Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper Series Review: Manav Kaul, Tillotama Shome in a show that is more style than substance

Going by its name, Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper seems like yet another TVF original with an underdog story. However, the perception changes right in the opening minutes of its pilot episode where Tribhuvan Mishra (Manav Kaul) is brawling with a gangster, wearing a BDSM mouth gag. It’s a wild start indeed. Slowly, we get to know him better. He is someone who carries his underconfidence in his hesitant responses and awkward movements; only, he is a king in bed. As one woman tells him, 'You give not just happiness, but joy.'" Taking a glance at his plain moustache and middle-class appearance, it is difficult not to be reminded of Walter White from Breaking Bad (2008-2013), a chemistry genius during the day and a drug lord by night. Like Walt, Tribhuvan seeks a respectable way to support his family but finds himself pulled down in the muck of crime. Slowly, he takes on the alias ‘CA Topper’, gaining popularity among women for his ‘services’, just as how Walt became Heisenberg. Unlike the iconic show though, the makers here have less control over the narrative, leading to its gradual derailment.

At the most basic level, it tells the story of a family who will never cross the borders of morality and law. There is a father who is an honest government employee, struggling to make ends meet on his meagre salary. A loving wife, Ashoklata Mishra (Naina Sareen) with a talent for baking delicious cakes and their two school-going kids. What could possibly go wrong here? Facing a dire need for money, Tribhuvan considers working as a male escort where he meets Bindi Jain (Tillotama Shome), the lonely wife of a sweet shop owner cum gangster, Teeka Ram Jain (Shubhrajyoti Barat). Teeka Ram is brash with his words and does nothing to satisfy Bindi’s urges, leading to her finding an escape in the softness of Tribhuvan. However, their private liaisons don’t remain a secret for long.

Cast: Manav Kaul, Tillotama Shome, Shubhrajyoti Barat, Faisal Malik, Naina Sareen, Shweta Basu Prasad, Sumit Gulati and Shrikant Verma

Creator: Puneet Krishna

Directors: Puneet Krishna and Amrit Raj Gupta

Streamer: Netflix

The show starts to lose its hold over the plot as soon as the mask of a catchy premise falls away. Tribhuvan’s stint as a sex worker is short-lived. The makers don’t seem to know what more to do with it after the initial exploration. The lack of a spark is made up for by adding extra layers of quirkiness to some of the other characters. For instance, Lappu (Amarjeet Singh), the limping gang member of Teeka Ram, can only count till 17, causing delays in adding up the money received during deals. His replacement is found in the pan chewing Pinky (Ankur Pathak), and it is later revealed that his counting powers end at 21. These are tired means to churn humour in the scenes, and it is not enough to build engagement. Some sequences of the gang members bantering over the greatness of Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan feel isolated and sketchy.

There is an underlying attempt to draw parallels to Hindi cinema from the 90s with some hit songs heard throughout. The first episode has an extended scene of all the characters watching a film at a single screen theatre, where nothing worthwhile really takes place. It begins to feel gimmicky and forced as after a point, there is nothing much to hold the story together. It feels overdependent on some highly-stylised moments to find a release like the time where a sari-clad woman turns into a killing machine with two guns at her disposal. Talk about indulgence.

The underlying stagnancy in the characters seeps in the performances as well. Manav Kaul embodies the inherent shyness of Tribhuvan with care as he centres his performance majorly on his body language and intonation. His portrayal also feels a bit too technical at times as he tries to imbibe the character traits without a certain ease. Tillotama Shome does a masterful change in emotions owing to the changing circumstances. Her presence is a clever mix of a shrewd vulnerability. Through all of this, it is especially joyous to witness Shubhrajyoti Barat as he plays a balding gangster, who has a change of heart. He hits just the right note in coming out as funny, even in scenes of menace.

For a series that began with a tight grip on its storytelling, it is a shame that it ends without any grace. Director Puneet Krishna, who has earlier served as the creator of Mirzapur, builds an interesting world led by dark humour but fails to escape the clutches of superficiality. There is little to stay with the characters through their struggles, and the dialogues seem to follow one general rule of thumb: when in doubt, make the cuss words loud. The final episode has major tonal inconsistencies as it delves into an unneeded flashback of a character that does more harm than good. More so, the end feels like a chaotic climax of an Anees Bazmee film. Each character is brought to action in order to reach for the crescendo. Gunshots are fired in all directions by everyone only to miss the target for long. A white stallion stands in a corner, neighing. Can we stop horsing around?