Kankhajura Review: Roshan Mathew, Mohit Raina's Thriller Crawls Under Your Skin And Stays There

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Kankhajura Movie Review: SonyLiv's latest thriller, Kankhajura, directed by Chandan Arora, stars Roshan Mathew and Mohit Raina. The series focuses on emotions and character depth.
Kankhajura Movie Review: The Indian audience has a peculiar love for thrillers. The reason, makers milk the popularity and cash in on it from time to time. The influx of OTT has further boosted the genre's popularity. In the sea of thrillers comes Kankhajura, SonyLiv's latest offering. In a world that is running against time and patience tested every moment, director Chandan Arora dared to come up with a slow-burn thriller, the one that'd make you impatient because the makers want you to zoom in on the actor's emotions. But is sitting through the eight-episode series worth it? Let's find out.
Kankhajura boasts a stellar cast. It has Mohit Raina, Roshan Mathew, Sarah Jane Dias, Mahesh Shetty, Ninad Kamat, Trinetra Haldar, Heeba Shah, and Usha Nadkarni. And each character holds a special place in the series. The story begins with Ashu (Roshan Mathew) joining his brother Max (Mohit Raina) for a party after his fresh departure from prison after 14 years in a murder case. He tries to find refuge in his family and seeks validation from his brother. His feelings are reciprocated, but seemingly out of a sense of duty and not affection.
One thing leads to another, and Ashu finds himself back where he left off at 14 – feeling bullied and surrounded by treacherous intentions. Max is warned by his friends not to let his just-out-of-prison brother remain in his life, but he is a man who sometimes, only sometimes, lets the heart overrule him. Does his decision cost him lives or hamper his family? Or does Ashu mend his means? These questions are answered over the eight episodes, with each such instance bringing you closer to a conclusion, till you realise that the makers were just playing around with your guessing powers.
At the heart of this series is Ashu, Roshan Mathew, who impresses with his act. His performance can be safely deemed as a masterclass in acting. He fumbles when nervous, but there's a catch to it. He looks naïve, someone you would let into your life too, before you realise that's the biggest mistake you've made. Or not.
Have you ever wondered why the title Kankhajura, though? Kankhajura means centipede, an insect that crawls through your ear and lodges inside your brain. The name is used as a metaphor here, for Ashu, who, if you let in, will lodge into the brain with no points of exit till you do the unthinkable — even kill yourself. Roshan undoubtedly has the meatiest part in the series. His character arc is treacherous, above everything. You know, you can still trust a person who hates you and doesn't mince their words while telling you so. But when a person who hypes you up and becomes your comfort zone ends up breaking your trust, it feels like you have nowhere to go. That's what Ashu aka Roshan will remind you of.
Then there's Mohit Raina (Max), who plays Ashu's elder brother in the series. The series is yet another in his career that proves that the actor is so much more than his brooding personality. Max is a successful real estate agent with a happy family. However, his life goes through an upheaval due to some of his life's decisions – best left for you to watch and decide. His character, seemingly uncomplicated at first, is layered and structured and the actor pulls it off with the utmost finesse. Sarah Jane Dias and Trinetra Haldar, too, make their make but they are sparsely spread across the series.
That being said, Kankhajura comes with its own set of flaws. We understand that the makers wanted the audience to focus on a character's emotions. The zoom-in lingers long after the audience gets the point. We also understand that adding comic relief to a story built on a dark undertone takes away the flavour, however, there are times Kankhajura gets too morose and heavy. You would want to take a break and come back to it later. Certain bits seem stretched and dragged, something that the makers could take note of.
However, we can't deny that the remake of the Israeli series Magpie has truly retained its original flavour (or even better). Director Chandan Arora does a great job in gifting the audience a series that they can truly relish, question, discuss and not rush through simply because of the notion that thrillers are supposed to be pacy.
If you have been racking your brain over whether to invest your time in Kankhajura this week, here's a big nod from us. It's neither loud nor flashy, but it'll stick with you like a memory in the corner of your eye.
First Published:
May 30, 2025, 12:51 IST