Showtime Review: Emraan Hashmi's Bollywood Satire Starts Strong But Loses Direction
Mouni Roy's Yasmin Ali, perhaps the most stereotyped character in the show, is going through her struggles with Raghu.
The first four episodes of Showtime Season 1 laid the foundation for an exciting battle between Emraan Hashmi's Raghu Khanna, an arrogant industry veteran, and Mahima Makwana's Mahika Nandy, an outsider who is handed the reins of Victory Studios by Raghu's father. This departure was already interesting, but Emraan and Mahima's stellar acting added to its impact.
In the second half, there is too much happening with too many characters. At one point, you start wondering what the show is trying to say. Superstar Armaan Singh (Rajeev Khandelwal) breaks up with Mahika over his ambitious film, then tries to return to his wife Mandira (Shriya Saran) and eventually decides to start his own production house. His quirky antics are entertaining, but his character doesn't add much to the show, except that it drags.
Vijay Raj's character also features more in the last three episodes, getting rejected first by Raghu and then by Mahika. Mouni Roy's Yasmin Ali, perhaps the most stereotyped character in the show, is going through her own struggles with Raghu. Meanwhile, Vishal Vashishtha's Prithvi and Neeraj Madhav's Satya Krishnan are struggling to produce their respective films and get entangled in a love triangle with Mahika.
In an attempt to show what happens behind the scenes of Bollywood, the writers stray from the original story of Raghu and Mahika. They bring it back only in the last scene of the last episode. By then, it's too late. Also, this imitation feels very superficial.
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Emraan Hashmi continues his brilliant form, but sadly, his character doesn't get much to do as the story progresses. Mahima Makwana is impressive in the crucial scenes. Rajeev Khandelwal is excellent in the role of a Bollywood superstar and his performance makes you laugh now and then.
Mouni Roy seems a little overboard in her role, or maybe that's what her stereotyped character demanded. Shriya Saran is okay. Vishal Vashishtha and Neeraj Madhav are both sincere. Vijay Raj is brilliant in the role of an ambitious producer who also has influence over the Enforcement Directorate. Yes, you heard that right!
The second half of Showtime Season 1 isn't as effective after the build-up of the first four episodes. Despite a lot of twists and great performances, Showtime doesn't realize its full potential. This is a missed opportunity.
