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Hotstar dropped a new web series named ‘Showtime” in multiple languages. It stars Emraan Hashmi, Mahima Makwana, Mouni Roy, and Shriya Saran in crucial roles. Let’s see how the series is.

Story:

Viktory Studios has a 40-year legacy in Bollywood. Though Victor Khanna (Naseruddin Shah) is its founder, his son Raghu Khanna (Emraan Hashmi) manages the studio activities and is the decision-maker. Victor Khanna and Raghu Khanna are poles apart in their thought process and ideologies. The differences between father and son keep developing, and this is when Raghu Khanna’s new film, Pyaar Dangerous, gets released. Raghu’s team offers a bribe to Mahika Nandy (Mahima Makwana), a movie critic, to give a good rating. Mahika denies it and bashes the film, which makes her the talk of the town. Amidst this, Victor Khanna makes a shocking decision. How that decision changed the lives of Mahika and Raghu Khanna is what Showtime is about.

Plus Points:

Showtime attempts to showcase what happens behind the doors. It touches upon various elements of the showbiz industry, like giving more importance to the box office and review manipulations, the outsider vs. insider topic. Nepotism is one topic that is the most discussed post-lockdown, and the show revolves around it. There was a time when South films did more business than Hindi films, which led to discussions about whether South cinema would take over Bollywood. Elements like these draw our attention.

Those who are interested in knowing what happens behind the doors in the industry will connect to a few aspects of the series. Emraan Hashmi gave a solid performance as a person who does everything to reassert his control and power in the industry. Mahima Makwana, Mouni Roy, and Rajeev Khandelwal are neat in their respective roles.

Minus Points:

The show starts on an interesting note, and there are many good moments in the first couple of episodes, but the other two are very poorly written and boring. The potential is visible, but the execution isn’t satisfactory. A subplot about domestic violence is included unnecessarily. It feels out of place and doesn’t evoke any emotion.

A few things happen in haste, and there is very little attention to detail. For a series that tries to depict real-life events, a few developments aren’t convincing. An inexperienced person becoming the CEO of a 40-year-old company overnight sounded strange and is somewhat similar to Nithiin starrer Bheeshma.

There is another season to Showtime, but the series doesn’t have the proper ending or cliffhanger to wait for the second installment. Shriya Saran’s role doesn’t have much importance in this first season. The cameos of Janhvi Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, Hansal Mehta, Nitesh Tiwari, and a few others don’t add much value to the proceedings.

Technical Aspects:

Music by Anand Bhaskar isn’t great. The visuals by Vivek Shah are rich, and the show has good production values. The editing by Manan Ashwin Mehta is racy, and the best part is that the episodes aren’t too long.

Direction by Mihir Desai and Archit Kumar isn’t satisfactory. Despite a promising start, the show loses its grip in the last couple of episodes. It doesn’t create enough interest to wait for the remaining episodes.

Verdict:

On the whole, Showtime throws light on the dark side of Hindi cinema, but a few important aspects don’t look convincing. While the first two episodes are engaging, the other two aren’t. Emraan Hashmi gives a splendid performance, and the other actors are neat in their roles. The choice to have two seasons isn’t understandable, and the cliffhanger is weak. Showtime joins the list of shows that don’t reach their full potential despite the interesting premise.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.5/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team