Who is there?
Who is playing the music?
Who is it?
Who is there?
Who is it?
Who are you?
- Where is it? - Over there, sir.
Look there, sir.
This is a life-size puppet.
Sir, looking at it, it feels like
it will start breathing and begin dancing any moment.
Ma'am, if it were alive,
how would I be alive?
Help! A dead body!
- Was she alive at that time? - Maybe.
Then how was she killed?
Because there are no visible wounds or injuries on the body.
Whoever did this
worked in great detail.
The entire body is covered in paint.
Even if there were wounds, how would they be visible?
The wooden pillar on the body
was used as support to keep it upright.
And these strings
tied to the hands and feet
are attached to this mechanism.
That means this girl wasn't alive.
The movements in the body were due to this mechanism,
making it seem like she was alive.
Look at these joints
on the hands, the nuts and bolts,
and these ranges.
But why a puppet?
Someone killed her and turned her into a puppet and hanged her here.
Why would someone go to such lengths?
So this is the musical box that was playing the horror music,
which scared the watchman.
This means the killer didn't just want to kill,
he also wanted to make a statement.
Sir,
look at this.
She has six fingers on her left hand
and five on her right.
A total of 11 fingers.
What did you say, ma'am?
- Eleven fingers? - Why? Do you know her?
Yes, sir. A girl named Ayesha
had 11 fingers.
She used to come here to the mill for dance rehearsals.
Whenever she arrived early in the morning,
she would call me to open the door.
When did you last see her?
Sir, she hasn't come here for a few weeks.
She used to call you, right?
Give me her number.
Here it is.
The phone is ringing, but no one is answering.
Oh!
Sir, I've thoroughly checked this place.
No mobile phone or murder weapon was found here.
Let's trace this phone.
If we find it,
it might help solve this case.
The location was traced to this café, sir.
Dial it.
The phone is ringing.
How do you have Ayesha's phone?
Who are you people?
Yes.
Ayesha has been murdered.
Ayesha has been murdered?
But she went to Goa with her boyfriend, right?
Just tell us how you are using Ayesha's phone.
Sir, she told me that if her mother called,
I should pretend to be Ayesha and talk to her.
Pretend to be Ayesha? How?
I'm a mimicry artist.
I can imitate Ayesha's voice perfectly.
She asked me to answer calls
from her family
so they wouldn't suspect anything.
The caller machine recognizes the voice, sir, that's why.
Have you ever met Ayesha's boyfriend?
No. Sir, I know his name.
Avinash.
Ayesha met him at a theatre group.
Avinash?
SOOTRADHAAR THEATRE
What are you doing, Avinash? Match your steps to the rhythm.
Avinash!
Just a minute.
We are from CID.
Where is Ayesha?
I don't know, it's been days since I last saw her.
What kind of boyfriend are you? You don't know where your girlfriend is?
Huh?
We know everything about you and Ayesha.
We also know that you last took her to Goa.
Last time?
I mean, sir…
Why? Don't you know?
Ayesha has been murdered.
What, sir?
When? How, sir?
We'll ask the questions.
You will only answer. Understood? Speak.
Sir, Ayesha and I planned to go to Goa on the 13th.
She was supposed to meet me that evening on the back road.
But she never showed up.
Sir, I got really angry.
I wasted a lot of money.
After that, I didn't call her.
I thought I wouldn't speak to her until she called me.
Is it?
This side! Just a moment!
Come here.
- Please excuse me, sir. - Where are you going?
Nowhere, sir.
Is there any problem?
I got scared seeing CID.
Why? Have you done something?
Who are you?
This is Kailash sir,
the director of this theatre.
All right.
We might need to question you again.
So, no one leaves the city
without informing us. Understood?
We need to keep an eye
on both Avinash and Kailash.
Something is definitely going on inside this theatre.
Salunkhe,
did you find out the real face behind the puppet?
Of course, why wouldn't I?
When the elders arrive, there has to be a face reveal.
Come on, sir!
Face reveals happen in weddings, not here.
Pankaj!
Sir, it's Ayesha.
The face will be of the murdered one, Pankaj.
Yes.
One thing is certain.
The killer first rendered Ayesha unconscious
and then murdered her.
After she died, she was turned into a puppet.
The nuts and screws in the body were fixed so perfectly
that whoever did this
deserves a full 100 out of 100 in puppet-making.
And what can you tell us about
this paint coating on Ayesha's body?
I'll tell you.
Look at this, boss.
- Do you see this? - Yes.
Ayesha's body was painted in three layers.
In three layers.
- Three layers? - Yes.
Was the killer a painter?
I don't know whether he was a painter or not,
but he was a perfectionist.
He applied these three layers deliberately.
The first layer was a chemical to prevent the body from decaying.
Okay!
The second chemical layer was applied
to keep the body completely stiff.
Completely stiff.
And the third layer was to give the body a shiny,
polished finish, just like a puppet.
Oh!
The level of detailing used to turn Ayesha's body into a puppet
wasn't done overnight.
The killer must have taken at least two to three days for this process.
Two or three days?
That means the killer found a place
where he could store Ayesha's body
without anyone noticing.
KUSUM
The story begins with a new member joining the family.
Everyone lived together, hand in hand.
Then time changed.
The course shifted.
Later, they left their loved ones behind.
Loved ones turned into strangers.
Lost everything in the burning fire.
The hands that once held together,
turned to betrayal.
Everything turned to ashes.
Yes.
This killer is very clever, sir.
He's turning people into puppets and killing them.
Not clever, Pankaj.
He's a lunatic.
This murder happened exactly like Ayesha's.
Yes.
They were the first ones to see the body.
What happened here, start from the beginning?
We were performing,
and a fake fire was supposed to be set.
But in the climax, the professor was just supposed to stand still.
Suddenly, he collapsed,
and when we checked, he was already dead.
This was all Kumar sir's plan.
And we had been practicing for days.
The same kind of murder.
The same kind of perfection.
This is definitely
the work of a serial killer.
One song hasn't been choreographed yet.
The performance is tomorrow.
Who will do it?
Who are you? What's your name?
My name is Kavya.
I'm a dancer.
I've heard a lot about you and your theatre group.
I've tried many times to join your group.
But despite all my efforts, I could never reach you.
Sir, I just want to learn dance from you.
Please give me one chance.
I promise I won't disappoint you.
Okay!
You can join our group.
Fine. But remember,
you still need a lot of practice.
The next batch will be ready soon.
Arrange for the border setup.
Let's go.
Yes, Avni.
Kailash and Avinash just left Kailash's office.
Go inside and search properly.
- See if you find anything useful. - All right, sir.
Oh, god!
Hello, sir. There are several passports from different countries.
And there's also a list of people
who were illegally sent to different countries.
Avni, take photos of all these documents.
And get out of there as soon as possible.
Kavya.
What are you doing here?
I am not Kavya. I am Avni.
Then you are not a dancer as well.
CID.
So, you have seen everything that you shouldn't have seen.
And now we want
what you have seen will not be known to any outsider.
Do not make this mistake.
Put your gun down.
I understood when I saw you two that day.
In the disguise of a theatre,
you are spewing some other drama.
We send people to foreign countries illegally.
We recruit people under the pretext
of international shows, take their money,
and then illegally send them abroad.
And when they return, doesn't anyone ask about them?
No, sir. Even if someone asks, we just say they've gone abroad.
Then it's their problem or the police's.
What did you do to Ayesha?
The night Ayesha and I were supposed to leave for Goa,
she overheard me and Kailash sir discussing our plan.
We had a huge argument, sir.
Then she ran away.
I chased after her, thinking she might
report us to the police.
But she got into a car and left.
What car was it?
It was a silver-colored car.
I didn't catch the number.
Silver color?
Ayesha's body was found in an abandoned mill,
and Kumar's body was in a local theatre.
Sir, even though their bodies were found in different places,
the method of killing was identical.
Abhijeet,
there is a connection between
Ayesha and Kumar. Both were artists.
Ayesha was a dancer,
and Kumar, a narrator.
Storyteller.
Sir, could this be a serial killer case?
The killer is targeting performers
and turning them into puppets.
Yes, but why turn them into puppets after killing them?
That's what doesn't make sense.
I've found a common link between Ayesha and Kumar.
What?
Last month, a National Performing Arts Association
awards function took place
where artists were honored.
Both of them received awards there.
And who organized this function?
A woman named Mrs. Karishma.
Karishma?
Yes.
We've found details of the car Ayesha got into.
It wasn't a cab but a private vehicle.
Here are the papers, sir.
The car was registered under someone named Mahesh.
So?
So I went to Mahesh's house.
But no one lives there anymore.
Do one thing then.
Find out everything about him.
Who he is, where he is from, and what he does. Okay?
Hurry up.
Abhijeet.
Find out what Karishma knows about Aisha and Kumar.
Move it a bit to the left.
Raghu.
I was hoping that some day or the other,
Team CID will surely enter this world of mine.
Well, your recent cases have created a lot of buzz
in our artistic groups.
Expressing the feelings of humans
with a wooden stick and a few stems attached to it,
only an artist can do that.
Just like that murderer.
You seem to know a lot about the murderer.
Ms. Karishma.
Why the formality?
Just call me Karishma.
Furthermore,
whatever new development happens in our circle,
it's my job to know about it.
Whoever he may be, he is not just committing murder,
he is creating.
As if someone is creating an art in the world.
Did you see it?
The way in which the murderer positioned those two victims,
it wasn't just murder.
It was choreography.
Wow.
Don't you have any empathy?
Two people have died, Ms. Karishma.
They haven't died. They have become immortal.
Karishma, tell us where you were when these murders happened.
I was with my friends.
I was partying.
The murderer,
or if I may, an artist is making something.
Maybe a performance.
Tell us about the performance
that the two victims attended.
Oh, that one?
It was a small program
where we invited new talents to give an award
so they can get some motivation.
Nothing special, you know.
Nothing special.
Both the victims attended your program.
They got murdered.
But you're saying nothing was special.
We have a small community, Inspector.
People keep coming to our events.
We want the guest list for that day's event.
Sure.
My assistants will hand them over.
It's happening.
That's amazing, sir.
Looking at your reaction, it seems like you found something wild.
Yes!
I think he had a seizure.
- What did you say? - No, it was nothing.
Tell us what you found.
I'll tell you,
but you'll have to agree on something today.
- What? - I, Dr. Salunkhe, is very talented.
Who didn't say it?
Didn't you say it?
No, right?
- I am, right? - Come to the point.
Yeah, I'll come to the point.
Just like how I removed
the chemical coating from Aisha's body,
in a similar manner,
I removed the chemical coating from Kumar's face.
When I analysed this chemical coating,
I found out that
it is a unique mixture of lac and thermoplastic resin.
Especially,
it is used to restore things found after excavation.
Okay.
This thermoplastic resin is of a special category.
Acrolite A72.
Gargi, where is Acrolite A72 found?
It's not available in the normal markets nearby.
One needs a special order to purchase it.
It's the same as buying paper for printing notes.
Acrolite A72.
Abhijeet.
Find out where it is found
and who has bought it recently.
MOTHER
Sir, this is the museum that recently bought the Acrolite A72.
Let's see.
Ms. Akanksha.
Akanksha ma'am.
Ms. Akanksha, we are from CID.
We wanted to know if you had
bought a chemical called Acrolite A72.
Yeah.
Meera, show them the purchase record.
It's a standard material.
Generally, we order this one.
It has all the company's purchase orders
and we take care of all the procedures.
We have a record of everything.
I know that
if such important chemicals and materials
are purchased with proper documents,
it is not considered illegal.
Tell us something. On January 29th and on February 1st,
where were you at night?
I was in Delhi attending a seminar.
Really?
Meera, show them my flight tickets.
Avni.
Are you done? You can go now.
Okay.
If needed, we will come again.
Did you see that, Avni?
There were photos of Karishma's award function on that table.
I read the invite list of that award function,
- but Akanksha's name was not in it. - That's right.
Those depression pills,
perfect evidence.
Akanksha is surely hiding something.
Keep an eye on her.
- Yes. - Mahesh has been found.
Aisha ran away in his silver car.
I was trying to find a connection between Mahesh and puppets.
Look at this. An article in his name has been found.
Mumbai's Puppet Theatre
was known for its puppet shows.
A fire broke out during the show
and the whole family died.
The deceased included Mahesh,
his daughter who was a dancer,
and his wife,
who was a classical singer.
His daughter Nritya, aged eight years, was rescued
and was sent to the orphanage.
Sir, just a minute.
Aisha was a dancer.
Victim two, Professor Kumar was a storyteller.
The people who died in that fire incident
was Mahesh's daughter, a dancer,
and Mahesh himself, a storyteller.
The murderer is not killing them just like that.
Maybe in these victims,
he is looking for a family.
FATHER
- Do you mean Nritya? - Yes, Nritya.
That's the reason why, after murdering them,
she is preserving them like puppets.
Maybe she is completing her family, sir.
Abhijeet.
Nritya will look for the third victim to complete her family.
A singer.
A woman.
The one who resembles her mother.
From the guest list of that award function,
five names have been found who could be Nritya's next target.
All five of them are classical singers like Nritya's mother.
- Oh. - They are around her mother's age.
Pankaj. Purvi.
Call them and tell them that their lives are in danger.
They should be vigilant. Prepare for their security.
Hurry up.
I traced the information related to Nritya.
I found out that Nritya has been going to the same place repeatedly.
- Where? - Some theatre.
It has been deserted since a fire broke out over there.
It's quite strange.
Even after being closed for so long,
the electricity meter of that place is still on.
It's possible that Nritya is killing them at the place
where her family died.
I've been able to contact four people,
but I couldn't reach the fifth one.
Her name is Maya.
Maya.
The fifth one, Maya.
Maya is Nritya's next target.
Purvi, track Maya's phone.
Let us find her current location.
We have very little time. Hurry up.
Before Maya turns into a puppet,
we will have to end Nritya's puppet game.
We will have to stop Nritya.
Hey, these puppets look just like Aisha and Kumar.
This sound.
The horror music.
Hey!
You seem to enjoy doing puppet shows.
You are under our control now.
No one can control me.
So Mira aka Nritya.
Meera, show them the purchase record.
So, you murdered all those people.
You saw just the murders.
I saw revenge.
Safety.
Love. Do you know?
My family
was burned to death.
And that day, not only did my family die,
along with them,
their talent died too.
Their art.
Everything turned into ashes.
My mother's voice.
My father's stories.
My sister's dance.
What do you know about how it feels
when along with the family,
one loses their identity as well?
Their talent was a part of their soul.
Then I took a vow
to bring all of that back,
to make them immortal.
But why did you go for Aisha, Kumar, and Maya?
Because all three of them were very special to me.
Those three had everything that I had lost.
Maya used to sing just like my mother.
The way Professor Kumar used to narrate stories,
I felt my father's voice had returned.
When Aisha used to dance,
it felt like my sister was dancing.
Because of them, I got my whole family back.
They were like my family as well.
They also dedicated their whole lives to art.
But there is a problem with art.
It is weak. It gets scattered away.
And with time, it vanishes.
I didn't want that to happen.
Before both of them,
just like the laws of nature
could die naturally,
I made them immortal
through my puppets.
If you wanted to make them immortal,
you should have preserved their bodies.
Why did you turn them into puppets?
Did you still not get it?
The human body is mortal
and art is immortal.
So, with the help of wood,
clothes, and colors,
I turned them into an art piece.
Now, Aisha will dance forever.
And Professor Kumar's stories will echo forever.
And whoever would have seen them in this form
will remember them forever.
I turned their stage into a path to immortality.
Do you understand now? I didn't just make the puppets.
I have made my family.
Bright and immortal family.
Look what your madness of puppetry has turned you into.
Whatever happened to your family was an accident.
You have killed two innocents in the name of art.
You have committed a serious crime.
You will have to suffer for your madness.
The law will never forgive you.