MX Player Web Series THINKISTAN review is here: The coming of age drama is set in the world of advertising and features Mandira Bedi, Naveen Kasturi, Shravan Reddy, Satyadeep Misra, and Vasuki Sunkavalli in pivotal roles.
Written and helmed by ad man Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy, the web series is streaming live on MX Player from 24th May. Is THINKISTAN able to pitch it right and woo its audience?. Lets find out in the review of THINKISTAN.
Immediate reaction when the end credits roll
Savvy baby! It’s chic though I needed more massage on my heart and soul
The Story of Thinkistan
Set in mid 1990’s, THINKISTAN is a drama that involves two new entrants into the mad ad world. While the urban, smart and endearing Hema from Aamchi Mumbai (don,t get any ideas, Hema is a male played by Shravan Reddy) having a ‘set’ life in an automobile industry and a steady fiancé Priya (Jayashree Venketaramanan). One night Hema decides to quit and bums into a leading advertising agency MTMC (please don,t ask the full form) as an English copywriter. The other one Amit (Naveen Kasturia) the Hindi copywriter is the lad from Bhopal, The desi bhopali I mean Amit has gone through all struggles to enter into the corporate world of Mumbai. Amit starts having complex with the Englishwala writer Hema as English gets the first preference, but slowly and surely both Hema and Amit turn great pals and discover themselves in the crazy free willing world of advertisement where they flirt with ideas and opposite sex in an environment where work and play date each other. While the audience get a feeling of fact and fiction constantly seducing and teasing each other from time to time.
Good points
Ad man Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy pitches it right, a diversion from his previous 2016 documentary SAEED MIRZA: THE LEFTIST SUFI which he co directed with Kireet Khurana, and the thought provoking A BILLION COLOUR STORY, this time Padmakumar gets urban, chic and experiments with his experience in the ad world and tries to say a breezy coming of age saga. The ambience of the mid nineties is redolent though the MTV influence is missing somewhere. It’s a sly look at the ad world and a pinch towards the linguistic divide. Merrily written, it’s flirtingly crispy to an extent. Padmakumar also tries to make a subtle voice on women empowerment.
Performance
After the ambience, it’s the endearing performance of the almost the entire cast that makes the audience sit and enjoy the camaraderie between the characters and their interplay. Shravan Reddy as the charmingly endearing Hema who discovers himself in the mad ad world and the naturally simple Naveen Kasturia as Amit anchor THINKISTAN which sees some splendidly natural display of acting. Mandira Bedi as the Boss is finely nuanced. Vasuki Sunkavalli leaves an impression with her looks and act. Jayashree Venketaramanan is fine. Shraddha Musale has her moments. Medha, Anindita Bose, Paul Varghese, Ninad, Jaswant Singh and Rashmi Somvanshi chip in with valuable support. Satyadeep Misra makes his presence felt.
Flaws
Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy gives a breezy feel good coming of age saga set in the advertising world of nineties its endearingly savvy in its pitch but lacks the required sweep, that required conclusion, the deal is done but it’s not that rewarding and baffling in the end. Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy in his desire to show the greatness and the influence of ad world in our life fails to highlight the conflict amongst individuals and their dreams in the cut throat corporate world. Hema seems to have born with a creative edge and Amit gets his answers easily through a blackmailer of movie tickets, though its crowd pleasing. These amazing copywriters don,t experience the ‘writers blog’ and Hema’s hidden impulse to flirt with any pretty thing that comes across lacks the required establishment. The undercurrent of the cash of ethics between individuals and body in their zest to achieve personal/corporate goals, in this materialistic world of advertisement where fiction rules and empowers fact is missing. THINKISTAN is flashy, keeps the interest to a lot of extent but it not necessarily ‘sold’. Talent like Dibyendu Bhattacharya is wasted and there was no reason to show Amit sleeping on benches.
Final words
MX Players THINKISTAN by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy is a coming of age drama set in the savvy advertising world of nineties. Expecting the exceptional Matthew Weiner’s MADMEN (2007 – 2015) series on the advertising world every time is not fair. THINKISTAN is in no way the brilliant documentary on ad word ‘THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD’ either, nor is this a befitting take on the consumer driven culture like the 2010 Amber Heard and Demi Moore starrer THE JONESES. THINKISTAN in the end is a safe, breezy, coming of age drama with some endearing performance that can be enjoyed with your drear ones with coffee. Bas itna hi kafi.
