Rudra: The Edge of Darkness trailer and release date are here – the show comes out on March 4. As promised, Disney+ Hotstar unveiled a second trailer for its next original Hotstar Specials series headed by Ajay Devgn on Monday. He plays DCP Rudra Veer Singh who has solved most cases for SCU – we were never told what it is but I’m guessing Special Crimes Unit? – in the past, before returning to face new problems. His marriage is on the rocks, his wife (Esha Deol) is in a relationship with someone else. Rudra hunts down a villain who hates the police. And in his biggest challenge yet, he faces the mysterious Aliyah (Raashii Khanna) who wonders how Rudra catches the criminals who don’t slip.
If that was eerily similar to you, it’s because Rudra: The Edge of Darkness is an official remake of the Idris Elba-led British crime drama series Luther — which ran for five short seasons on BBC One and is likely to get a film sequel in 2022 — which has also previously been adapted in France, Russia and South Korea. (A US version starring Mahershala Ali and Rosario Dawson was in the works, but never came out.) The Rudra: The Edge of Darkness trailer isn’t exactly promising, though, with Devgn spitting generic dialogue and failing to channel Elba’s grittiness. And Khanna comes nowhere near Ruth Wilson’s charismatic performance of Luther†
“My character in Rudra: The Edge Of Darkness is possibly the grayest character you may have never seen,” Devgn said in a prepared statement. “This has been both challenging and inspiring for me, and I’m excited to share the magic of Rudra with my fans around the world. I hope they fall in love with the show as much as we worked on making it.”
Mapuskar added: “Rudra twists a darker and grittier tale to the usual police and crime drama. The psyche of criminal minds is unusually explored with a hero who is quite obscure himself, on his quest for the truth. It was exciting and exciting to make and I hope it feels that way during the viewing.”
Besides Devgn as DCP Rudra Veer Singh, Khanna as Aliyah and Deol as Mrs. Singh, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness also stars Atul Kulkarni as Singh’s police colleague. Ashwini Kalsekar, Ashish Vidyarthi, Milind Gunaji and Luke Kenny have undisclosed roles. Rajesh Mapuskar – best known for the 2016 National Award-winning Marathi-language comedy-drama film Fan – will direct all episodes of the new Hotstar Specials series. Jay Sheela Bansal (Poison on Sea5) is the writer. Rudra: The Edge of Darkness is a production of Applause Entertainment and BBC Studios India, which includes BBC India’s Sameer Nair and Applause content chief Deepak Segal.
For Disney+ Hotstar, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness will be the third original Hotstar Specials series in 2022, following the Shefali Shah and Kirti Kulhari-led thriller Human in January and the “murder mystery” drama The Great Indian Murder earlier in February. whose ensemble consisted of Richa Chadha, Pratik Gandhi, Ashutosh Rana, Raghubir Yadav, Sharib Hashmi and Shashank Arora. Devgn was also one of the producers of The Great Indian Murder.
Here’s the official synopsis for Rudra: The Edge of Darkness –
Set in Mumbai, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness is a race-against-the-clock thriller that delves into the psyche of highly intelligent criminals and the detective who hunts them. Each installment in the series features a new threat, even as the overarching series continues, showing the grave personal costs DCP Rudra Veer Singh uses in pursuit of criminals and murderers and the unlikely friendship he forms with Aliyah, a genius sociopath. In the Mumbai series, the metropolis is more than just a backdrop for our hero’s vigilantes, it’s the stage where the war between good and evil is waged. Even in this darkness, Rudra believes there is still love in the world. Because in the end, humanity is all we have. And it is for this belief that Rudra sacrifices everything he has.
Rudra: The Edge of Darkness is out March 4 on Disney+ Hotstar in India and elsewhere, and Hulu in the US.
