For Indians, Snakes and Ladders is a game that many people of the 80s and 90s grew up with. The game is unpredictable and depends heavily on luck. How you climb the ladder and when you fall is what makes Snakes and Ladders interesting. When Karthik Subbaraj-backed Snakes & Ladders was announced, naturally the buzz started, and if the title is anything to go by, it promises to be a gripping thriller.

Gilbert, alias Gilli, Santhosh, Irai and Bala, are four notorious schoolboys living in Retamugadu. After two thieves steal a locket from a museum, they break into their friend Ragi’s house and brutally attack his mother. They flee the scene but end up at Gilbert’s house, where one of the thieves is locked in a cupboard. The thief dies inside, and Gilly, along with his friends, decide to conceal the murder like adults.

Meanwhile, we have Leo (Naveen Chandra), who orders Rico (Muthukumar) and his gang to steal the locket. They all work for a kingpin named Aira. The police are investigating a death and robbery, and are on the lookout for Leo’s locket, how will these four kids outwit them?

Snakes & Ladders is a nine-episode series directed by Bharat Muralitharan, Ashok Veerappan and Kamala Alchemis. The show begins with an attempted robbery, during which Gilly inadvertently kills the robber. Although it initially gives off vibes similar to Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven novels, the show falls apart as it progresses. Each episode, with a runtime of approximately 30 minutes, featured four teenagers behaving like experienced criminals, capable of outwitting adults.

Here is the trailer:

I agree that Gilbert inadvertently killed the robber, but the creators took it too far by having the young characters commit one crime after another without considering the ramifications. It’s one thing to have morally ambiguous characters, but depicting teenagers who hide a body, take on deadly criminals and repeatedly outwit the police is a far cry. In an era where films significantly influence audiences, be they adults or children, showing such scenes seems morally irresponsible.

In the nine-episode series, the young characters don’t panic at the sight of blood, know how to pull the trigger, discuss distracting the police and talk about loyalty. It’s amazing to see little kids doing all this and taking it seriously. In Snakes and Ladders, the children are the adults. And Santosh’s father (Manoj Bharathiraja), becomes their partner after hearing the justification for covering up a murder.

The series combines several storylines, such as a school bully and a pimp named Cheese, but these subplots add little value to the story and seem to exist only for convenience.

It’s surprising to see how the makers let kids commit one crime after another and successfully deceive the police, without seeing any problem in it. Although the series is intended for audiences over the age of 16, it still seems extreme for late teens. We see these school children dig up a dead body multiple times and show no fear. Parents and school are absent. The father of one of the children is an investigating police officer (Nandha), who successfully follows the clues established by them.

Snakes & Ladders is an ineffective show whose core principles need to be questioned.