kaushik-63275 Reviews

P.I. Meena (2023– )

A good series with some unanswered Questions.........

[8/10 · 6 November 2023]

Based in the city of joy Kolkata, PI Meena is helmed by Arindam Mitra and Debaloy Bhattacharya together, as a tale of a professional investigator who witnesses an accident of an unknown person in broad daylight and the consequences she faces thereafter, forms the rest of the story.

The story builds episode by episode with the help of a dark environment which sets the mood of the narration.

The series maintains a continuous pace throughout.

Some good conceptualization has been made out of Covid 19 and it has been camouflaged with a socio political angle intelligently.

Like other web series in recent times, this one too has some characters with their individual sub plots. But a major weakness of the script is that these sub plots either lack proper conclusion or few things remain unexplained even at the end.

Camera work of the series is adequate and dialogues are well written. Editing is a portion where some more or better work was required.

Debaloy Bhattacharya has directed well apart from some minor flourishes. A better version is expected out of him for the next season.

Coming down to performances- Tanya Maniktala carries the show on her shoulders ably, despite the flaws in the script. She is absolutely natural as the investigator. Her character being the central one, more dimensions to it would have made her role more impactful.

Parambrata as usual has played his part well enough as the lawyer. His track too needed some meat for having a stronger impact on the story.

Jishu Sengupta is fantastic as the doctor out of every scope he has received to perform. He shines in every scene, be it conversation with anyone else or the action sequence.

Among the rest- Vinay Pathak, Vipin Sharma, Harsh Chhaya, Samir Soni, Saurav Das, Zarina Wahab and others have played their part well. Each one of their stories needed a proper explanation which is unfortunately missing.

All in all it can be a weekend watch with not very high expectations.

As mentioned before. A better Season 2 can be expected from the talented Team of Arindam, Debaloy, Parambrata and Tanya besides others.....

Tooth Pari: When Love Bites (2023– )

Amazing Storytelling with some captivating performances

[9/10 · 7 May 2023]

I am writing this Review after watching this web series not once but more than twice because of its captivity and charm alongwith the difference it creates in the aura of web series nowadays.

Set against the backdrop of Kolkata, Tooth Pari narrates the story of a lady who lives in a "different world" and has to visit a "not so good Dentist" for fixing her canine tooth when it breaks down accidentally. What happens next forms the rest of the story.

The concept is based on fantasy but the way the story moves on with the incidents folding up one after the other besides introduction of all characters in the tale, is quite amazing.

The screenplay is the strongest point of the series and it moves in one direction throughout.

The camera work by Subhankar is praiseworthy and the editing by Antara Lahiri is compact and each scene in every episode seems required.

Special effects specially in the climax are well handled.

Full marks to the Director Pratim Dasgupta for making this web series a compelling watch through the eyes of the city of Kolkata. The city of Kolkata plays a very important role in the series and is a strong base for the story. Pratim has been a renowned name in Bengali films (Aha re Mon, Macher Jhol, Love aj Kal porsu etc.) but this time he exceeds his own level by delivering a master class in Storytelling.

Coming down to the performances, always dependable performers like Saswata Chatterjee, Rajatava Dutta, Tilottama Shome, Swaroopa Ghosh have contributed brilliantly in this tale. Each one of their scenes are very well written and the actors have made them even better with their impeccable performances.

Special mention should be of Anjan Dutt, Avijit Dutt, Barun Chanda, Chitrak Bandopadhyay for their important characterisation.

Not to forget the most important characters besides the lead pair- Revathi as the ghost hunter, Sikander Kher as the investigating police officer and Adil Hussain as AD. They are excellent.

Santanu Maheshwari as the male lead has done a wonderful job with his restrained performance. Post Gangubai Kathiawadi, this performance is another feather in his cap.

But the series clearly belongs to Tanya Maniktala, enacting the central character of the plot. The story revolving around her with various shades in her character, she has enacted each of her moment so wonderfully that being a viewer u get connected to her automatically. Be it sorrow, joy, anger, or any other emotion, she is equally fascinating in depicting each one of them. In addition to A Suitable Boy and Flames, Tooth Pari gives a strong indication that she is an awesome talent who has miles to go as a performer.

Couple of casting issues are there which could have been well handled, like the boss of "neeche ki duniya" Ora and grandson of Harubabu. Actors with better screen presence would have been better fit for these roles.

Besides series of gang wars and bloodshed in today's time, Tooth Pari is a breath of fresh air with a unique story narrated in an absorbing manner. Give it a go!!

Stree (2016–2017)

Entertaining TV serial in Bengali

[9/10 · 21 April 2020]

The soap opera "Stree" to begin with has an ensemble starcast comprising of many characters right from the beginning. Like every coin has 2 sides, similarly there are good as well as evil characters here in this very soap. The story revolves around a handicapped person and his wife and how they save the family from the misdeeds of their step mom and step brother forms the rest of the plot. There is also a parallel track of the family life of the sister of the lead actor which forms an integral part of the soap. The serial is quite different than others in the same genre since the presentation is crisp and doesn't creep up with unnecessary situations. The direction by Mr. Bijoy Majhi and writing by Mr. Snehasish Chakraborty is very good in accordance with the plot. The soap has every kind of emotion with humour and emotions finding the maximum footage in it. Performance wise Neel in a double role is very good. It doesn't look the same person is enacting two different roles of complete opposite shades. Amandeep as the female lead is a discovery and even being a young lady in her teens, she has portrayed the role of a strong headed wife very well. Moumita Gupta as the antagonist and Goutam De as the head of the family leave their mark too. Actors like Rahul Dev Bose, Madhurima, Gourav, Vikramjit, Supriyo Dutta, Ritu Rai and Madhurima have enacted their part quite well. But the show stealers in the entire opera were the married couple (sister of the lead actor and her spouse) being played brilliantly by Priya and Chandranibha ably supported by Dolon Roy. The way the relationship of the couple evolves into love from nowhere has been presented in an unique manner. Priya and Chandra have been complete natural in enacting their parts and their track have some very good melodies synchronising into the mood of the situation. The soap ends at 409 episodes and I believe that it is the perfect ending to it since the dragging of the story isn't there at all. Overall a recommendation for those who love family dramas.