Bala Hasan leads Dhinakaran M's ZEE5 series inspired by Rajesh Kumar's writings.

Five bodies, the same fingerprint. The Tamil series Regai on ZEE5 has an intriguing premise but pedestrian treatment.

Regai (Fingerprint) is based on the works of popular Tamil crime fiction writer Rajesh Kumar, whom English-speaking readers discovered through translation in the Blaft anthologies. Kumar's pulp-oozing tales are ripe for better staging and stylisation than is on offer in Regai, which is filmed like a TV serial.

Written and directed by Dhinakaran M, Regai is led by the muscular sub-inspector Vetri (Bala Hasan). Vetri barely has time to mourn over the fact that his girlfriend, the constable Santhiya (Pavitra Janani), is threatening to move on.

A severed hand found in an ice cream vendor's cart is the first in a series of puzzling incidents. Amuthan (Ra Subakar), a poor student whom Vetri has been supporting, is among the dead. Using a combination of footwork and guesswork, Vetri begins to make sense of seemingly disconnected victims.

The six episodes of around 20 minutes each move at a fast clip. Vetri's dogged investigation is the most interesting part of the series, which reveals its hand early on.

Bala Hasan's determined cop is ably supported by Pavitra Janani's lover/colleague. The motive for the murders is barely shocking, even if the method of dispatch is.