‘Mandala Murders’ is a huge step forward in Netflix’s Indian original series. Produced by Netflix in association with Yash Raj Films (YRF) Entertainment, the series hit the streaming service on July 25, 2025. Created by Gopi Putran and co-directed by Manan Rawat, the series attempts to blend mythology, crime thriller, and psychological drama. Let’s see how the series fares with actors like Vaani Kapoor, Vaibhav Raj Gupta, Surveen Chawla, and Shriya Pilgaonkar.
Story:
The story begins with a failed ritual in 1952 in the fictional village of Charandaspur in Uttar Pradesh. A secret society called Aayasthi attempts to create a special mandala with human body parts to reincarnate a god named ‘Yasth’. As the story moves to the present day, Vikram Singh (Vaibhav Raj Gupta), a suspended Delhi Police officer, returns to his hometown of Charandaspur. There, he finds a body with body parts missing. CID officer Rhea Thomas (Vaani Kapoor) steps in to solve the mystery behind the murders.
The murders are linked to the ancient rituals of the Aaysthi community. Vikram struggles with his mother's disappearance and childhood trauma, and tries to solve the case with Rhea. Ananya Bharadwaj (Surveen Chawla), a politician, plays a key role in the story. What is her past and her connection to the Aaysthi community? What is the mystery of the mandala symbols behind the murders? Can Rhea and Vikram stop this secret community? The rest of the story is about Rhea and Vikram.
Analysis:
‘Mandala Murders’ starts with an interesting idea: ancient mythology, a secret society, and a modern crime investigation. The village of Charandaspur, the gruesome rituals of the Ayashti community, and the symbols of the Mandala create an engaging backdrop. In the first half, the series is a slow-burn thriller, especially the timeline shifts that show the connection between the ritual that took place in 1952 and the current murders are intriguing. However, the story becomes somewhat confusing in the second half.
The series attempts to blend several genres such as mythology, science, political commentary, and psychological drama. However, the writers are not entirely successful in harmonizing these many themes with each other. Some scenes feel heavy with too much exposition, and the middle episodes drag a bit. The action sequences are also not very impressive, and the VFX quality is lacking in some scenes.
The emotional scenes between Rhea and Vikram are not up to the mark. While Ananya Bharadwaj's character, played by Surveen Chawla, is impressive, her past and motivations are not fully explored. Rukmini's (Shriya Pilgaonkar) character is also memorable, albeit limited. However, the other supporting characters, especially Jimmy Khan (Jamil Khan) and Kaivalya (Raghubir Yadav), do not add any significant strength to the story.
Performance:
Directors Gopi Putran and Manan Rawat tried to tell a different story, but the lack of clarity in the script makes the series not fully impressive. Although Vaani Kapoor plays Rhea Thomas with sincerity, her performance falls short compared to veterans like Surveen Chawla and Vaibhav Raj Gupta. Vaibhav Raj Gupta shows his emotional depth as Vikram Singh, especially in the climax scenes. Surveen Chawla impressed with her performance as Ananya, but it would have been better if her character had been given more screen time.
The series is short of a music legend like M.M. Keeravani providing background music. While the music is apt for the scenes, it is not memorable. The cinematography is impressive, especially the Charandaspur village and forest scenes, which create an atmosphere well. However, if a few scenes had been trimmed in the editing, the series would have been stronger.
Conclusion:
‘Mandala Murders’ started with an interesting concept and tried to blend crime thriller and mythology. However, the story became confusing due to the inclusion of too many themes at once. While Vaani Kapoor, Vaibhav Raj Gupta, and Surveen Chawla's performances and some catchy scenes make the series worth watching, it falls short of expectations due to a weak script and vague structure. Those who like mythological thrillers and psychological dramas can watch this series once in 1.5x speed, but only if they don't have high expectations.
Rating: 3/5
Recommended for: Those who like crime thrillers, mythology, and psychological dramas.