‘Showtime’ Season 1 Part 2 Review: No Redemption for Emraan Hashmi-Mouni Roy’s Dramatic Satire on Bollywood Functioning (LatestLY Exclusive)
Showtime Season 1 Part 2 Review: Frankly, I am confused as to why they would divide the first season of Showtime into two parts: dropping one batch of four episodes in March 2024, letting them dissolve into obscurity, and then dropping the next batch in July. I understand that Disney+ Hotstar did something similar with The Night Manager remake, but that felt like a mini-series rather than an actual season, and the division of episodes didn’t do much harm. Here, the first season of Showtime ends with major unresolved issues waiting to be addressed in the next season, that I am not sure if anyone would be waiting for with bated breath. Showtime Review: Emraan Hashmi and Mouni Roy’s Series is Snappy But Not Spunky Enough!
So what are the characters up to in the remaining three episodes of Showtime season 1? Mahika (Mahima Makwana) continues to be a prime example of how nepotism sucks, as her rookie handling of Viktory Studios keeps causing issues for their ongoing projects, particularly its ambitious biopic on Tatya Tope, with its lead superstar Armaan Singh (Rajeev Khandelwal) bringing his own set of controversies.
Watch the Trailer of Showtime Part 2:
Meanwhile, her half-uncle and adversary, Raghu Khanna (Emraan Hashmi), has his own challenges in trying to get rid of the financing alcohol baron Sajan Morarka (Vijay Raaz), who wants to be his partner. His pregnant girlfriend and Bollywood IT girl, Yasmine (Mouni Roy), has gone to her hometown, where she is Alia (Dharma just can’t get over this obsession, right?), away from the Tinseltown shenanigans. Meanwhile, Armaan’s betrayed wife, Mandira (Shriya Saran), is getting close to a conflicted Raghu.
Mahika has her own love triangle with her jealous boyfriend Prithvi (Vishal Vashishta), who is struggling to launch his script, and Satya (Neeraj Madhav), the talented filmmaker she has a major crush on.
‘Showtime’ Season 1 Part 2 Review – Not Much Improvement
Does the new batch of Showtime episodes improve the show overall? The answer is simple: No.
In my review of the previous episodes, I wrote about how Showtime wants to be critical of Bollywood and then also be critical of those who are critical of Bollywood, while trying to find its own voice in between. The focus should have been more on the power play between Raghu and Mahika and how their rivalry creates a new power dynamic within the industry.
A Still From Showtime
The screenplay often gets distracted in trying to raise other issues, bringing in real-life inspired incidents that give Showtime a connection to the real world (like a fan who cycled miles to meet his favourite star) and constantly throwing digs at stars and the political climate. All is well and good, but the writing needs to be strong, and the editing needs to be stronger to keep everything balanced while not losing focus on the main plotline. Unfortunately, this has never been Showtime‘s forte from the beginning, as its focus has been more on sensationalism rather than plot-building. The show gets so frivolous that it even has one of Bollywood’s most credible critics, Sucharita Tyagi, discuss industry gossip in her interviews rather than business or movie analysis.
‘Showtime’ Season 1 Part 2 Review – Disappointing Performances
The characters are not well-fleshed out, and some of them, like Armaan, Mandira, and Satya, are stuck in underused arcs, while others, like Yasmine, find themselves in washed-out storylines that rob them of the agency that made them interesting in the first place. Emraan Hashmi can do only so much with a weakly written part, whose most interesting moment comes only in the last scene. Mahima Makwana’s role certainly needed a lot more gravitas, and the actress struggles to pull that off. This time, the episodes have even dropped the celeb cameos to distract us from how weak the whole setting is.
A Still From Showtime
Mouni Roy struggles with her limited expressions. She gets a monologue scene that’s crucial for her character development. Usually, when a director sees an actor delivering a good monologue, they tend to keep it as unbroken as possible or use minimum cutaways to reactions to get the maximum out of that performance. Here, it is the other way around, which isn’t confidence-building. The only actor who makes the proceedings somewhat watchable by performing his role with utmost nonchalance is Vijay Raaz.
A Still From Showtime
In a way, Showtime reflects some of the thoughts that Dharma honcho Karan Johar keeps posting on his Insta stories. These stories blame Bollywood’s decline on starry issues, from their high salaries to their high maintenance, which is why other cinema industries are galloping ahead of Bollywood. While that is agreeable, a major point that KJo keeps missing, which also reflects on the quality of their new OTT show, is that a lack of good storytelling and smart craftsmanship also impacts the content. It’s a weird feeling – Showtime being its own meta-critic, where the mistakes it keeps pointing out are also the issues the show seems to be suffering from. Showtime: Shriya Saran on Working With Rajeev Khandelwal; Actress Says ‘He’s a Child at Heart’.
PS – I understand that some of the characters here are uncouth and bound to use vile language. But responding to a slight to one’s father with a threat to sexually assault someone’s mother and giving it a mass edge is a flex we need to avoid.
‘Showtime’ Season 1 Part 2 Review – Final Thoughts
Showtime is a major disappointment coming from a banner like Dharma. Its satirical overview of Bollywood workings is diluted by weak writing, okayish performances and a lack of standout moments, a major annoyance considering the talent involved here. All seven episodes of Showtime Season 1 are streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Jul 12, 2024 02:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).
