‘Haskmukh’ Reminds Us That Vir Das Has Acting Chops That Have Been 'Criminally' Underutilized Till Now

Shaant ho jaiye. Thoda muskuraiye na. Arre ka hua ? Koi mar gaya kya?

As Hasmukh mouths this line every time he does a stand-up act, little do you know he is not using it as a phrase but someone is actually dead.

Considering how everyone is currently obligated to stay inside their homes and running out of ‘fresh’ content to see, any new show coming on leading streamers would be fantastic, right? Not really. Netflix’s hit-and-miss saga with Indian programming has been long-withstanding now and unfortunately, there have been more misses than hits. Imtiaz Ali’s She was another addition to the misses last month but let’s just say Vir Das’ recently released Hasmukh does more than enough to be added to the category of hits.

The marriage between Das and Netflix has been a rather successful one so far where the comedian-actor’s multiple specials on the streamer have been widely appreciated and loved. However, with the Nikhil Advani co-created and Neeraj Pandey co-written series Hasmukh, Das delves into another art form that he hasn’t always been aptly utilized for – acting.

As fresh as Hasmukh’s one-line explanation for the plot sounds, the execution of the same is justified too. A budding small-town comedian becomes a serial killer and it is only killing that gives him the ‘feel’ to perform on stage. Indeed that sounds as dark as you would imagine but the show isn’t just another presentation that would be ‘difficult watch.’ On the contrary, Hasmukh makes sure that in spite of its obvious darkness, you sympathize with the protagonist to an extent that you even start rooting for him. When a show manages to test your moral compass leaving you perplexed on what is justified and what isn’t, that certainly means it has done its job. From questioning his actions to being a Robin-Hood-esque figure, Hasmukh keeps your brain-racking all the time.

The credit of making and presenting Hasmukh Sudiya majorly goes to Das himself. As mentioned above, apart from being a prolific stand-up comedian, Das’ acting chops have never been fully utilized (I mean who can forget films like Mastizaade and Santa Banta Pvt Ltd) except flickers like Delhi Belly, Goa Goa Gone or 31st October in the past. But with this Netflix series, Das is in his A-game and just gives a subtle reminder as to how good an actor he is if given the right material to work with. He manages to combine the vulnerability, diction, and emotions of Hasmukh really well. And of course, if you would doubt his stand-up skills even in the show, you are an oblivious being. Co-written by Das and the likes of Pandey and Nikhil Gonsalves, the writing is intelligent and authentic. Even the titles and their references in the respective episodes along with the stand-up jokes and twists are knit well.

A good show, however, is never complete with the supporting characters and the actors playing them. And when you legends like Ranvir Shorey, Manoj Pahwa, and Ravi Kishan coming in to play fascinating characters, it is almost ‘criminal’ to doubt their abilities (see, what I did there?) A special shoutout to Inaamulhaq who plays the riddle-speaking and corrupt cop and yet again a mention for Shorey, who is literally a chameleon and there is never a flaw in any character he portrays. When it comes to the women in the show, the lustful bhabhi of Hasmukh, the assistant in the channel, Rhea get meaty roles to play but it is the character of Promila that has the maximum mileage and to an extent, it is justified by actor Amrita Bagchi, who plays it. 

Having seen only four episodes, I am giving the show a benefit of doubt in terms of the loopholes of having a viral comedian who has committed over three murders now being on TV. Of course, I understand the weaving of the plot of the small-town cops not caring about the deaths but in hindsight, the idea seems too good to be true. However, I am just nit-picking here and the rest of the six episodes may have some genuine problems in store for Hasmukh than ever.

In the current scenario, you may ask the question as to if a dark, gritty thriller is the right thing to binge-watch as you’re isolated in your houses? However, that’s the thing with Hasmukh. It is more delicious than gruesome, more engaging than dark and in the end as funny as ever. Your binge-watching game should be sorted with 10 episodes and the smartest idea of having a runtime of not over 39 minutes overall.

Rating - **** (4/5)

ALSO READ: Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf announce the release date of Mismatched Season 3 in the cutest way