In the dimly lit corridors of Indian OTT crime dramas where every question reveals social decay, Search: The Naina Murder Case looks like a folder thrown on a detective’s desk—crucial, messy and full of silent accusations. Directed by Rohan Sippy and streaming on JioHotstar from October 9, 2025, this 6 episode Hindi series is based on the Danish hit Forbrydelsen (The Killing) and shifts the grey Seattle atmosphere to the hidden parts of city life in India. Starring Konkona Sen Sharma as the no nonsense ACP Sanyukta Roy, Surya Sharma, Shraddha Das and Shiv Panditt, the series begins with the brutal assault and murder of a young girl Naina, found in a politician’s car. What starts as a high profile investigation turns into a web of political secrets, family feuds and the silent struggles of those affected by the aftermath. Written by Shreya Karunakaran and Radhika Anand, it’s a quick binge watch requiring your full attention in a world of distractions. Does this Indian version do justice to its Nordic original or does it fall into the same traps it’s trying to expose?
The story hits you right from the beginning: Naina’s lifeless body, rain-soaked and carelessly thrown away, drags Sanyukta back into a world she wanted to get out of. Recently transferred and looking for a quiet life, she’s instead thrown into a media circus and high-stakes politics. Over six episodes, the list of suspects grows like the monsoon clouds above them. There’s Naina’s perfect parents (Iravati Mayadev and Govind Namdeo), her secretive boyfriend Jai (Surya Sharma), and the ambitious politician Tushar (Shiv Panditt), whose car was the crime scene. A whole bunch of enablers – from shady political aides to complicit academics – only add to the mess.
Sippy’s direction keeps the original’s pace and intensity intact, and weaves the process with the personal consequences so seamlessly. We see Sanyukta’s life falling apart as her marriage crumbles because of her husband (Dhruv Sehgal), who doesn’t care, while her parents’ perfect suburban life completely implodes. Remembering Naina’s last days is not just background info; it’s giving us glimpses into a girl struggling with strict demands. Her “innocent” life was a carefully constructed facade and the inquiry slowly dismantles it. The format is like a pressure cooker; every episode is designed to keep you hooked, releasing just the right amount of tension through intense questioning and night surveillance full of moral ambiguity.
Konkona is the heart of the series and her Sanyukta is a masterclass in restraint. She plays a character who cuts through bureaucratic red tape like a hot knife. With her sharp features and crisp tone she is the very model of the hardworking, tireless detective – a person who barely shows signs of fatigue from personal problems and the emotional weight of the investigation. Her chemistry with the other actors is great, especially in the banter that is a hallmark of the series. These are not just questioning sessions; they are mental wars between the police and the accused with underlying messages about social hierarchy, gender and power.
Surya Sharma brings a dark intensity to Jai and makes what could have been a generic troubled teen into a ticking time bomb of guilt and grief. Shiv Panditt as Tushar is oily and charming and his political machinations are a timely and scary reminder of real world power abuse. The supporting cast from Shraddha Das as the tough and ethical journalist to Naved Alam as the well meaning but bumbling sidekick add texture without overpowering the leads. The only minor misstep is that some of the characters, particularly the victim’s parents go over the top and slightly undercut the show’s icy Nordic crime feel.
In terms of look, Search has a clean and professional look that fits the mystery solving theme. Gray and green tones create a perpetual rain atmosphere with cinematography that cuts between intense close ups of worried faces and broad open shots of faceless cityscapes. The sets are designed perfectly, you can almost smell the tea and dusty old files in the cluttered police stations which stands out so much against the luxurious homes that will hide the ugliest of truths. This ties the suspense to a modern Indian setting so well. The audio is great, the constant rain sound effects highlight the tense moments and Hitesh Modak’s music builds from a soft background to a full blown orchestral score during the big reveals.
Despite all the good—the rain-soaked streets hidden in fog, the autopsy discoveries—the show falls into a pattern. The clichés start to pile up like evidence bags: the meddling boss, the obvious misdirection romance, the dramatic turn that feels like a reward rather than clickbait. From a 2007 show that was praised for building tension slowly, this remake feels weakened. The culture has traded real anxiety for more drama and instead of actual detail, goes for the emotional moments.
At its heart, Search: The Naina Murder Case is not just a mystery; it’s a deep dive into the cracks of modern India. It deals with the misuse of power that silences the weak, fake sorrow of celebrities and the generational gaps where teenage frustration can grow to infinite proportions. Importantly, it doesn’t shy away from the harsh reality of gender violence; Naina’s story is not just a narrative tool but a commentary on the underlying societal flaws.
In Sanyukta’s journey, we see the impact on individuals who pursue justice: a woman officer who has to juggle her work and her kids bedtime stories, her struggling marriage is just a small sample of the personal sacrifices she has to make for her job. These human elements elevate the show above the format and make it meaningful even if it’s not completely original.
The show’s short length is a big plus – the 5 or 6 episodes (depending on how you count) fly by without any unnecessary content and each episode ends on a cliffhanger that makes you want to move on to the next one. If you like serious, realistic Indian thrillers like Sacred Games or Paatal Lok, this is a good addition to the genre; it combines smart chase scenes with a visible anger.
But the execution leaves a hollow aftertaste. The unresolved ending – with unanswered questions dangling like bait on a hook – feels exploitative rather than clever, trying to hype up Season 2 and deprive the viewer of catharsis. Expected twists are everywhere – from the family secret to the politician’s inevitable dishonesty – so the mystery feels more systematic than thrilling. The emotional connection with Naina is surface level; her character is complex only in the last act and is used as a tool for adult realizations rather than a full blown tragedy. Sen Sharma is good but the supporting cast is all over the place – fake accents in minor roles and over the top emotions in the climax. In a world full of police procedurals, Search doesn’t bring anything new to the table; it’s a good copy but not good enough to surpass the original.
Search: The Naina Murder Case is a decent performance over plot, a series that grips but lets go too soon. For Konkona fans and thriller enthusiasts, it’s bingeable with social commentary but pander’s to the very OTT tropes it could have subverted. In the end it’s a reminder that even the best detective can’t solve a case that’s crippled by cliches – watch for the journey but be prepared for an ending that searches for closure and can’t find it. For now it’s a tentative recommendation: worth streaming, but frustrating enough to argue about.