Hasmukh Review

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Amish Gupta
updated
  • 2/5
Hot mess

A weak script, poor execution and inconsistence are, unfortunately, the terms that end up defining ‘Hasmukh’ despite its very promising plot. Even as a Vir Das fan, this show is hard to like and even harder to watch.

Hasmukh (played by Vir Das), is a meek aspiring comic who has been treated like a doormat his whole life, until one day, when after being denied the opportunity to perform on stage by his "mentor"- Gulati (Manoj Pahwa) despite his many promises, Hasmukh snaps, murders Gulati, walks straight onto the stage only to end up delivering a very successful stand-up performance. That's when he realizes that 'murdering' is actually his ‘Viagra’ which helps him channel his art.

Vir struggles to capture Hasmukh, he struggles with the supposed UP accent, he struggles with the comedy and we as a viewer struggle to get through the shoddy screenplay. On the other hand, his smarmy manager and partner in crime - Jimmy (Ranvir Shorey), is rather convincing as both - a duplicitous human and a shrewd businessman. His portrayal of a morally dubious and conflicted man is far more palatable than Vir’s.

In spite of a very exciting opportunity to create a dark comedy that treads the slippery slope of morality, the show falls flat and ends up as a trite and tiring story of a small-towner leaping for his long shot in show business. Except for a couple of funny one liners and gags, the writing is mediocre and at times repulsive.

The show disappoints in multiple ways, but the good thing is that episodes are only about 30 minutes long, so the disappointment is rather brief and easy to move on from.

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