Dhootha (2023) s01e02 Episode Script

Editorial Cartoon

1
Eight, nine, ten, e8leven,
twelve, thirteen, fourteen
Mathew! Come, let's hide here.
No. I'll go hide over there.
I'm really sorry, Marian.
Charles lost his mom, dad,
and his brother within a span of ten days.
It's really sad to lose them so soon.
Is he alright?
I don't know.
Something is bothering him.
He doesn't share anything with me.
Even at home
the entire space is filled
with newspaper scraps.
Listen, someone over there wanted peanuts.
Give this to them and take 50 rupees.
Sir, peanuts for you.
That'll be 50 rupees.
Peanuts?! I didn't order any.
"Charles David."
Sir, did you ask for this?
Yeah, it was me. How much?
-Fifty rupees.
-Here.
"Tragedy strikes the home
of famous journalist Charles David.
His seven-year-old son Mathew dies."
Mathew!
Where's Mathew?
He's somewhere around here playing.
-What's wrong, Charles?
-Mathew!
Charles!
Charles, what's wrong?
Mathew!
Mathew!
Mathew!
Mathew!
Mathew!
Mathew!
Oh, shit!
Mathew!
Mathew!
Hundred! Here I come!
Mathew!
Mathew!
Mathew!
Math
Mathew
Shit!
IT WILL HAUNT YOU FROM NOW ON
You're fricking screwed!
It will haunt you from now on.
-Trivedi
-Sir.
We need a smart, intelligent officer
to investigate the death
of the journalist, Charles.
What is Kranthi Shenoy up to currently?
She was investigating
the Kuruvilla case, sir.
I think it's done.
A report was submitted two days back.
She's the right person for the job.
-Good morning, ma'am.
-Ranga, this is annoying as hell.
This is nothing, ma'am. They forced
me out of bed at five in the morning.
A Police Officer has no timings.
They ought to work at one o'clock
in the night if needed.
Forced him out of bed it seems!
But, ma'am, you said
I meant the rain was annoying.
Got it, ma'am.
-Victim's name?
-Charles David, ma'am.
-Who reported the death?
-His wife, ma'am.
Was she home when the incident happened?
No, ma'am.
She was at her parents' place.
When he didn't answer her calls,
she got worried and rushed home.
That's when she found out.
-So, the victim was alone at home.
-Yes, ma'am.
Let's go.
-Where did it happen?
-In the bedroom upstairs.
What's with all the newspapers?
-I don't know, ma'am.
-Good morning, ma'am.
There are many more
in the bedroom upstairs.
In fact, they're in every
corner of the house.
-Who has come from the forensic team?
-I called Prakash.
This room, ma'am.
I hope nobody disturbed the crime scene.
No, ma'am. Everything is secured.
Only the forensic
and biolistic teams have entered.
-Good morning, ma'am.
-Morning, Prakash.
-Give us two minutes.
-Sure, ma'am.
Give me the pointer.
Country-made gun.
Yes, ma'am.
Gunpowder residue on the hands?
Forensics is on it, ma'am.
Time of death?
Around four or five o'clock last evening.
We'll get the postmortem reports soon.
I can give you the exact time.
We only found the victim's fingerprints
on the gun.
The position in which
he stood and shot himself,
the fingerprints on the gun
All these things point
to a definitive case of suicide.
A clear open-and-shut case.
What's wrong, ma'am?
Notice those blood drops?
Yes. It's a country-made gun.
High-impact blood spatter.
At a crime scene,
blood becomes a language, Ranga.
It tells us a lot about the crime.
And we have to listen.
Go stand there.
A little more to your left.
Right there.
There are blood drops around you.
Yes, ma'am.
And behind you?
None.
So, to your right, to your left,
above you, and even between your feet,
there are blood drops.
But right behind you,
there's no blood.
How can it be
an open-and-shut case, Ranga?
At the exact moment
the trigger was pulled,
someone was standing at the door,
watching it all happen.
Why do you think they did that?
That's what
we have to find out.
We have to find out.
-Did the victim have a phone?
-Yes, ma'am.
-Unlock it immediately.
-Okay, ma'am.
-Where's the wife?
-She's on the balcony.
This is a curse.
It all started
with his mother passing away.
Followed by his father.
Then his brother.
Even before the memorial was over
we lost Mathew.
He was always active.
But all of a sudden,
he was living in the dark.
He used a country-made gun.
How did he get hold of that?
I didn't even know that he had a gun.
How did he get hold of that?
Who gave it to him?
I don't know.
And the newspapers?
Sorry?
I've been to a lot of crime scenes.
But this is
unique!
A room full of newspapers is just
strange.
After Charles' mother passed away,
he started collecting these newspapers.
Like
like a mad obsession.
On walkways, in the dustbins, at home
he'd bring back home every
piece of paper that he found.
And then he'd lock himself in his room
be all alone
stick them on the wall and read them.
You know,
for the last 15 days
-Ma'am!
-he lost his sleep.
I tried asking,
but he never shared anything with me.
-Just give me a moment.
-Yeah.
His phone is unlocked.
Okay. Anything suspicious?
There were six missed calls
from his wife after his death.
But before he died,
he had eight missed calls
from a contact saved as "Rascal."
The number is registered
under one Sagar Varma Avuduri.
Okay.
-Retrieve the other apps and call data.
-Okay, ma'am.
And I need the forensics
and the gunpowder residue ASAP.
A renowned man in journalism
Sub Editor of Prime News,
Charles shot himself to death
at his farmhouse last evening.
Did Charles really commit suicide?
Or is it a pre-planned murder?
Media is speculating about the incident.
-May I come in?
-They found a
country-made gun in Charles' hand.
-According to the information we received,
-Yes, Mr. Murthy.
the police are conducting an inquiry.
Can you arrange a meeting with sir for me?
Yeah, sure.
What is it about?
I joined this new team
to bring a new change in journalism.
But our editorial policy
makes me wonder
if it was the right thing to do.
I'll inform you once Sagar is here.
So, you can talk to him personally.
We have to convince him somehow.
Let's sit over there.
-Hi, sir.
-Hi, sir.
Did you kill him?
-I only asked you to go talk to him.
-Amrutha!
-What is wrong with you, Sagar?
-Amrutha, calm down. Don't yell.
Why would I kill him?
Yes, I was furious enough to kill him.
But there he was,
standing with a gun in his hand already!
He shot himself and dropped dead
right in front of my eyes!
-It was a fricking suicide!
-Oh, my god! What?!
It's it's crazy, Amrutha.
Here.
Just take a look at this. Read it.
It happened exactly like in the cartoon.
Do you know what that idiot
told me before dying?
"It will haunt you from now on."
-What?!
-What is the "it" he was talking about?
What the hell is going on?!
You pointed out
how I got my socks mixed up, right?
Check out this cartoon.
One black and one white.
It's the same.
That's me standing by the door!
How is this possible?
I'm really sorry, Sagar.
On one hand, there's this.
On the other, there's the paper launch.
There's so much going on.
-The launch is tomorrow, right?
-Yes.
Shit!
Shit!
-I need to focus on the launch.
-Yeah.
-I need to focus on the launch.
-Yeah.
Amrutha, the Minister
will be attending it tomorrow.
Provide extra security from our end.
-Yeah, of course.
-I'm not sure what's happening.
Is there anything else?
Some people seem to be waiting outside.
-Satya, please come in.
-Sure, ma'am.
There.
-Hi, sir.
-Hi.
Thanks for your time.
Thank you.
Our college convocation is on
November 16th, National Press Day.
We'd like to invite you
as the keynote speaker.
Oh!
-Thank you.
-The Minister will also be there.
-He's our chief guest.
-Okay.
You're one of our
most notable alumni, sir.
You're a huge inspiration to all of us.
-We all look up to you, sir.
-That's nice to hear.
-I'll be there. It'll be my pleasure.
-Thank you, sir.
I'll be back.
Sir, just another minute.
-Yeah.
-I'd like to join as your intern, sir.
This is my resume.
I'm the university topper.
I'm a gold medalist.
And I follow your write-ups
and editorials regularly.
You're practically my mentor.
-Stay in touch with Amrutha.
-Sure, sir.
If there's an opportunity,
she'll definitely get back to you.
-Thank you so much. Thank you, ma'am.
-Yeah, all the best.
Thank you.
Let me go, sir.
I'm damn exhausted from beating you up.
Spill the truth.
I'll let you go right now.
I'm telling the truth, sir.
I'm innocent.
Nobody hired me for that crash.
The same lie over and over again!
-I really don't know, sir!
-Tell me. Tell me.
-Tell me the truth!
-Sir Sir
I'll gouge your eyes out!
-Why are you torturing me?
-Sir!
-Sir, I really don't know anything.
-Tell me
-I swear on my wife and kids, sir.
-I know what to do.
Sir what are you going to do?
Oh, my God! No! Sir, no!
Tell me or I'll shove this in your throat!
-Tell me! Tell me!
-Sir! Sir!
Open your mouth! Come on!
-Open your mouth.
-Sir
You fricking driver!
Is that a gold tooth?
Where did you get so much money?
Sir, please! No!
Please let me go!
Oh, my God! No!
-Widen your mouth! Come on!
-No!
Hey! Don't move.
I said, don't move!
Your tongue will get cut off. Don't move!
That's it! Almost done!
Hey, calm down.
Let me go.
Don't scream.
Shut up, dude!
You Will you shut up or not?!
-No
-Don't scream. Silence!
Do you have any other
gold parts in your body?
Hey! Enough of the break dance!
Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
I pray to you, O Lord!
For all those whom we love
but see no longer.
Let perpetual light shine upon them.
In your hands, O Lord
we humbly entrust beloved Charles.
You embraced him with tender love.
Deliver him now from every evil.
And bid him eternal rest.
I was devastated to learn
about the news of Charles' death.
I have known him for the past 17 years.
-He helped the church
-Ma'am
look behind you to your left.
He's sitting in the ninth row.
Beside the window.
That's Sagar Varma Avuduri.
He chose a noble profession
like journalism
and proved his merit.
What happened to Charles David is tragic.
Watching Marian like this,
I feel extremely sad.
Within a month of losing Mathew,
she has lost her husband as well,
which is shattering.
Lord is testing your faith, Marian.
I hope that your faith in
him is completely restored.
May Lord Jesus grant you and your family
all the strength
and courage to counter the grief.
You embraced him with tender love.
Deliver him now from every evil.
And bid him eternal rest.
In Jesus' name
Amen!
You see, I always thought
I was born to be a journalist.
Those stories, people,
thrill, the adrenaline rush
I think I really miss my job.
There he is.
Sagar, she's Kranthi Shenoy. DCP.
She's investigating Charles' case.
-Hi.
-Hi, Sagar.
She wants to talk to you.
She got here an hour ago.
I was just boring her.
-You need some coffee? I'll go get it.
-Yeah, I don't mind.
-Some for Kranthi as well.
-Sure.
I'll leave you two to it.
-Careful, Priya.
-Yeah.
Charles.
What a tragedy!
I never thought this would happen.
I heard that you were
friends with Charles.
Yeah.
For almost two years.
We went on multiple
sting operations together.
He was a really good buddy.
In fact, I'm coming from his memorial.
I saw you there.
Oh!
The thing is
when we checked Charles' phone,
we found your missed calls.
You called him eight times yesterday.
-Why?
-I was concerned.
In the last month
he was quite depressed and
what happened to his family is crazy.
So, I called to check on him.
And when he didn't answer his phone,
I called him again and again.
I called Marian, and she said
he was resting at the farmhouse.
So, I felt okay.
Did you meet him yesterday?
No.
Okay.
So
your relationship with him is all good.
Right?
Yeah.
Why do you ask?
He was texting a card designer
on WhatsApp.
He got a card designed especially for you.
You know
-"Congratulations, you"
-"Backstabbing scoundrel."
Yeah.
Typical Charles!
He has a dark sense of humor.
Even his birthday wishes came crooked.
"Happy birthday, man!
You're getting one step closer
to the grave," he would say.
It's so him.
Where were you all of yesterday?
At work. Amrutha and I
Amrutha, my PA.
We were test-running the new machines.
So, Amrutha will confirm your story?
Yeah, of course.
By the way, Priya told me
You came home quite late last night.
Yeah.
Our paper's getting launched in two days.
So, lot of work. Got late.
Even after reaching so late,
what was the need
to wash your clothes all by yourself?
Sorry?
You know, Priya was very excited.
For the first time after marriage,
you washed and dried
your clothes yourself apparently.
While test-running the machines,
I got oil on my shirt.
And you know oil stains.
You need to wash them ASAP.
That is why I did that, and also
she's pregnant.
It's the least I could do for her.
Yeah, you must.
Yeah, that's why.
Okay, Sagar.
Thank you for your cooperation.
I have to leave now.
Hello. Yes, ma'am?
Ranga Sagar has a PA named Amrutha.
Now, the time is 11:55 a.m.
Check if he calls her in the next minute.
Okay, ma'am.
Hello, Cyber Crime.
Is Ravi there?
-Hi.
-Amrutha
DCP Kranthi Shenoy just met me.
She's investigating Charles' case.
If she asks, tell her that I was
at work the whole day yesterday.
And you were with me, okay?
-But, Sagar
-Amrutha!
I've already told you that I have
nothing to do with this case.
-Just do what I say, okay?
-Okay.
Where's Kranthi?
She just left.
-Hello, Ranga.
-Hello, ma'am.
Like you said, Sagar called
Amrutha exactly at 11:56 a.m.
-Is it?
-Yes, ma'am.
Do you want me to tap his calls?
No, Ranga. We don't
have permission for that.
Okay, ma'am.
But one thing is clear.
Sagar lied to me.
He was definitely not at work last night.
Anyway, what about the gun dealers?
-I'm still inquiring, ma'am.
-Ranga!
That gun is an important lead
in this case.
We need to know who
gave it to Charles, okay?
Understood, ma'am.
I'll be on it.
-Hurry up.
-Okay, ma'am.
Hey
Bloody hell!
Hello? Tell me it's good news.
Not really, sir.
It's bad news.
He's dead.
What?
-The driver is dead, sir.
-What?!
Sir, you said you didn't care what I did
to him as long as you got the truth.
I tried doing it in my style.
But no matter how hard I tried,
all he kept saying
was that he was innocent.
So, I took it up a notch.
And he died.
Are you fricking mad, Ghosh?
-What do you mean took it up a notch?
-Don't panic, sir.
These things happen sometimes.
Please don't worry.
Our first plan of action is to
dispose of the body.
Do you know of any safe place?
We'll dispose of the body together.
We? There's no we here!
I have nothing to do with that body.
Sir!
How can you say that, Mr. Sagar?
It was you who dragged me into this.
You can't back out just like that.
Shut up! What did I say?
Get the truth out of him.
Not kill him!
I repeat, I have nothing
to do with that body!
Fix this right away.
You said it yourself.
These things happen.
Make it look like
a lockup death or something.
And never call me
about this again, got it?
Screw you, Ajay! Screw you!
Shit!
Shit!
Hello.
Hello, Mr. Sagar
I guess you're sleeping like a baby.
Did I disturb you?
I told you not to call me.
I called to tell you that
I dumped the driver's body.
Good.
You don't have to tell me
where you dumped it.
Hey! Let me finish.
Of course, I need to tell you.
I jumped a wall for the first time ever
and dumped the body in a generator room.
Generator room?
Yeah, the one in your dad's farmhouse.
That generator room.
I saw it on my last visit.
Now, I have nothing to do with that body.
You'll need to handle everything.
Either we both get away with it
or we both go to jail.
It's all in your hands.
Bye.
One more thing.
How could I forget?
Screw you, sir!
Shit!
Shit!
Shit!
Previous EpisodeNext Episode