Lmst

With Hussina Raja (“#Virdee”)

Finished watching Virdee last night. Excellent gritty crime drama from England, set in Bradford.

"You can't to that, we're in England!"
"We're in Bradford." Bosh.

Dark, seedy, a touch of horror. Great performances. A clash of cultures. A dark back-story. Great stuff.

https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/virdee
https://trakt.tv/shows/virdee
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29081720

‘Virdee’ Creator A A Dhand Reveals The Unlikely Hero That Inspired Him To “Fail Forwards” During A Decade Of Rejection
#News #AADhand #ArnoldSchwarzenegger #BBC #Virdee

https://deadline.com/2025/05/aa-dhand-on-virdee-and-his-unlikely-her-arnold-schwarzenegger-1236389813/

#Virdee

Read Virdee by A. A. Dhand on the Kobo app for only 99p

(Originally published as City of Sinners)

https://www.kobo.com/GB/en/ebook/virdee

“#Virdee,” the desi bits

Didn’t expect “#Virdee” would be so lolworthy desi. We get a psycho killer witting a name in mehndi / henna, a Wiki dump on #Hindu wedding customs by a black nurse, a club named Beizzat (Dishonor). #Sikh kanga / comb as a plot point.

This evening’s tv watching will be the first episode of #Virdee , A A Dhand’s great detective novel set in #Bradford . It was shown on BBC One on Monday. Can’t wait!

Of Virdee

Virdee

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/becomingthemuse/episodes/Virdee-Series-Review-e2uqkm2

Virdee is a British crime thriller television series adapted by A A Dhand from his Bradford-set crime novel series. The six part series premiered on BBC One on 10 February 2025.

The series, set in Bradford follows detective Harry Virdee as he tries to keep the peace in his neighbourhood and balance his domestic life, having married someone his family does not approve.

The Good

It starts off dizzy, but it soon finds its rhythm, setting up an intricate web of betrayal, trust, family drama, crime, racism and religious prejudice culminating into a twisted plot where morality is shades of grey….

Staz Nair is well cast DCI Harry Virdee, a cop just trying to do what is right by his family and city and the weight he has to carry… There’s great chemistry with Aysha Kala who plays Saima Virdee his ride or die wife who is the love of his love, with the unforgivable flaw of being a different religion to his famiy…

Harry Virdee (Staz Nair) and Saima Virdee (Aysha Kala)

As if that’s not complicated enough, Harry Virdee’s brother-in-law is an outlaw with ambitions to become a kingpin in the Bradford Drug Empire.

VRiaz Hyatt (Vikash Bhai) and Harry Virdee (Staz Nair)

While the crime thriller has a slow burn approach, each episodes ends on a cliffhanger with mounting tensions that will leave you heavily invested in watching episode after episode till there arent any left… its like silence of the lambs meets Luther in a Saw-esque fashion.

The Bad

The opening camera work which is supposed to give a thrilling POV street chase perspective doesn’t quite come together and instead gives the production a headache-inducing video game quality that some not be able to get past.

Some of the plot points don’t make sense lending some characters with some cartoonish motivations and one dimensional story-arcs for all its pretence at conjuring up emotional depth.

The pacing can get erratic when family drama and other factors are introduced into the crime thriller which give it a rather jarring experience as it tries to balance out all its genres.

The ending is somewhat drawn out leaning towards anti-climatic like they weren’t sure if they wanted to conclude it as a limited series or set up a for a sequel.

The Ugly

Before watching Virdee I had never heard of Bradford where the series was set and filmed. I have since looked it up to learn it’s the 2025 UK City of Culture… although the impression of Bradford one gets from the series isn’t a very flattering…

Bradford backdrop Virdee

It has some graphic violence that can be unsettling.

Final Thoughts

Virdee is a six part thriller series showcasing the vibrant city of culture Bradford in a heady mixture that’s thrilling, dramatic and at times horrifying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcXrQjik1Qc

Video Review

#AADhand #bookToTvSeriesAdaptation #Bradford #crimeDrama #crimeThriller #seriesReview #StazNair #TVSeries #Virdee

#Bradford teen #YousefNaseer stars in #BBC drama #Virdee

Read here: https://buff.ly/4k3LUuS

The Hot Ones — Drama: Epic Warriors, Nighttime Therapists & Chastened Detectives Get Set For MIPCOM
#News #Costiera #Fremantle #Lionsgate #MIPCOM #MipcomCannes #RiseoftheRaven #SpartacusHouseOfAshur #TheHotOnes #Virdee

https://deadline.com/2024/10/spartacus-costiera-virdee-rise-of-the-raven-hot-ones-drama-mipcom-1236115400/

By A.A. Dhand:

‘police detective Harry #Virdee, a progressive British Sikh who struggles with his cultural identity and family loyalties… tension between British Asian communities’ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_A_Dhand