Language: Hindi
Bestseller isn’t a bad watch if you gloss over the odd glitch. Mithun Chakraborty’s weird hairdo for one, which suspiciously seems like an ill-fitting toupee. Or consider how a one-book-wonder author and his ad-filmmaker wife live in an uber-posh Mumbai flat that would perhaps call for a minor Bollywood star to maintain. Or the fact that the crux of the show is rooted in a couplet by Kabir that references Kashi, but the script hesitates to name the town and calls it Rajsi instead. Mostly, you could be stumped at how the complex game of revenge that buoys the plot seems like a cakewalk for those that unleash it.
Mukul Abhyankar’s eight-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 (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 (Satyajeet Dubey).
The worlds of these seemingly disparate protagonists collide when Meetu becomes victim to the violent assault of a masked attacker. The media glare is instantaneous, prompting top cop Lokesh Pramanik (Mithun Chakraborty) to probe the case along with his aide Urmila (Sonalee Kulkarni).
The name of Tahir’s novel is interestingly utilised to add context to the story. The book draws its name from a ‘doha’ by Kabir: “Raand, saand, seerhi, sanyasi / Inse bache to sevey Kashi”. Translated, it means the avaricious widow, the belligerent bull, the slippery steps of the Ganga ghat and fraudulent godmen are the hazards one must dodge whilst in Kashi if one has to savour the city. Without giving away spoilers, writers Dutt and Kaushal have used rudimentary characters and plot twists adequately to bring alive the essence of the couplet.
The smalltown and megapolis vibes implicit in the story blend and yet stay apart, which lets director Abhyankar create turmoil within the plot, which in turn sustains the mystery that cloaks his protagonists.
Plot spins involving new-age buzzwords such as troll tweets on Twitter (referred here as tweeks on Tweeker) and computer cloning jostle for storytelling space with more traditional formulae for drama such as persecution of women and plagiarism. Sticking to conventional thriller norms, you sense soon enough that every character in the tale could be hiding something.
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.
Yet, Bestseller cannot escape obvious pitfalls. You might just manage to guess which character or characters are actually behind all that is going on, long before the cards are laid open. The sudden transformation a particular lead character sees midway could seem plastic. A highlight scene of violence could be unsettling for sections of the audience.
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.
Bestseller is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Vinayak Chakravorty is a senior film critic, columnist, and film journalist based in Delhi-NCR.
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