Showtime Review: Emraan Hashmi and Mouni Roy's Series is Snappy But Not Spunky Enough! (LatestLY Exclusive)

Showtime Review: Dharma's new show Showtime is set within the workings of Bollywood. It takes potshots of everything wrong with the industry (except steering clear of how Bollywood is now being used to churn propaganda), from nepotism to starry tantrums. It also styles itself as the power struggle drama between its two main characters to get the upper hand over each other. In short, Showtime wants to be critical of Bollywood and also roast those trying to criticise the industry, and at the same time, wants to be a Succession set in the glam world. So, with that in mind, I would like to quote the great Logan Roy here to the show's makers, "You're such f**kng dopes. You're not serious figures. I love you, but you are not serious people." This is also what Naseeruddin Shah must have told the peeps here after he bowed out in the first episode. Showtime OTT Streaming Date: Here’s When and Where To Watch Emraan Hashmi and Mouni Roy’s Web Series Online!

Raghu Khanna (Emraan Hashmi) is the top producer in Bollywood and the head of Victory Studios, who has everything - a great successful run at the box office and a beautiful arm candy in Yasmin (Mouni Roy), an actress popular for her item songs but is promised by her boyfriend a lead role in an upcoming movie. Raghu is at loggerheads with his father, Victor Khanna (Naseeruddin Shah), the previous head of the studio and a former director himself, over the workings of the studio.

You see, Victor, who was ahem... dubbed the 'Godfather of Romance', wants the movies to be larger than life and have this timeless charm. Raghu sees his father's ways as outdated, and he wants his movies only to be glammed up for the box office and enjoy short-run profits. I wonder if a certain family-run studio inspired this track.

Watch the Trailer of Showtime:

At the other end of the spectrum is Mahika (Mahima Makwana), a rookie TV journalist who goes viral on social media after botching a paid review for Raghu's movie and exposing the bribe being offered to say good things. For reasons best known to her, she is surprised that the channel fired her after this stunt, though I am more surprised how the channel went ahead and had a rookie journo put up a show contrasting to the one that's supposed to be scripted. While Raghu doesn't think much of her then - except maybe getting her fired - a certain plot twist by the end of the first episode pits them as rivals running towards a singular goal.

No Letter, But WhatsApp Forward About Bollywood

Showtime, created by Sumit Roy, is about Bollywood, but it is no love letter to the industry it is set in, like, say, Zoya Akhtar's Luck By Chance. Akhtar's directorial debut, while being critical of the workings of Hindi cinema, also caresses the intricacies that make Bollywood a charming dream world that not everyone can access. Not to mention how the characters, even the many cameos, had the backing of sharp writing. There is a reason why Shah Rukh Khan's special appearance in the film keeps popping up on our social media timelines even now.

Even when it comes to OTT shows, there is Vikramaditya Motwane's Jubilee, for example, which is also a love letter, this time to the tinted golden era of Hindi cinema. It's driven by a compelling storyline and well-etched characters, smartly interspersed with the politics of the era.

Cameos To Distract

Showtime, well, feels like what we would have had if Madhur Bhandarkar made a show on Bollywood, and then had his name scrubbed off it. There is a feel of superficiality that is not undone by its soap-opera drama, while Dharma tries to distract us with its plethora of (unmemorable) celeb cameos that range from actors like Dharmendra, Janhvi Kapoor and Mrunal Thakur to directors like Hansal Mehta, Vasan Bala and Nitesh Tiwari.

Showtime tries to chime on some of the spiciest issues Bollywood has dabbled in, from South domination threatening its sovereignty to right-wing protests on casting. There is also this recurring ideological clash on movies being only cash cows or being driven by content. There are shots fired over paid reviews and superstar egos sinking cinema. The show attempts to address spicy Bollywood issues but lacks subtlety in fleshing out those, presenting controversies as if the makers merely googled headlines and wove them into the narrative.

Insider vs Outsider

This brings me to the actual storyline that wades Showtime through the messes. Emraan Hashmi, as we know, is a pro at playing grey characters, and it is his experience at doing such flawed roles that makes his Raghu Khanna - an arrogant, power-hungry and ego-hurt shehzaada - a somewhat interesting character to watch. Otherwise, the character is not deeply fleshed out, except for a cry-away line about how his daddy didn't have time for him when he was a child. Showtime: Emraan Hashmi and Mouni Roy Share Steamy Kiss in Disney+ Hotstar’s Series.

Mahima Makwana's Mahika - who we can say is the protagonist of the show - is quite a confoundedly written character. Let's get over the 'twist' that allows her to be put in a position to make movies, despite having no experience at that, being a journalist before (also doing a bad job there), and she even admits she doesn't watch too many movies. Mahika represents the ideological mindset of cinephiles who want their movies to be artsy and content-driven, and pitting her against the commerce-driven Raghu, should have made for a fascinating contest to watch. Here's the trouble - at no point I was convinced of the character's mettle to possess the acumen needed to drive the business. The fact that she convinces some self-centred bigwigs to see her point through impassioned speeches makes me feel even the screenplay didn't know how exactly to hoist her as this cunning strategist. This is why whenever she pulls off the occasional ruthlessness on her opponents - like dropping a major secret on Raghu about Yasmin at a meeting - those moments feel unearned.

Mouni Roy looks smoking hot as the 'item' girl looking to hit the big leagues courtesy of her producer-boyfriend (now, who was this character inspired from? Hmm...). Mostly, the character is always at the receiving end of her man-child's tantrums, but Mouni does stand out in the fourth episode, and I hope she gets more to do ahead.

The Scene-Stealer

The best character in the whole show is hands down, Armaan Singh, the pompous Bollywood superstar played by Rajeev Khandelwal. Working in his first action film, which also happened to be a period patriotic drama (reflecting Bollywood's obsession with the genre), Armaan owns the insecure, crybaby, ego-driven fits that he drops at any given moment and is chased by both Raghu and Mahika to associate with them. It is a character that seems inspired the most by three superstars we know very well and who I won't name here. But let's drop some clues - he loves 'farming', his house is called 'Jannat', and he has a roving eye despite being married to a former actress. Baaki aap samajhdaar ho.

The satirical tone around his character has the potential to be sharp and biting, but the writing doesn't possess the wit and edge to be those. Yet, Khandelwal's fun commitment to the role and his nonchalant delivery makes the character work effectually, like the scene where he tells him to throw out an angry Raghu from his house with 'respect'.

Final Thoughts on Showtime

Showtime is undeniably flashy, adorned with ample glamour and star-studded cameos. As a high-voltage drama that supposedly dissects the nepotism vs outsider debate and other issues plaguing the industry, the Dharma show is buckled down by soap-operatic screenplay and flimsy written characters that refuse to dive beyond the surface sheen. The first four episodes of Showtime are streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 08, 2024 09:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).