cineTALK SCI-FI TAKES FLI G HT

director Vyas has set up abundant gripping drama, certain plot points seem too contrived. Some more coherence in storytelling would have helped.

The show thrives on perfect casting. Abhay Deol is authentic as the supercool CBI sleuth Shantanu, although a romantic subtext added to his character seems forced. Pankaj Kapur, Piyush Mishra and Rajesh Sharma are stalwarts of their craft, actors who can be banked upon to bring alive every emotive nuance. Kapur is undoubtedly top draw in the cast. Mishra, otherwise impressive, gives in to hamming in the odd scene. Sharma is quite frankly wasted in a role that remains underdeveloped.

JL 50 (Sony LIV)

STA RRIN G: Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur, Piyush Mishra, Rajesh Sharma, Ritika Anand

DIRE CT ION: Shailender Vyas

H H H

A passenger plane crashes somewhere in the mountains of West Bengal and it turns out the ight, JL 50, is actually one that had disappeared 35 years ago. As the CBI of cer in charge of the probe sets out to solve the puzzle, he realises there is little to doubt the validity of the bizarre accident, or its two survivors.

JL 50 comes as a happy reminder of the fact that Indian OTT is moving into areas where our mainstream storytelling typically never ventured. The series is positioned as a scithriller. You spot themes and subtexts that would vaguely remind you of a zillion time-travel tales in Hollywood, though writer-director Shailender Vyas has come up with a story that is by

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Unlike Christopher Nolan's Interstellar or Michael and Peter Spierig's Predestination, Vyas uses the concepts of time and memory in a far less complicated manner, letting the sci- quotient of the plot be dominated by old-school suspense drama. Shifting from 2019 to 1984, the setting of the primary story is Kolkata - a city where, if you are smart enough to pick the right shooting locales, it is not too dif cult to nd areas that have hardly changed over three and a half decades.

The CBI of cer helming the case is Shantanu (Abhay Deol), initially brought in to investigate a very different crash. There are reports that AO 26 - very much a presentday ight - has crashed at the speci c spot, and it was carrying an important political gure. Shantanu and his investigating partner Gourango (Rajesh Sharma) are in for a shock when they arrive at the spot and discover that the

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Ritika Anand's Bihu Ghosh is in many ways the fulcrum of the narrative. She struggles to match the demands of the character.

BAAZAAR

DIRECTOR: Gauravv K. Chawla

STARRING: Saif Ali Khan, Rohan Mehra, Radhika Apte, Chitrangda Singh HHHHH

Shantanu tracks down a professor of quantum physics (Pankaj Kapur), who had coincidentally bought a ticket for JL 50 ight, but never boarded the plane. His other lead is Bihu Ghosh (Ritika Anand), pilot of JL 50 who is one of two people to survive the crash. The other survivor, we are told as the story starts, is yet to be traced.

I can’t recall a single notable (or even non-notable) Indian lm based on the plunging dips and giddying highs of the stock market. Do you remember Harshad Mehta? How could you forget the podgy stockbroker who made thousands of Indians rich overnight and then it all ended in a nancial mess in no time at all?

Saif Ali Khan’s Shakun Kothari’s destiny run on the same lines. Except that Saif as the wily ruthless

The narrative builds the suspense and drama without getting too technical about science and logistics. The subjects of quantum physics and time that are meant to justify the ‘realism’ of this story, are swiftly dealt with in an ‘explanatory' dialogue or two without delving into satisfactory details. Science ction in cinema or a series invariably falls short of being adequately logical, so we will gloss over such details. Strictly in terms of unconventional storytellingthough, the plot has its loopholes. Although writer-

JL 50 is a limited series of four episodes, which actually restrictsthe scope of the narrative. While the concept of limited series is catching up among Indian web show makers, this was clearly not the ideal story to try out such a format. You wish this screenplay was spread across at least a couple more episodes, to fully realise its potential. Too much of a rush job in many parts. The show needed some more runtime for the right slowburn impact.

Machiavellian stockbroker is everything that Harshad Mehta would have wanted to be. This is Saif’s most gloriously written and performed part, meaty witty and wicked. He chews into it exposing a sacred hunger that I didn’t notice in his last over-hyped outing.

Saif as Shakun is a true-blue Gujju who won’t let neo-af uence corrupt his cultural integrity. He slips into Gujjucations with the unrehearsed cuteness of tycoon, who has long ceased to be cute to everyone, including his own wife and children.

Still, writer-director Vyas should be commended for creating an unusual show that intrigues. JL 50 is an intelligent entertainer despite its rough edges. A smart open ending has left the possibility of a second season. Here's hoping that happens - we would love to see where else this time travel trip can take us.

Vinayak Chakravorty

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