Director
Mihir Desai
Cast
Boman Irani, Samara Tijori, Upasana Singh, Manjari Fadnnis, Veer Rajwant Singh, Manu Rishi Chaddha, Akashdeep Arora, Sarika Singh, Sukhpal Singh, Nikhil Nair
What’s The Story
A young girl, Sana Kapoor (Samara Tijori) returns home to a small town in Punjab following the news that her mother, who had been suffering from a long illness, has died after falling over from the bed and striking her head on the floor at their family home. Haunted by flashbacks from an incident in her childhood, she's convinced her father (Boman Irani) had something to do with her mother's death, and her family is torn by suspicion and grief. Will she be able to find out the truth behind her mother’s death? Is the father actually guilty of killing the mother? Or is the girl hallucinating the incidents? Well, you’ll have to watch the show to find out.
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What’s Good
Impressive Debut By Samara Tijori
Samara Tijori, actor Deepak Tijori’s daughter, is the only good find of this show. Usually, when star kids make their debut in Bollywood, they try to go in for the conventional love story or a rom-com where they get to look oh-so-glamorous onscreen. But Samara Tijori decided to pick up an unconventional character for her debut – a character which showed her in a completely de-glam look throughout. She makes the most of the character that’s on offer and makes a stellar debut onscreen. She aces the emotions of angst, belligerence and retaliation against parents, which are common traits in almost every teenager. She carries the entire weight of the story on her shoulders and manages to hold her own and not get pressurised to deliver a solid performance opposite stalwart performers like Boman Irani.
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Another good thing about the show is Vivek Shah’s cinematography. The way he has used a slight sepia tinge to shoot the entire show gives a perfect feel for a small town story. He has put the overhead shots to great use.
Ginny Diwan’s screenplay has a beautiful poem written in the storyline, which has been used 2-3 times in the show. The poem is really touching and brings out the pathos of the character brilliantly.
What’s Bad
Boman Irani Could Have Had A Better OTT Debut
Boman Irani’s debut OTT show doesn’t let him perform to his full potential. He looks not very different from his own character, which he played in ‘Veer Zaara’. There is not too much to portray for him. He plays second fiddle to Samara Tijori in pretty much the entirety except the last episode where he actually showcases why he is such a talented actor. But is that enough? Honestly, the character looked more suited for Pavan Malhotra.
The other character artists like Manjari Fadnis, Upasana Singh, Manjari Fadnnis, Veer Rajwant Singh, Manu Rishi Chaddha and Akashdeep Arora don’t have enough screen time to show their mettle.
The biggest question mark of the show is its naming. Why is it called ‘Masoom’? There is barely any reference towards that. The Irish show from which it has been adapted was named ‘Blood’, which makes more sense as the story is about a death in the family and how the dysfunctional family members, who are related by blood, come together to unearth some family secrets.
Show creator Gurmeet Singh and director Mihir Desai made the slow-burn psychological thriller a bit too slow-burn. The scenes were unnecessarily dragging at places with interlude shots being used so often that it just made you feel bored. Also, web shows usually try to stick to a specific length of each episode and then maybe a couple of minutes more or less is acceptable. But in ‘Masoom’ every episode is of different lengths with the shortest episode being of 23 minutes and the longest being 41 minutes. A lot more prompt editing by Mannan Mehta could have cut short the longer episodes and made the episode a bit more uniform.
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Verdict
‘Masoom’ is sluggish throughout and, at times, makes you bored to death with the longish unending scenes, which should have been trimmed. Boman Irani could have found a much better show to make his OTT debut. The only bright light here is the newbie Samara Tijori, who possibly should have a bright future ahead. Otherwise, this show has nothing more to offer. Totally Avoid.
