Bestseller Review – A Promising Thriller With Middling Results

What Is the Story About?

Tahir Wazir (Arjan Bajwa) is a bestselling novel author who is looking for inspiration for his next. It has been almost a decade since his last. Enter Meetu Mathur (Shruti Haasan) in his life and he finds the right source. She is a wannabe novelist who sees Tahir as her idol.

Meanwhile, Tahir’s wife Mayanka (Gauhar Khan) is a top ad director. A new assistant Parth Acharya (Satyajeet Dubey) joins her and brings a fresh perspective. However, he has a different motive and it’s linked to Tahir.

How Meetu and Parth bring an unexpected turmoil in Tahir’s life. How CID officer ACP Lokesh (Mithun Chakraborty) is involved in this mess? What happens, in the end, forms the overall story of Bestseller.

Performances?

Shruti Haasan, Arjan Bajwa, Mithun Chakraborty, Gauhar Khan and Satyajit Dubey essay the key roles in the series.

Shruti Haasan, Mithun Chakraborty and Arjan Bajwa are the primary roles among them. Shruti Haasan plays a character with dual shades. It shows her versatility as an actress, but the weak characterisation undoes the effort. The knock out impact is missing due to the unreasonable development of the part.

Mithun Chakraborty is the best among the whole cast as a performer, easily. As an old near retiring officer, he is highly effective. His character is unravelled slowly and grows as the series progresses. By the time one reaches, the end, it is sure to be the most likeable part.

Arjan Bajwa is adequate. He starts effortlessly cool, but by the time we reach the end, it lacks the same effect. The actor does well but the poor character sketch is to be blamed here.

Among the rest, Satyajit Dubey and Gauhar Khan do well. They have uneven roles, where at times they seem very vital for the narrative, but are again pushed to the background. The performances reflect the same.

The rest of the supporting cast is adequate. It includes the likes of Suchitra Pillai and others.

Analysis

Mukul Abhyankar directs Bestseller. It is a psychological thriller with an investigative angle thrown in in equal doses.

The background of Bestseller is what intrigues us at the start. The novel and advertising world offer a unique mixture. That the husband and wife belong to these spaces adds to the excitement.

As the story progresses we realise Bestseller is tilting more towards the novelist side, which is fine. The first few meetings between Tahir and Meetu are well written and executed creating more interest in the proceedings.

However, the simultaneous ad world and an online troll war suggest something is off at the same time. Both these worlds collide to give way to an investigative drama.

The proceedings are a bit uneven in the process. Also, the comic touch via the character of ACP Lokesh further offsets the previous intriguing rhythm.

As we move forward and the real motives and true characters come out along with the twists, Bestseller turns further uneven and far-fetched in its central conflict. A lot of the stuff feels misleading and some of it comes across as dumb.

But, the bigger issue is the missing compelling quality in the revenge drama. There is a lot of build-up towards it and some of it can be easily guessed. Maybe that’s why it isn’t given the much-needed focus. The seriousness of the flashback (that led to such huge drama) is glossed over for a few words.

And finally, the investigation with comical touch full-blown cinematic thriller with over the top and unnecessary theatrics. It further mars the experience. The ending takes the cake in this case with its unbelievable pull off.

Overall, Bestseller is best when it’s grounded, simple and intriguing. But, fizzles out when it tries to expand into a blockbuster deal with its loud turn. Despite the issues, it is still a passable watch if one likes the thriller genre and has low expectations.

Music and Other Departments?

Raju Singh’s music is adequate for the series. It has the right mix and helps in giving consistency to the tone. The visuals are grand and give a rich vibe. Sameer Arya has done his part well. The whole thing could have been edited better. The writing shows the poise of a prose writer, but only in parts.

Highlights?

Setting

Casting

Novelist Track

Production Values

Drawbacks?

Weak Core Drama

Uneven Tone

Farfetched Twists

Weak Flashback

Final Portions

Did I Enjoy It?

Yes, In Parts

Will You Recommend It?

Yes, But With Reservations

Best Seller Review by Binged Bureau