'Mistry' web-series review: A lovable Ram Kapoor and a solid Mona Singh make this crime-comedy work

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2 days ago

The nature of the performances and background music suggest the tone is going to be perennially light and lunatic but in good ways. And Kapoor surely has a ball playing Armaan Mistry read more
Cast: Ram Kapoor, Mona Singh, Shikha Talsania
Director: Rishab Seth
Language: Hindi
I haven't seen the American series Monk. It's a show about a former police officer who quits after his wife's mysterious death. His OCD has quadrupled ever since and you can sense a certain sense of awkwardness in his body and verbal language. But his mind is just as sharp and his tenacious sense of observation is marveling. Any investigative thriller or comedy needs to have a central character written with absolute precision. So when the series has been adapted for the Indian palette, you need an actor who has the nuances to replicate what has already been done eight times over. Ram Kapoor joyfully fits the bill. It's because he has dabbled with these alarming and amusing troubles in Sajid Khan's calamity called Humshakals 11 years back.
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It's not a whodunit. There are multiple whodunits roped into one. Every episode has a new mystery and the only man who can solve it is Mistry. This pun was not intended. This is what the makers have called the Indian adaptation. There's Mona Singh too, who's finally getting the due she always deserved. She has headlined a show for Netflix, did a stunning appearance for a show for Prime Video. And now is the second most important character for a web series for Jio Hotstar. A reference to her Laal Singh Chaddha in one of the episodes is almost self-deprecating.
The nature of the performances and background music suggest the tone is going to be perennially light and lunatic but in good ways. And Kapoor surely has a ball playing Armaan Mistry. He has always been a delightful actor. Here, he feels at ease in playing someone this complex and flawed. But he nearly turns this into a fluid performance. And Mona Singh brings the right amount of restrain, devoid of high-pitched melodrama or pretentious heroism. But there are some jarring moments too. The car shots are nothing but blatant use of the green screen due to the jittery view outside. And a new case every episode could get restless. How many cases after a point are too many cases? At least three of them involve the conflict of extra-marital relationships.
And such murder mysteries and whacky whodunnits, despite trying their best to be unpredictable and unassuming, have their limitations after a point. There's a scene where Shikha Talsania, who plays the eponymous character's cantankerous secretary, hands over a pair of binoculars to her son so that he can have fun by looking around. You know he's going to witness a murder. A parallel track about Kapoor trying to deconstruct the mystery of his wife's death is conveniently addressed only towards the end of each episode so that it can end on a suspenseful cliffhanger. Is it possible to review any web show without using this word?
Also, Monk was a show that began in 2002 and ended in 2009. It was a show that spanned over seven years and eight seasons. Does the Indian audience have the patience to watch a series for as many seasons? Or do our writers have that expertise that they can take a character and his world and his attributes all the way to these many seasons? Also, will any actor hang on to one particular character for almost a decade? The long lasting Criminal Justice has reached season four. Pankaj Tripathi has played all his cards and yet Madhav Mishra, the wry lawyer, pops up after every few years.
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If Ram Kapoor and his endearing Armaan Mistry is welcomed by the viewers the way Monk was in the West, he could definitely come back for few more episodes and years. He shares a love-hate relationship with Talsania. The way she makes her troubles so endearing is chucklesome to watch. She had weight issues in Wake Up Sid, daddy issues in Veere Di Wedding, and salary issues here. But she never sheds a tear.
And it will be lovely to see more of Mona Singh as the no nonsense cop who truly means business. It's always a joy to watch crime thrillers sprinkled with farce and fun. And it's even more delightful to see a flawed character cracking all the inciting and intricate cases. But then we again go back to the same question asked above- How many cases are too many cases? That still remains a mystery, or maybe Mistry.
Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)
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Mistry is now streaming on Jio Hotstar
Mistry is now streaming on Jio Hotstar