At the outset, the Malayalam show, Eyes, streaming on SonyLIV, looks like another police procedural, another crime-driven series of events. Directed by Manu Asokan, the pace seems a tad bit languid as it takes time to draw the viewer in. Though the opening sequence is shocking, it takes some time for the action to suck one in. It could also be that each of the seven episodes at 50-plus minutes makes it feel like too much time has been spent with Eyes.
The action pivots on a team that the police support to identify dangerous stalkers (prone to causing harm) and take preventive measures. The tagline is ‘Watch. Defend. Protect’, which it attempts to do. At the heart of this project is a software, Eyes, which helps monitor stalkers, with input from the core team’s two mental health professionals and two cops. The project is also a test of whether the software can help identify dangerous stalkers and prevent them from escalating.
The core team comprises Ayesha, Vidya, Tina Sebastian, Tanvi and Justin, essayed by Nikhila Vimal, Shruti Ramachandran, Kani Kusruti, Athira Patel, and Prabhu Muralikrishnan respectively. The others in the cast include Prem Prakhash, Jaffer Idukki, Sudhi Koppa, Saniya Iyyappan, Dev Mohan, and Parvathy Krishna.
Eyes (Malayalam)
Director: Manu Asokan
Cast: Kani Kusruti, Nikhila Vimal, Jaffer Idukki, Prem Prakash
Plot: A team which is committed to preventing stalker killings and how they go about it using technology to prevent crime.
Episodes: 7
Duration: 50 minutes
Vidya developed the software and has put everything on the line for it; Ayesha and Tanvi are the mental health professionals. Tina and Justin are the cops. This project is a make-or-break attempt for Vidya. It mustn’t be shut down, and she does whatever it takes, including illegal measures, to revive it.
When we come into the action, the Eyes team is getting back together after a break, following a rift among the team members when a case goes terribly wrong and they blame each other. The team regroups, reassesses their priorities and learns from their mistakes.
A still from ‘Eyes’
| Photo Credit:
Sony LIV
The series not only gives a peek into the lives of women who are stalked but also an insight into how insidiously it operates to control victims. An important takeaway is that an unhealthy obsession with another human being has no class.
So, we have an IAS officer with a narcissistic personality disorder, who would go to any lengths to control his wife, a criminal obsessed with a shop assistant, an alcoholic who threatens to kill his wife’s family if she leaves him and an average Joe who stalks an actor. These stories, structured episodically but segueing with the action rather organically, give faces and stories to all those stalker-crime headlines.
Anjana Nayar’s story, scripted by Bobby and Sanjay, keeps it real. The team cannot prevent all the crimes. Jessy, bound to an alcoholic childhood sweetheart who is now her husband, feels so trapped that her battered wife syndrome does not let her see how precarious her condition is and refuses to be “saved”.
As we follow the narrative, we see the stories and struggles of the team members as they navigate personal and professional issues. Some of them examine their own relationships.
What stands out in the show is the number of women in the lead roles. Their sisterhood supports each other and does not hesitate to call each other out. Like when Vidya does something that the righteous, law-abiding Tina cannot comprehend, and Tina has no qualms about telling Vidya she is wrong.
A still from ‘Eyes’
| Photo Credit:
Sony LIV
Maybe because the writer is a woman, and the scenarists (Bobby and Sanjay) have also written some strong female characters, it is heartening. And then some men are green flags in a series populated by red flags. One such positive portrayal is Sebastian, Tina’s husband. In a scene, he tells a man, who badmouths Tina, that even though he would like to respond to him, his wife would be offended if he fought her battles. These instances of micro-feminism are organically woven into the narrative, something seldom seen in the mainstream space, which often resorts to mere lip service.
The cast delivers and how! Jaffer Idukki as Mohanan is the highlight with his creepy presence. Some of these actors are also underutilised in the Malayalam film industry, including Shruti and Nikhila, who are not seen regularly on screen. Nikhila, especially, stands out as Ayesha, literally living the role of someone who has some of her own demons to deal with.
Eyes is worth a watch, but be warned it takes some time and grows on you. There are some digressions in the plotline, if you choose to look at them as such. With seven episodes running at a duraiton of 50 minutes, it is a commitment.
Eyes is streaming on SonyLIV
Published – October 09, 2026 01:53 pm IST
