weaves in current concerns like online exploitation and privacy while keeping the focus on solving a murder.
What Happens
ACP Sanyukta Das plans to quit her job and relocate with her family. She wants to fix her troubled marriage and be there for her teenage daughter Mahi. Then, on what should be her final shift, she catches a murder case she can’t walk away from.
A college student named Naina Marathe turns up dead, her body hidden in the boot of a vehicle belonging to politician Tushar Surve’s campaign team. Sanyukta works with rookie cop Jai Kanwal, who brings enthusiasm but lacks her experience. They chase down leads that point to different suspects, each with their own secrets.
Performances That Stand Out
Konkona Sen Sharma handles her role with the skill you’d expect from her. But the script keeps her character boxed in, never letting her create anything beyond a standard TV detective. I watched her work within those limits, and while she’s professional throughout, you can tell the material isn’t giving her much to work with.
Sagar Deshmukh delivers the most moving performance as Naina’s father. His breakdown at the crime scene feels genuine and painful. In a show that’s mostly about procedures and clues, his grief reminds you there’s a real tragedy at the center of all this detective work.
Shiv Panditt creates an interesting character in the suspected politician. He manages to seem both sympathetic and suspicious, which keeps you unsure about his involvement. The supporting players, Surya Sharma, Shraddha Das, Varun Thakur, fill their roles adequately, though none get enough screen time to leave a strong impression.
Things That Work
Setting the story in Navi Mumbai was a smart choice. You get shots of the Vashi bridge and neighborhoods that rarely feature in Hindi shows. This location gives the series its own identity instead of blending into the crowd of Mumbai-set crime stories.
One scene stays with you. Sanyukta discovers photos on her daughter Mahi’s computer and immediately fears someone’s targeting her online. But Mahi explains she took them herself, as a way to feel good about her body. Then Mahi pushes back, why are girls always told to hide, to be careful, to restrict themselves? Why isn’t the focus on stopping the people who cause harm?
This moment cuts deep because it questions the whole approach to women’s safety. Instead of just dramatizing the danger, it challenges who bears the responsibility for preventing it. The show needed more moments like this, where it actually examines the issues instead of just using them as plot points.
Things That Don’t
The writing relies too much on spelling everything out. Characters announce their problems instead of showing them. When someone has body image issues, they mention it repeatedly. When students get questioned by police, they drop trendy phrases that feel forced rather than natural.
The bigger problem comes at the end. After six episodes of building the case, the show just stops. There’s no resolution, just a clear setup for another season. I understand wanting to continue the story, but this doesn’t feel like a planned break, it feels unfinished. You invest time in following the investigation, only to realize you won’t get answers yet.
The show brings up serious topics like revenge porn and social media predators, but treats them superficially. They’re mentioned, sometimes shown, but never really explored. It’s like the creators wanted to seem relevant without doing the harder work of actually examining these issues properly.
Critical Response
Reviews have pointed out similar concerns. Critics noted that while Konkona Sen Sharma does her best, the show doesn’t match her talent level. Several reviewers compared it unfavorably to its Danish source material, saying it copies the structure but misses the emotional depth.
The consistent criticism is that the show aims too low. It wants to be entertaining but not challenging, watchable but not memorable. Viewers seem to agree, they’re watching it, but nobody’s calling it must-see television.
Final Thoughts
Search: The Naina Murder Case delivers a standard crime story without taking many risks. For a quiet weekend watch, it serves its purpose. The mystery keeps you following along, and the performances are solid enough to hold your attention.
But I can’t shake the feeling of missed potential. With an actor like Konkona Sen Sharma and a proven story framework to adapt, this could have been something special. Instead, it chooses the safe path at every turn, never pushing beyond comfortable territory.
The unfinished ending doesn’t help matters. It leaves you hanging not because the story earned that ambiguity, but because the creators are clearly planning more seasons. That’s a gamble, you’re asking viewers to wait for payoff without giving them enough reason to care deeply about what comes next.
This is television that fills time without leaving much of an impression. It’s not bad, but in the crowded space of streaming crime dramas, being merely okay isn’t enough to stand out. A few months from now, most people will have forgotten they watched it.
Rating: 2.5/5
