Art imitates life in “Showtime”, which was created by Sumit Roy, a screenwriter and director who is au fait with the Bollywood industry, where nepotism and scandals are rife.
The premise centres on the battle for power of Viktory Studios, which was founded by Viktor Khanna (Naseeruddin Shah).
The film opens with Mahika Nandy (Mahima Makwana) being asked to fill in for someone by going on camera to review “Pyaar Dangerous”, the latest film by the studio.
Before doing so, though, she is handed a brand new cell phone for a favourable plug for the new release. However, Mahika slates the film. She calls it out for lacking substance and taking fans for a ride. She also exposes the corruption behind the scenes where journalists are bribed for favourable reviews.
The passionate film critic makes it clear that she appreciates storytelling with heart, something sorely lacking with the production house, which prioritises seductive aesthetics over it.
Although she is fired after the review, fate smiles on Mahika not long after.
Meanwhile, Raghu Khanna (Emraan Hashmi), Viktor’s son with his second wife Sarika (Lillete Dubey), has been running the studio while being dismissive of input from his father, who is suffering from terminal cancer.
On the back of their latest face-off, Viktor decides to get his affairs in order. As such, Mahika is acknowledged as his granddaughter in his will after he commits suicide.
She is thrown by the life-changing news after learning that her mother Paromita was born to his first wife Devika. But he didn’t acknowledge his daughter at the time as he wanted a son.
Raghu is enraged to learn that his father has entrusted his half-niece to take over. But his longtime girlfriend Yasmine Ali (Mouni Roy), who has carved a career as an “item girl”, encourages him to use the situation to his advantage by befriending Mahika.
That goes pear-shaped when she rejects his proposal of her being behind the scenes while he runs the show, so to speak. To show her up, he opens a rival production house.
With the battle lines drawn, both of them chase Armaan Singh (Rajeev Khandelwal) for the period movie, “1847”. Raghu uses Mandira Singh (Shriya Saran), a former actress and Armaan’s wife, to help sway him. And he also promises to help her make her comeback.
While new to the industry, Mahika is supported by Deven (Denzil Smith), who is Viktor’s friend and loyal right hand, and Prithvi (Vishal Vashishtha), a writer and employee at the studios who also happens to be Mahika’s boyfriend. She plays on emotions to achieve her objectives.
Raghu, on the other hand, uses all the aces up his sleeve to get a favourable outcome, which includes offering the film in which he promised to launch Yasmine’s acting career to her best friend Mandira.
Despite being heartbroken by the decision, Yasmine finds herself at a crossroads in their relationship after discovering she is pregnant.
Meanwhile, Mahika plays the game of schmoozing investors to ensure the studio’s survival.
Although Armaan signs up with Mahika, he isn’t easy to manage. Dependent on his astrologers before making any big career decisions, he becomes toxic with his newcomer co-star. The untenable situation worsens when his affair is exposed.
Meanwhile, Saajan Morarka (Vijay Raaz), an investor looking to launch the career of his entitled son Montu (Lovkesh Solanki), uses the bad blood between Mahika and Raghu to his advantage. In playing dirty politics with both of them, he places everything on the line for his son.
The seven-part series is compelling from start to finish. Hashmi and Makwana are formidable leads.
A seasoned actor, Hashmi plays his entitled and patronising role with commendable sincerity. In being flashy, sexist and cut-throat, his character is also surprisingly loyal and protective.
Makwana’s character is idealistic with her vision and objectives at first. But she soon realises that you can’t be altruistic in a world where trust and loyalty can be bought.
Mihir Desai and Archit Kumar have done a stellar job as directors. They mirror the harsh realities of showbiz, where ambition, ego and clout-chasing flourish. Through the journey of Yasmine, they expose the cost of fame and ugliness of social media.
“Showtime” is a compelling and wonderfully cast series with awesome cameos by Janhvi Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, Neha Dhupia, Neetu Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan, Prem Chopra and Manish Malhotra to mention a few.
If you enjoyed “Call My Agent Bollywood”, you will love this scripted drama.
∎ “Showtime” is streaming on Disney+.