Pharma Series Review:

A medical representative does more than push pills; doing justice to the role requires them to master the science behind the medicines down to the very molecules. Often, they act as a liaison between patients and doctors, although the job may come across as being pushy. PR Arun's Pharma has a clinical understanding of how the field works, but this does not translate into a compelling human drama. The series begins on a promising note, but it soon turns into a standard ‘man versus evil corporation’ narrative.

Let us focus on the promising part first. In its opening episode, the series shows a young and ambitious medical representative, KP Vinod (Nivin Pauly), getting his first taste of the nitty-gritty of the industry. Vinod thinks that closing deals is just a matter of following the manual and some amount of coaxing, but his superior (Binu Pappu) teaches him that there is more to the job than meets the eye. He also tells Vinod to turn a blind eye to the unethical practices in the field and join the cutthroat pursuit of sales targets. These portions beautifully establish the protagonist's moral reluctance as it clashes with his desperation to provide. Vinod’s salesmanship is fuelled not by greed but rather by the need to take care of his wife and child. Nivin and Binu have a sparkling chemistry between them that makes the opening portions a joy to watch. As Vinod grows in his career, he starts to notice the harsh truths in his field and how much its corruption impacts both doctors and their patients. He feels guilty enough to want to redeem himself and set things right.

Director: PR Arun

Cast: Nivin Pauly, Shruti Ramachandran, Rajit Kapur

Streamer: JioHotstar

Pharma treats some of the dynamics refreshingly, without reverting to stereotypes. Despite the novelty in its treatment, the series does not really break any new ground in its story of how one man takes on an evil corporation. For example, one of Vinod's doctor clients (Shruti Ramachandran) does not shout at him when she learns that the medicines of his company cause a major health problem. Her understanding that Vinod is just a mere pawn in a larger set of corrupt players is refreshing. Further, the writing lends enough weight to Vinod’s moral awakening to make his transition into a whistleblower feel earned. As long as Shruti and Nivin share the screen, it makes for engaging viewing thanks to their quiet chemistry and the strong understanding they bring to their roles.

Unfortunately, however, the focus unnecessarily shifts from them to some of the supporting characters, such as the doctors played by Rajit Kapur and Narain, who are fighting their own battles while trying to get to the bottom of the conspiracy at the heart of the story. The screenplay invests more time than necessary in exploring their personal stories, only to underscore the fact that the broken system affects the individuals involved. It does not help that the dubbing for Rajit's character and the actor’s portrayal of it contribute to a stiff performance. Narain does a better job of conveying his character’s trauma, although both characters are merely tangential to the larger plot. As a result, the series spends more time away from the protagonist, which would not have been a big problem if Nivin's character stayed a whistleblower instead of turning into a saviour of the masses.

While the makers use an interesting idea to show how an ordinary medical representative takes on a powerful and corrupt enemy, the constant references to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight strip the series of its own identity. At first, the Batman metaphors land, but they backfire big time when used as a hero-elevation strategy for Nivin's character. This goes against the series’ initial implication of how a single hero cannot save a whole population from corruption. While Nivin invests fully into the role and delivers an earnest performance, the makers’ attempt to cater to his stardom turns out to be a jarring contrivance in a series brimming with potential. We get multiple references to Vinod being a “comeback man,” which feels like a long-delayed callback to the actor's own return to form after a string of flops with a memorable cameo in Varshangalkku Shesham. In contrast, a reference to Vinod's transformation works better as a clever nod to Nivin's own recent shift from roles in feel-good dramas to family dramas.

Basically, it would have been a better idea to tell the story of one of the direct victims of the corporation’s evildoings to offer the emotional stakes that the procedural lacks. Even when it tries to do this, these moments serve only to highlight the thankless nature of the medical representative profession. Unfortunately, while Pharma does a commendable job of laying bare the corrupt nature of the pharmaceutical business without any problematic elements, it also forgets to tell a moving story in the process.