Review: Mithya sees Huma ace her role while Avantika makes for a smart debut with thriller series

Starring Huma Qureshi and Avantika Dassani in lead roles, Mithya is a 6-part ZEE5 Original series, directed by Rohan Sippy and Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with Rose Audio Visual Production.

The synopsis of the show reads, Mithya has Huma essaying the role of Juhi, a Hindi literature university professor and Avantika as her student, Rhea Rajguru. What sparks off as a matter of academic deception, soon spirals into a conflicted relationship between the two, leading to a devastating sequence of events. As Juhi and Rhea engage in a head-to-head psychological combat, both unwilling to back down, Mithya takes a dark turn and threatens to engulf the two and everyone around them.

Performances

Huma as Juhi has managed to put together the role in such a way that you are always expecting more. She wears Juhi's character like her second skin and for most part, you feel like Huma is Juhi, and that's how she has pulled this role off for the series' entirety. While I do want to say a little more about her performance, watching the series would probably do the job better.

Avantika as Rhea promises to keep you on the edge. She does manage to make you hate her on multiple occasions, and well, things end badly for her, but do they end after all? For a debut, you'd have expected something different, but so far as creating an impact is concerned, she definitely does get the bull's eye there and that justifies why she chose the series. She does everything that the role demands of her.

Parambrata Chatterjee as Neil is one of the finest performances in the entire series. Though it revolves around the above two ladies, he does steal the show, and if I had to pick a favourite, it would be him.

Rajit Kapur as Anand, Avantika Akerkar as Sudha, Samir Soni as Rajguru, and Indraneil Sengupta as Vishal all do their parts well. Kapur as Anand, does stand out slightly more than the rest as rightly so. His character does give him that space to perform and he lives up to it. After seeing him in SonyLIV's Rocket Boys, watching him here was equally fun.

The Good

The series does not have any extraordinary elements to writing or direction, but it has beautiful locales of Darjeeling and performances that boast of finesse. Something that does stand out about this series is how it is short and concise, which is why you don't find any reason to fast-forward, or skip, or want to stop, in the first place. When first provided with the early access, I binged on all of the episodes, and that is not something that a lot of shows manage to do these days.

The dialogues of the show stand out, and for all the right reasons. Given that the subject matter at hand involves literature, you naturally expect that out of it. Once again, we also have a series that touches upon various important topics, including one about insecurity in relationships (one that arises when the female partner does better than the male), the kind of hardships in any relationship and the society's pressure to maintain a perfect family, anxiety, among others. These topics are played out in the series, without making them a big deal, but just enough, and for that, due credits to the writing.

The Not So Good

While the series is concise, it has an open ending, and you feel like you've been robbed off the pleasure of seeing how it all ends, most probably because the makers want a second season for the series. That aside, the show does manage to do decently.

The element of thrill is maintained, but there are some tried and tested elements that are used to do so. And for a series that is relatively short, lack of surprise factor may not go down very well with some. (you will binge watch it any way, mind you)

Verdict

The weekend is here, and if you are looking to watch a nice but short thriller, you can definitely give this one a chance. While I think it'd open up to mix reviews, who knows how you like it? Mithya on Zee5 does have its highs, but it also falls shorts on certain occasions. However, it still deserves a watch and then it is on you to decide if you want to sit through.

Rating: *** (3/5)