Snakes & Ladders, a Tamil web series, blends the worlds of crime, family, and friendship in a cops-and-thieves thriller. Created by Kamala Alchemis and Dhivakar Kamal, with Karthik Subbaraj as the creative producer, the series takes viewers to a fictional hill town, Rettamugadu (Kodaikanal), where inseparable schoolboys, a police investigation, and a gang of criminals set the stage for an engaging yet uneven story.
The nine-episode series, available on Amazon Prime Video, opens with a robbery gone wrong, setting the tone for the events that follow. Two burglars, working for a crime syndicate, steal a valuable artifact from a local museum. As they attempt to leave town, their decision to rob two homes results in chaos, including an assault on a schoolteacher and her young daughter.
The main characters—four schoolboys named Gilbert (M.S. Samrith), Iraiyan (Surya Ragaveshwar), Sandy (Surya Kumar), and Bala (Tarun Yuvraaj)—soon find themselves unwittingly entangled in the aftermath of the crimes. Their impulsive actions draw them deeper into the dangerous world of the criminals and the police, leading to a series of complications.
While the show has its moments, the pace is often slow, with action scenes occasionally breaking the lull. The boys’ relationships with their fathers, especially their struggles with authority and the mistakes they make under pressure, provide some of the more interesting subplots. However, the show never fully delivers the excitement and energy needed to make it a standout thriller.
The supporting characters, including a hot-headed criminal named Rico (Muthukumar) and a mysterious man named Leonard (Naveen Chandra), add complexity to the storyline, but the series’ momentum falters at times, preventing it from reaching its full potential.
Directed by Alchemis, Bharath Murlidharan, and Ashok Veerappan, Snakes & Ladders is set in the mid-2000s, where the police force, led by Sub-Inspector Chezhian (Nandha), investigates the robberies. The boys, meanwhile, try to keep their involvement hidden as they grapple with the escalating situation.
The series ends on a cliffhanger, with the promise of another season to continue the story. While the show has its shortcomings, it does offer enough intrigue to keep viewers interested in what comes next. Whether the upcoming season can deliver a stronger narrative and pack a bigger punch remains to be seen.
Sources By Agencies
