Mukul Abhyankar's 8-part psychological thriller series regales nonetheless, balancing the dark side of smalltown society with the deceptive dazzle of big bad Mumbai. Based on Ravi Subramanian's book Bestseller She Wrote, the writing is credited to Anvita Dutt and Althea Kaushal. The writer duo primarily uses the age-old device of vengeance to push the plot and its suspense drama across eight episodes, throwing in subtext commentary on society and sundry ills. The didactic strain, though never too forced, would seem familiar in tone.
This is the story of Meetu Mathur (Shruti Haasan), a smalltown girl in Mumbai with dreams of making it big as a writer of bestsellers. Struggling to hold on to jobs in a city that clearly seems too smart for her, Meetu meets her idol one day almost by chance - bestseller writer Tahir Wazir (Arjan Bajwa) whose only successful novel came out a decade ago. Meetu however believes the novel, titled Raand Saand Seerhi Sanyasi, is the greatest piece of fiction literature to come out in Hindi in recent times and is not surprisingly excited beyond words on meeting her hero.
When Meetu tells Tahir she has a manuscript she hopes to publish, he seems willing to help. Tahir has ulterior motive, of course. He sees a perfect sequel idea to his hit novel in Meetu's manuscript. Also, he notices three slash marks on her wrist, which pique his curiosity. The writer in him senses there could be a story in there. Tahir's plush home scene is defined by his gorgeous wife Mayanka Kapoor (Gauahar Khan), a successful ad-filmmaker who is gearing up for a top award as the show opens. Twist in her life will come with an office rookie named Parth Acharya (Satyajeet Dubey).
The showrunners have judiciously restricted each episode to a runtime of around 30-35 minutes, which keeps the narrative taut. The action starts early on and plot progression is fairly even-paced as the episodes roll, though the story really starts coming alive around the halfway mark of the season as certain protagonists turn out to be far from what they initially seemed. This gives director Abhyankar the scope to work with characters that travel a sufficient arch.
The writer duo of Dutt and Kaushal have created effective characters, which benefits the cast. For Shruti Haasan, Meetu Mathur is her strongest role yet in the realm of Hindi fiction entertainment, far more solid than anything Bollywood films ever let her do. She shows restraint in the early parts where she has to essay Meetu as a tongue-tied smalltowner bogged down by her inner demons. Gauahar Khan's Mayanka Kapoor starts off as an alpha woman defined by poise, but the actress tends to go over the top in later episodes once her character is thrown into chaos. Arjan Bajwa is convincing while portraying the shades of ego-centric and self-seeking Tahir.
Bestseller marks the web series debut of Mithun Chakraborty, in a role that could seem like a toned-down version of the irreverent, street-smart image that buoyed the veteran actor's superstardom in Bollywood of the eighties. He doesn't exactly put on his disco boots here, although for a party sequence director Abhyankar can't resist creating an excuse to put Mithun in beach shirt and summer hat. Mithun manages to elbow in the odd light moment in a role that doesn't otherwise waver much from the classic filmi cop template. His fans would be happy as the show ends - season two promises to draw from Lokesh Pramanik's back story. Sonalee Kulkarni as Pramanik's assistant Urmila suitably underplays the drama about her character.
Technically sound and overall enjoyable as mainstream content, Bestseller mixes moderately dark drama with poetic vibes of the heartland, never missing a beat on the suspense factor. Recommended if you love your thrills served with simmering angst.
This is the story of Meetu Mathur (Shruti Haasan), a smalltown girl in Mumbai with dreams of making it big as a writer of bestsellers. Struggling to hold on to jobs in a city that clearly seems too smart for her, Meetu meets her idol one day almost by chance - bestseller writer Tahir Wazir (Arjan Bajwa) whose only successful novel came out a decade ago. Meetu however believes the novel, titled Raand Saand Seerhi Sanyasi, is the greatest piece of fiction literature to come out in Hindi in recent times and is not surprisingly excited beyond words on meeting her hero.
When Meetu tells Tahir she has a manuscript she hopes to publish, he seems willing to help. Tahir has ulterior motive, of course. He sees a perfect sequel idea to his hit novel in Meetu's manuscript. Also, he notices three slash marks on her wrist, which pique his curiosity. The writer in him senses there could be a story in there. Tahir's plush home scene is defined by his gorgeous wife Mayanka Kapoor (Gauahar Khan), a successful ad-filmmaker who is gearing up for a top award as the show opens. Twist in her life will come with an office rookie named Parth Acharya (Satyajeet Dubey).
The showrunners have judiciously restricted each episode to a runtime of around 30-35 minutes, which keeps the narrative taut. The action starts early on and plot progression is fairly even-paced as the episodes roll, though the story really starts coming alive around the halfway mark of the season as certain protagonists turn out to be far from what they initially seemed. This gives director Abhyankar the scope to work with characters that travel a sufficient arch.
The writer duo of Dutt and Kaushal have created effective characters, which benefits the cast. For Shruti Haasan, Meetu Mathur is her strongest role yet in the realm of Hindi fiction entertainment, far more solid than anything Bollywood films ever let her do. She shows restraint in the early parts where she has to essay Meetu as a tongue-tied smalltowner bogged down by her inner demons. Gauahar Khan's Mayanka Kapoor starts off as an alpha woman defined by poise, but the actress tends to go over the top in later episodes once her character is thrown into chaos. Arjan Bajwa is convincing while portraying the shades of ego-centric and self-seeking Tahir.
Bestseller marks the web series debut of Mithun Chakraborty, in a role that could seem like a toned-down version of the irreverent, street-smart image that buoyed the veteran actor's superstardom in Bollywood of the eighties. He doesn't exactly put on his disco boots here, although for a party sequence director Abhyankar can't resist creating an excuse to put Mithun in beach shirt and summer hat. Mithun manages to elbow in the odd light moment in a role that doesn't otherwise waver much from the classic filmi cop template. His fans would be happy as the show ends - season two promises to draw from Lokesh Pramanik's back story. Sonalee Kulkarni as Pramanik's assistant Urmila suitably underplays the drama about her character.
Technically sound and overall enjoyable as mainstream content, Bestseller mixes moderately dark drama with poetic vibes of the heartland, never missing a beat on the suspense factor. Recommended if you love your thrills served with simmering angst.