Ram Srikar
Watching Dayaa gives a feeling that adapting it was no walk in the park, with the intricately woven non-linear screenplay bringing multiple subplots and characters together.
The reveal results in a cracker on a sequence in the fifth episode. This ‘mass transformation’ is a trope that we have seen numerous times in the past but it only goes on to prove that such tropes exist for a reason: when done well, they explode.
Having somebody like JD Chakravarthy helps majorly because the actor’s image is now inseparable from Satya (1998), and the show cleverly tips its hat to the crime classic in the finale.
My biggest qualm is with the fact that the show holds itself back from offering a satisfying end. At times, it feels like the show is more focused on creating a foundation for the second season instead of closing the current arc.
It gives us time to reel out of the bloodshed. Although I wish the end was more rounded and satisfying, I will wait for the second season to know more about Dayaa, Alivelu, and their violent past.