Tag: Jisshu Sengupta

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PI Meena web series: A lethargic detective drama with an annoying protagonist

PI Meena (Hindi)

  • Cast: Tanya Maniktala, Parambrata Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Vipin Sharma, Harsh Chhaya, and Vinay Pathak
  • Director: Debaloy Bhattacharya
  • Producer: Daniel Varghese
  • Music: Amit Chatterjee
  • No. of episodes: 8
  • OTT platform: Prime Video

For any detective/investigator story to work, two things are of primary importance, Firstly the audience should feel that the protagonist is having fun in solving the case. Secondly, the dangers that he/she faces should make the viewers anxious about what will happen next.

Earlier this year, Vishal Bhardwaj delivered a pulpy thriller titled Charlie Chopra & the Mystery of Solang Valley. It was a thoroughly enjoyable web show with an excellent Wamiqa Gabbi.

The setting of Solang Valley also became a major character itself, thanks to the cinematographer Tassaduq Hussain.

Unfortunately, PI Meena doesn’t even reach 5 percent of what the Vishal Bhardwaj directorial had achieved or even the Sujoy Ghosh directorial Jaane Jaan where the hill station Kalimpong was a significant part.

The protagonist in PI Meena comes across as too brooding with no sense of fun and the city of Kolkata fails to become a major character.

Synopsis

PI Meena web series Amazon Prime Video
‘PI Meena’ is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. (X)

As the title suggests, Tanya Maniktala plays a private investigator named Meena. She is haunted by a tragic past involving her brother Joy who is in a coma.

On many occasions, we see Meena pouring out her angst to him.

Though Meena works as a private investigator, the cases only involve unfaithful spouses and rotten fiancés!

Pritam Sen (Harsh Chhaya) is her boss. He has a swanky office and powerful connections as well with higher levels of power. However, this doesn’t make any sense given the kind of cases they get.

Parambrata’s Chatterjee’s Subho Roy is Meena’s partner in crime and also a romantic interest who is very concerned about her. Subho Roy also has aspirations of getting into politics, though his interest in politics isn’t exactly about serving the nation.

The story takes an unexpected turn when Meena witnesses a bike rider named Partho Dey (Sawon Chakrobarthy) being knocked down by a truck. Surprisingly it doesn’t occur to Meena that she should take a picture of the departing truck.

Anyway, she takes the wounded Partho to the hospital and also files a police complaint.

Partho’s mother (Zarina Wahab) believes that her son has been murdered and this isn’t a simple case of hit and run.

Meena decides to dig deeper into the case and the investigation takes her to Littnong where she meets Dr Andre Rakshaw (Jisshu Sengupta).

There is also the track of the virus outbreak running simultaneously. Revealing anything more wouldn’t be appropriate.

Parambrata and Jisshu Sengupta shine

Parambrata Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta are solid in their performances.

Parambrata’s charming act is a major relief, particularly in comparison to Tanya’s constant brooding.

Subho Roy isn’t a complete saint or a sinner and Parambrata does a good job in bringing out these nuances.

Not a lot can be revealed about the character that Jisshu Sengupta plays. But it is a role which has many secrets.

At one point, he advises Meena to seek something more when she is in a big web of confusion. Jisshu Sengupta is brilliant in keeping the audience guessing about his actual intentions.

Drawbacks

Tanya Maniktala as PI Meena
Tanya Maniktala as PI Meena. (X)

There is no denying the gravity of Meena’s past, but on many occasions, she comes across as an unreasonable schoolchild who is annoyed with everything and everyone.

At no point do the viewers feel that Meena is having fun in solving the case. The constant frown on her face irritates the viewers.

Projecting intensity is different from coming across as bad-tempered and this is where director Debloy Bhattarchya and Tanya falter big time.

Actors like Vinay Pathak and Zarina Wahab are hardly there. They have been utterly wasted.

Another big problem with the series is its depiction of Kolkata. The city never feels like a major character. As a result, the viewers feel that the plot could have been set anywhere and didn’t particularly need this place.

The loose editing also plays a major spoilsport. The episodes could have much crisper and eight episodes feel too long for this story.

After a decent beginning, the web series goes in many directions like the journalist girlfriend of Joy among other things. But these tracks only add to dragging down the proceedings.

Final take

To sum it up, PI Meena is a good cure for insomnia.

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The Trial: A Gripping Drama That Goes Much Beyond The Courtroom

The real-life references that director Supan Verma brings in make Kajol’s web series debut interesting to watch.

A worthy remake!
The Trial (Hindi)
  • Cast: Kajol, Jisshu Sengupta, Sheeba Chaddha, Gaurav Pandey, Alyy Khan, and Kubbra Sait
  • Director: Supan Verma
  • Producers: Ajay Devgan and Rajesh Chadha
  • Music: Sangeet-Siddharth
  • No. of episodes: 8
  • OTT platform: Disney+ Hotstar

Director Supan Verma’s The Trial is centred on a woman named Nayonika Sengupta (Kajol).

It is a remake of The Good Wife (English, 2009) and deals with many relevant topics like corruption, politics, media trials, and fake news. It also marks the web series debut of Kajol.

What happens that brings Nayonika back to work is what The Trial is about.

Synopsis

One day, Nayonika’s husband Rajiv Sengupta (Jisshu Sengupta) is arrested by the police for seeking sexual favours. This incident results in her coming out of her retirement.

With the help of Vishal Chaubey (Alyy Khan), she manages to get a job at a law firm co-founded by him. Vishal and Nayonika have a past which didn’t end happily.

At the law firm, Nayonika faces the brunt of both gossip and the sexual scandal of her husband before she proves herself as a competent lawyer.

In a nutshell, the series focuses on the different cases that Nayonika takes up along with how she bravely takes on the challenges that arise in both her professional and personal life.

Makes references to real-life incidents

One of the things that makes The Trial interesting is the real-life references that director Supan Verma brings in.

For example, one of the cases is about a cricketer who commits suicide and his girlfriend is hounded by the media. A negative campaign is run against her.

This reminds you of the Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s case.

Here, the director makes some valid points about how these media trials have a severe effect on the person who is already battered.

The Trial also has some satirical commentary on the legal system which lands perfectly.

Realistic portrayal of relationships

Supan Verma does a good job of exploring the dynamics between a mother and her two young daughters. It has been treated in a realistic manner.

The two daughters face a lot of humiliation in school because of the father’s sex scandal. In fact, they are forced to mature before age.

Another track that deserves a mention is the one involving Vishal and Nayonika.

Vishal never lets their bad past come in the way of supporting Nayonika. On more than one occasion, we feel that Nayonika should have ended up with Vishal and not Rajiv.

Further, the back story of how Nayonika and Rajiv ended up together could have been explained better. But still, the scenes between Kajol and Jisshu Sengupta do pack a punch.

The aloofness of Nayonika and her hesitancy to trust Rajiv again has been wonderfully portrayed.

Performances

As Nayonika, Kajol delivers a formidable performance and is successful in bringing alive the different layers. She brings in the right amount of grit, vulnerability, and despair.

Jisshu Sengupta is solid on his part as a guilty husband.

Sheeba Chadda as Vishal’s law firm partner brings in the required authority.

The rest of the actors also deliver good performances.

Final take

Watch The Trial for a realistic portrayal of Nayonika’s professional and personal life.

(Views expressed here are personal.)

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Shyam Singha Roy: Watch It For The Performances And Aesthetics

There is a lot to admire about Rahul Sankrityan’s Shyam Singha Roy. The theme of reincarnation isn’t something new in films but what makes the difference here is the narration. That is not to say that the film is flawless. The second half could have been trimmed down; also the climax is a letdown. However for most part the director makes you invested.

The story begins off with the struggles of a debut director Vasu (Nani plays both Vasu and Shyam Singha Roy). Vasu has ambitions of becoming a film director; in order to achieve that goal he starts off with a short film. The story is set but the issue is that Vasu is not able to find the heroine for his short film. At this point he comes across a postgraduate student played by Krithi Shetty of Uppena fame. Kriti’s character Keerty has no interest in films whatsoever let alone acting, but Vasu is convinced that she is the one. After some effort he is able to convince her. From here you have some romance between the two. The romance isn’t particularly something new but the staging of these scenes have a certain freshness to it. In between Vasu has flashes of Shyam Singa Roy. During those times he goes into a trance. Once he goes into a trance while getting intimate with Keerty and calls her Rose. This leads to a split between the two.

THE HEART OF SHYAM SINGHA ROY LIES IN THE FLASHBACK EPISODE OF THE SECOND HALF. THE DIRECTOR DEALS WITH MULTIPLE ISSUES STARTING FROM UNTOUCHABILITY.

Coming back to the short film it becomes a success. A producer asks him to come with up a bound script with the assurance that he would provide all the resources that Vasu needs. The film becomes a massive success and Vasu is asked to make the same film in Hindi.
Things are going very well but it is here that the life of Vasu turns upside down. He is accused of a plagiarism by a leading publication house. Their accusation is that Vasu has directly copied the stories of Bengali activist and writer Shyam Singha Roy. Vasu denies that he has copied these stories and this leads to an intriguing court case where history and religion are linked.

The heart of Shyam Singha Roy lies in the flashback episode of the second half. The director deals with multiple issues starting from untouchability. Later it goes to the Devadasi system and how the Devadasi’s are abused. The director makes a powerful statement on how they shouldn’t be slaves to anyone not even god. Yes the role of Shyam does fall under the upper caste savior but it still works.

SAI PALLAVI IS TERRIFIC IN BOTH THE DANCES AND ALSO OTHERWISE. SHE CONVEYS SENSUOUSNESS AND VULNERABILITY AT THE SAME TIME THROUGH HER DANCES.

The romance between the Devadasi woman ( Sai Pallavi) and Nani gives plenty of heartwarming moments. Sai Pallavi is terrific in both the dances and also otherwise. She conveys sensuousness and vulnerability at the same time through her dances. Their romance is built up well and the director makes sure that you root for them.

Another key character here is of Rahul Ravindran who plays one of Shyam Singa Roy’s brothers Manoj Singa Roy. Nani and Rahul Ravindran don’t have many scenes but their scenes are filled with warmth. Rahul Ravindran gives a strong performance but he is particularly impressive in his old man avatar in the pre climax. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Jishu Sengupta who plays the elder brother. It is a character which could have been played by anyone. It would have been best if Jishu had not played this role.

The contemporary bits in the first half are also hugely enjoyable. The comic scenes featuring Abhishek Gomatam and Nani raise lot of chuckles. The struggles of Vasu are something that many aspiring filmmakers would connect with. Kriti Shetty as Keerti has a very different role from Uppena and the actress makes her presence amply felt. What also makes the first half work is the role of Madonna Sebastain as lawyer Padmavati.

NOT SURPRISINGLY NANI IS SUPER EFFICIENT IN BOTH HIS ROLES. HE SHIFTS SEAMLESSLY BETWEEN THE BEWILDERED VASU AND THE DASHING SHYAM SINGA ROY.

Micky J Myer’s music is another strong pillar of Shyam Singa Roy. His compositions add a lot to the film. Malayalam cinematographer Sanu Varghese makes his Tollywood debut with this film. His cinematography deserves distinction marks. The way he captures the atmospherics in the second half is particularly commendable. Avinash Kolla’s art direction is also first rate.

Not surprisingly Nani is super efficient in both his roles. He shifts seamlessly between the bewildered Vasu and the dashing Shyam Singa Roy. His performance is a major reason why we buy into this recarnation drama.

Coming to the dampeners the big downer is the climax. It doesn’t make any sense to keep Sai Pallavi’s character alive. The director could have easily avoided that. It is not just melodramatic but plain unnecessary. It also doesn’t help that the prosthetic used are in no way convincing. Rahul Ravindran’s old man get up is far better than Sai Pallavi’s one.

Another problematic thing is how the director depicts the violent actions of Nani and Jishu Sengupta at different points in the film. There are two gory murders in the film but at no point we are told that they are punished leave alone a police case. Another problem is that we don’t see Shyam Singa Roy doing any activism post marriage. He does write books and also gives speeches but you don’t see much of on ground activism.

Irrespective of these flaws the film the movie is watchable and the director is promising.