36 Days (TV series)

36 Days
Genre	Crime-thriller
Written by	Anahata Menon Seneca Mendonsa
Directed by	Vishal Furia
Starring	Neha Sharma Purab Kohli Chandan Roy Sanyal Sharib Hashmi Amruta Khanvilkar Shruti Seth Sushant Divgikar
Country of origin	India
Original language	Hindi
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Swati Patnaik Prasoon Garg Deepali Handa
Producers	Sameer Nair Deepak Segal Sameer Gogate
Cinematography	Quais Waseeq
Editor	Abhijeet Despande
Production companies	Applause Entertainment BBC Studio India
Original release
Network	SonyLIV
Release	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)

36 Days also known as 36 Days: Secrets are injurious to health is an Indian Hindi-language crime-thriller streaming television series created for SonyLIV, by Vishal Furia and produced by Applause Entertainment and BBC Studios. The series features Neha Sharma, Purab Kohli, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Sharib Hashmi, Amruta Khanvilkar, Shruti Seth and Sushant Divgikar in the pivotal roles. Set in a serene suburban housing estate in Goa, this Indian thriller, an official adaptation by Anahata Menon of the British series 35 Days, explores a story of deceit, love, and suspense. When a mysterious woman arrives, she disrupts the neighborhood, leading to unexpected events, including a shocking murder, which intertwines the lives of the residents in a captivating tale of mystery and suspense.

Principal photography primarily took place in Goa, with key scenes shot in Vasco Da Gama and Mumbai. Quaais Waseeq served as the cinematographer, and Abhijeet Deshpande edited the series. The musical duo Clinton Cerejo and Bianca Gomes composed the songs under the band name Shor Police.

36 Days premiered on 12 July 2024.

Premise

The story begins with the shocking murder of Farah, setting off a countdown that intricately reveals the events leading up to the tragedy, starting from 36 days prior. As the fateful day draws closer, suspicion falls on each character, and curiosity about Farah's mysterious background intensifies. We are transported to a luxurious suburban housing complex in Goa, where Farah has recently moved in. There, we encounter a diverse group of residents, each harboring their own twisted stories. Among them are a chauvinistic womanizer with a dark side, a menacing drug lord, an overbearing baker with secrets, a trans artist struggling for acceptance, a successful yet enigmatic businesswoman, and a celebrated microbiologist with a hidden agenda. Every character is painted in shades of grey, making us question their motives and leaving room for the unsettling possibility that any one of them could be the culprit. This complex narrative unfolds in unexpected ways, keeping the viewers guessing until the very end.

Cast

Main

• Neha Sharma as Farah Zaidi
• Purab Kohli as Rishi (Dr. Rishikesh Jaykar)
• Chandan Roy Sanyal as Tony Walia
• Sharib Hashmi as Vinod Shinde
• Amruta Khanvilkar as Lalita Shinde
• Shruti Seth as Radhika Jaykar
• Sushant Divgikar as Tara (Tarun)
• Shernaz Patel as Benaifer Machado (Binny)
• Faisal Rashid as Riad Machado
• Keneth Desai as Denzel Machado
• KC Shankar as Noel
• Chahat Vig as Sia Walia

Recurring

• Shivam Patil as Bobo
• Ajay Kumar Dutta as Thomas
• Nehal Vadoliya as Seductress4u
• Aman Desai as Advait
• Sarah Gesawat as Ella
• Danish Pandor as Mohit
• Sharvari Deshpande as Chayya
• Vishal Arora as Drug peddler
• Hardika Sharma as Mini
• Ganesh Yadav as Savio
• Jagdish Chavan as Mangesh
• Ketan Karande as Rodney (Noel's bodyguard)
• Bianca Arora as Anushka
• Shweta Mehta as Kleo
• Khushi Bharadwaj as Aditi
• Sapna Rathore as Sameera
• Ashmara Sharma as Pari
• Payal Arora as Dr. Prabhu Desai
• Daivik Balodia & Daivat Balodia as Twins
• Smaran Sahu as Karan
• Palash Tiwari as Jugal (House keeping staff)
• Supriya Mishra as Rohini (House keeping staff)
• Palvi Jaswal as Shonali
• Randeep Singh as Sukhwinder watchman
• Zara Khan as Munmun
• Abhijeet Pawar as Magician
• Asha Sharma as Mehnaaz
• Urvi Upadhyay as Sona
• Darshit Lahane as Amar
• Neeva Malik as Anjali

Episodes

No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"The Intruder’s Arrival"	Vishal Furia	Anahata Menon & Seneca Mendonsa	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)
2	"Hidden Agendas"	Vishal Furia	Anahata Menon & Seneca Mendonsa	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)
3	"Beneath the Surface"	Vishal Furia	Anahata Menon & Seneca Mendonsa	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)
4	"Denzel’s Dilemma: Seduced and Blackmailed"	Vishal Furia	Anahata Menon & Seneca Mendonsa	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)
5	"The Facade Cracks"	Vishal Furia	Anahata Menon & Seneca Mendonsa	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)
6	"Masked Intentions"	Vishal Furia	Anahata Menon & Seneca Mendonsa	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)
7	"Secrets Unraveled"	Vishal Furia	Anahata Menon & Seneca Mendonsa	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)
8	"The Poisoned Olive Branch"	Vishal Furia	Anahata Menon & Seneca Mendonsa	12 July 2024 (2024-07-12)

Production

Neha Sharma who plays the enigmatic airhostess in the series, mentioned watching a portion of the original BBC show, 35 Days, describing it as mind-bending. She remarked, "I don’t think anyone ever expected me to portray a morally ambiguous character." Kohli and Keneth Desai reunited after 26 years for this series, they had last worked together in cult classic television series titled Hip Hip Hurray.

Principal photography primarily took place in Goa, with key scenes shot in Vasco Da Gama and Mumbai. Quaais Waseeq served as the cinematographer, and Abhijeet Deshpande edited the series. The musical duo Clinton Cerejo and Bianca Gomes composed the songs under the band name Shor Police.

Soundtrack

The background score is composed by Roshin Balu, with sound design by Anirban Sengupta. All the songs are composed by the musical duo Shor Police, consisting of Clinton Cerejo and Bianca Gomes.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Ab Tak"	Siddhant Kaushal	Sushant Divgikar
2.	"Farebi Zindagi"	Siddhant Kaushal	Sushant Divgikar
3.	"Yeh Jahaan"	Siddhant Kaushal	Sushant Divgikar

Reception

The series garnered mixed reviews from critics, who lauded its performances but criticized its writing.

Archika Khurana of The Times of India reviewed the series, awarding 3.5 out of 5 stars and observed, "While the show becomes somewhat predictable midway, the unexpected twists towards the end keep it engaging. The 35-minute episodes manage to maintain a compelling pace despite the dense web of characters and their interconnected lives." Ronit Kawale for Presswire18 commented, "The screenplay is so dull that one feels like watching it in fast forward" despite the decent performances and atmospheric technical elements." Navbharat Times critic Upama Singh, giving 2 stars, praised performances, cinematography, setting, and background score, while remarking, "The screenplay is so sluggish that one feels like fast-forwarding through it. Direction lacks substance too; the initial two-three episodes lack any thrill." Deepa Gahlot of Scroll.in reviewed "The eight-part series moves at a leisurely pace. Everything that happens does not necessarily connect to the murder. The helter-skelter format is more to build suspense and comment on the corrosive effects of pretence or the damage caused by ignoring mental health issues."

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express mentioned, "This is an interesting ensemble, and I got pulled into all these questions which swirl around the residents.." but criticizes its excessive use of familiar tropes and a lack of sustained tension and urgency in the storytelling, giving it 2 stars. Vaibhavi Mishra of Gadgets 360 described it as "Overstretched and Predictable," commenting, "the show falls prey to the classic mistake of stuffing unnecessary tropes in thrillers, just to add more faces to point the misdirected finger at." Manik Sharma from OTTPlay observed, "There are plenty of sub-plots to chew on... Instead what we get is short shrift on a bunch of situations, without any real insight into the people dealing with them." A critic from ap7am.com rated it 2.75 out of 5, calling the screenplay "bit faster" and noting, "Although the story is told in the housing complex on the coast, it does not bore much. Photography .. background music .. editing helped this series." Riya Sharma from DNA awarded 2 out of 5 stars, criticizing its predictable plot, lack of genuine suspense, and failure to fully utilize its talented cast, stating, "The show doesn't seem to do justice to an ensemble cast who gives their all and present you with a powerful performance despite a dull, predictable and boring storyline." Critic Simran Kumari of Cinetales gave it 3 out of 5 stars, praising the performances as the "highlight" and summarizing, "...the twists in the narrative also seem quite predictable except for the last few. Therefore, you won’t feel the relief at the end since there’s no proper build-up."

Shatakshi Ganguly of IWMBuzz criticized the series for faltering despite its promising premise and talented cast, pointing out overindulgence, disjointed storytelling, and a lack of suspense or satisfying payoff, noting, "The sheer volume of characters dilutes the impact of the story, leaving viewers grappling with an ensemble cast that ultimately feels wasted." In contrast, Troy Ribeiro of The First Press Journal rated it 3 out of 5 stars, highlighting intricate character development and a slow-burn mystery set in Goa's serene backdrop, stating, "The pacing, initially leisurely as a Sunday morning in Goa, might test the patience of those accustomed to breakneck thrillers."

External links

• 36 Days at IMDb
• 36 Days at SonyLIV