Ayyana Mane series story: Newly-wedded Jaji (Kushee Ravi) heads to her husband Dushyanth’s (Akshay Nayak) residence, Ayyana Mane, where she is the latest addition to the extended family that consists of his parents, two brothers, and one sister. However, just as Jaji is about to enter what will be her new home, her father-in-law collapses and dies, after which it comes to light that the family has been struggling with a series of deaths over the past four years. With additional deaths predicted, could Jaji be the next one?

Ayyana Mane series review: Kannada has been the most overlooked language by many major streaming platforms, which, for some time now, only featured films that had a satisfactory theatrical run making it to OTTs. Web series were definitely ruled out if the source language was Kannada. Signaling a potential shift in this unspoken standard, Zee Network tasked producer Shruti Naidu with creating what would be its inaugural Kannada original web series in late 2024.

Shruti, who has an extensive background in producing successful TV serials, relied on her reliable collaborator, director-actor Ramesh Indira to execute it – the result of which, Ayyana Mane, a six-part series, has recently premiered on the platform. The significant question, naturally, is whether Ayyana Mane is the series that will pave the way for increased content creation in Kannada. Well, judging by the current state, it appears to be quite improbable.

Given Shruti and Ramesh's extensive background in television content, one questioned whether they could step out of that framework and create a captivating limited series. Ayyana Mane, however, finds it difficult to rid itself of the television soap opera essence. The 90s backdrop and a storyline that develops within a single household, with its family members at the heart of a mystery, across episodes lasting 18-20 minutes, possess all the characteristics of a daily soap opera.

In this instance, however, Premier Padmini creator Ramesh is not granted the privilege of intricate storytelling, resulting in minimal character development as well. Performers such as Vijay Shobraj, Hitha Chandrashekar, Anirudh Acharya, Mansi Sudhir, etc. , receive scarcely developed arcs, as Ramesh focuses on clarifying the what, where, how, and why of the fatalities in a specific family. There is a sense of urgency in the story, which is appreciated, but the issue is that what follows is not particularly captivating.

Yes, there are fatalities, but given the limited range of the setting and the number of characters, it is assumed that one of them is the culprit, and, therefore, the reveal lacks any shock or even surprise element. The primary issue, however, lies in the execution. Despite budget limitations, Shruti and Ramesh have attempted to create a reasonably produced show, but it dims in comparison to original content created for the same platform in other languages. The quality gap is incredibly pronounced.

As Kannada’s revival series, Ayyana Mane was expected to make an impression in terms of storytelling and execution, to capture the attention of network executives and garner interest from audiences beyond Karnataka. It falls short in these areas and when it comes to identifying a target audience and catering to their preferences, Ayyana Mane is a misfire.

Ayyana Mane series judgment: A murder mystery, with an element of the supernatural, Ayyana Mane is devoid of thrills or chills. The storytelling is lackluster, while the characters have minimal to no influence. What’s more, it represents a squandered opportunity. It would take nothing short of a miracle for Ayyana Mane to instill confidence in other platforms to invest in Kannada content.

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