The Hindi OTT scene is littered with crime dramas to the point it has become a diluted genre. Khoj: Parchaiyan ke Uss Paar, the brand new Zee5 Global series, is all about a husband looking for his missing wife. The story begins when his so-called ‘missing wife’ comes back, only for him to realize the woman is not his spouse. The crux of this seven-episode show is to find out who is lying, the husband or the wife.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Ved Khanna go to the police station?
Khoj began with a High Court lawyer, Ved Khanna, visiting the police station to file a missing person report. The police officer was Amol Sathe, and Ved revealed to him that his wife had been missing since the previous night. Approaching the police was the only way out for Ved as he explained how he figured out his wife Meera Khanna was missing. It was Ved’s birthday the previous night, and he came back from a trip to find the surprise organized by Meera, but he could not find her. Ved was confused, as he and Meera were planning to meet their daughter, Tia, at her boarding school. He visited Tia nevertheless, and approached the police at dawn, since he was out of reasons behind why his wife would just disappear.
Was Meera Khanna found?
Ved was visibly distressed about his wife’s disappearance, and amidst all of this, he was sent to Mumbai to identify a woman who matched the description of Meera he had shared with the police. Thankfully it wasn’t her, and a few days later, officer Amol Sathe was able to find Meera Khanna. He claimed she had come to report a crime, and her name got them to connect the dots with the missing complaint filed by Ved.
Did everyone turn against Ved Khanna?
Ved outrightly denied the woman being Meera Khanna and refused to accept her. This was exactly like the situation in the Hollywood film Changeling, where a mother was given a different boy by the police days after she filed a report regarding her missing son. Ved was shocked to find all the pictures in his phone and albums had the image of the woman instead of his real wife. He was distressed and justifiably so, since he could not believe his sister-in-law, Aditi, and daughter, Tia, were recognizing Meera as their own. Ved was having a hard time convincing the police that the woman in his house was not his wife. He was also uncomfortable with a stranger getting close to his daughter, Tia. Ved was close to Tia and since he was sure the woman was not her mother, he was vocal about his anger at her making decisions for his child.
Why was a private detective hired?
Ved had to find a way out of this situation since the other woman, Meera, was making it difficult for him to live in his home. He approached Amol Sathe to conduct a DNA test that would prove his concerns right. Ved realized this was the only way to prove he was not being delusional about the other woman not being Meera, and the police agreed to do the test. Out of desperation, Devaraj, a private detective, was hired by Ved to find out more about the woman who was in his home. Devraj began to follow Meera and discovered a pen drive being shared between her and Aditi.
Devraj stole Meera’s bag to his hands on the pendrive and in haste, Ved again approached the police with the drive, hoping it would contain details that would prove him right. The pen drive got corrupted in no time, and Ved’s other attempt to salvage himself was ruined. Devraj also found out that the woman posing as Meera Khanna was already married. Ved was elated with this revelation and hoped to get the woman out of his house.
What did the psychiatrist say?
Meera, back at home, insisted that, according to her, Ved was being irrational. She also added that Ved had been skipping his medication; hence, he was having trouble accepting his reality. She further added that Tia was at boarding school because of his manic episodes in the past. A psychiatrist, Dr. Ekta Nigam, was introduced, who claimed to have suggested in the past that they keep their daughter away from Ved because of his deteriorating mental health.
The police had no option but to believe the doctor, and this made Ved;s situation worse. Either Meera was gaslighting Ved, or there was a possibility he was creating a scenario where he was demonizing his spouse and being delusional about his reality. Police officer Amol Sathe was trying to be on Ved’s side, but all the evidence was against him. Dr. Ekta suggested Ved take another psychiatric test to make sure where he stood mentally, as that would determine his future. If he was deemed mentally unfit, he might lose his career and access to his child while Meera would be in a strong position to protect herself.
Why was Meera divorcing Ved?
Meera was tired of Ved not paying any heed to her concerns and projecting her as a threat to him and Tia. She kept insisting that his mental health was unstable and criticizing him for being unwilling to take it seriously for the sake of his family. Since Ved did not trust Meera, she decided to file for divorce and let him know about it. It was a bizarre move since the husband and wife claimed to be in love, yet she decided to leave at the first sign of distress. Meera was not interested in entertaining his antics anymore since he was rejecting the truth. She decided to keep Tia with her as a part of the custody, and stated he would be given visitation rights. This was her way to trigger him so that he accepted the fact that he was mentally unstable and unfit to take care of his daughter.
Dr. Ekta also revealed in the presence of officer Amol that Ved was a patient of IED and mania. She further added he needed to be hospitalized immediately since he was a threat to everyone in his vicinity. Amol had to take her words seriously and he had to do the right thing. Ved was out of options and plans to prove that the woman at his home was not Meera. He was losing his mind, and saving his daughter was the only thing he could think of. Ved wanted to get rid of the woman, but all of his plans had crumbled, and it seemed he was just plain unlucky all this while.Â
Was Meera Khanna dead or alive?
Meera, back home, decided to take Tia with her, and the both of them forced the young girl to choose between the two. This made matters worse since Ved felt he was being pushed to the brink and almost slapped Meera out of pure rage. Ved was tired of being considerate so far, but Meera taking his daughter triggered him and thus he turned violent. He locked Meera and Tia in a room to make sure they never leave his home. Matters were bound to escalate since Ved could not help but make a drastic move since he was in no position to lose his daughter. Meera rang up the police out of sheer panic. The police and Aditi arrived in no time, and Ved was arrested for domestic violence. Since he filed the missing person’s complaint, matters only got worse for Ved, as he was in no position to convince anyone that the woman in his house was not Meera. He was helpless, which caused a violent reaction, and his arrest only made matters worse, and there was no coming back from that point on.Â
An agonized Ved finally confessed that that woman could not be Meera since she was dead and he had killed her. The guilt Ved was carrying led to several outbursts ever since the faux Meera showed up. He added that he’d accidentally killed his real wife, Meera, as she was mentally unstable because of a childhood trauma that caused many manic episodes. The term mental health was being used loosely in the film, and there were no actual solutions for the characters’ problems. Ved claimed to be the good person who accepted his wife’s condition yet never approached any expert to help her. According to him, Tia was sent away to keep her from witnessing her mother spiraling.
An inconsiderate Ved wanted Tia to live with them, which led to a scuffle between the couple. He accidentally pushed her, and Meera died instantly. The whole reveal was tacky, and in no way does Ved come out as a good man even after confessing to his crime. Ved initially planned to confess, but the thought of Tia becoming an orphan led to him meeting his daughter at the boarding house as planned and later burying Meera’s mortal remains deep in the jungle. There were plenty of holes in his story, which is bizarre, as he should have been smarter with his decisions, for he claimed himself to be reputed with the High Court.
Police officer Amol Sathe soon confessed that he and his team at the station knew Ved was guilty of murder, yet they did not have solid proof to arrest him. The police found the car Ved drove with Meera’s mortal remains. They also found discrepancies in the story he shared about Meera’s disappearance. The only way to get the confession out of Ved was to plant a faux Meera, who was a police officer named Kavita Mistry, that would trigger him to let out the truth at some point. Amol, Kavita, their team, and Aditi were successful in doing that, yet the ending was lukewarm given the build-up to the climax was pretty good. Ved’s action had no justification, and he had finally accepted that he would have to face the time since he committed the crime. Since he confessed, he would be sent to prison.
Khoj ended with a lost and dejected Ved wanting to meet Tia before he was sentenced to a lifetime in prison. Ved attempted to be around for Tia, but broke down and had to accept his fate. He was extremely guilty of killing his wife accidentally, and hence he had to let his daughter know as well. Tia was put under Aditi’s protection, and as her aunt, she let Ved meet the kid one last time. This was her way to offer closure to her sister’s husband. Ved bid a tearful adieu to Tia since he wouldn’t be around. The end was heartfelt and sad for Ved, who was finally accepting of his actions. He had to be honest with Tia so that she could forgive him when she grows up.
